UPDATE - ELM AIR LAYER(S) PROGRESSION

all from an old chinese elm rescued from a hedgerow that was set to be removed... i acquired host tree in dec 2012 and it spent 1 spring/summer in a big pot and the rest in the ground (prior to and post collection)...

tree 1: (this one had a coconut fiber basket around the spagnum - the other 2 did not)









tree 2:





a little super-thrive soak in the hot tub !





tree 3:

by-the-by, came upon these:

the parent tree in situ - dec 2012



and spring 2014



since spring, the base has absolutely assploded !!!
probably 2-3X in size...

and thats without any ron jeremy endorsed products !!!
(except super-thrive which i've even considered a sip of   )

Dear Kevin

As as a avid gardener and plants men you put me to shame.

Every time I walk through the garden I see potential bonsai that I can air layer. But I never do....

Well did try a Weeping Mulberry two years ago. Only to realize after removing the plastic that the bark grew back.   Needless to say I was slightly dissapointed..... actually I was F*&%$£ off.... at the least.

Well done!

Love and light

try again andre !

i think the trick is to make sure your cut ring is deep enough (down to the sap wood) and all the way around (for most species) in order to prevent the bark from regrowing...

i basically just followed graham potter's video on youtube.

now we'll just see if they survive as i have high-hopes for tree #2 as a burley ugly gnarley shohin...

Excellent dude.
Well done

Elms are great for air layering.

If only pines would air layer as easy.

Leo Schordje wrote:Excellent dude.
Well done

thanks leo !

Leo Schordje wrote:If only pines would air layer as easy.

yeah i heard they take a while...
reason #17 why i'm not a pine guy   

I would like to ask when exactly did you make the air layer and how long did it take to rooting and consequent separation.
Thank you


edit:
no need to reply to the 1st question, I've read at the other thread of yours it was late May

I separated them just a few days before posting the pics... so beginning of august (dont have exact dates but about 3 months between start and end)

and so far they are looking healthy !

and the parent tree is going wild, with the base getting swollen like an...    

 

here is an update on one of the air layers i took off last year...

his first haircut and style:
before:



and after:



more pics and info here:
Arbor Arts Collective Blog

Very nice.
I like the last photo.

obrigado rui !

Air layers are looking great Kevin.
Being the unrestrained brute I am I would be tempted to cut everything off but through right branch. Then grow it out for the movement. But that's me. I'm an animal.
I also like the left branch for a possible cascade. I really shouldn't be allowed to have a pair of cutters.
Leave it like it is. Don't pay any attention to the large bald man. He's nuts!

M. Frary wrote:   Don't pay any attention to the large bald man. He's nuts!

Bald men are always nuts!

Kevin, I really like how you put the windswept in the tree!

hey mike... some call me unrestrained (at least in my novice and intermediate classes) because i dont pussy-foot around when it comes to losing a branch or 5... but i really like this one and so am being a bit cautious about overdoing it... so having said all that, i will disregard your post as suggested

hey T - thanks !
but i didnt put the windswept in there... it was already there and i just uncovered it,,,
i tried to grab a handful of wind to add some, but it slipped through my fingers...

seriously though, i dont really consider this one windswept... not enough directional consistency.

I really like the tree as is Kevin.

this year i took another 3 air layers off the same host tree...

here is one of them... looks promising



i hope this one takes off... less roots on this years batch but i think my technique was a bit sloppier than last year...
but in potting it up, i dusted it with rooting whoremoan and sprinkled a little additional milled sphagnum moss in the soil around the roots...

more to follow...

Nice air layering. They all look healthy!

beer city snake wrote:here is an update on one of the air layers i took off last year...

his first haircut and style:
before:



and after:



more pics and info here:
Arbor Arts Collective Blog

HA !
just went to update this and realized it is exactly 1 year to the day since the last update... serendipity...

anyways... repotted this one yesterday:



the crescent pot is from a cat named sage, a friend of IBCer jesse down hendersonville n.c. way...
i met him at the n.c. bonsai expo last year and he had some pots he made in the back of his pick-up truck...
i grabbed a couplafew from him... my preferred way to buy pots...
an unknown potter, a back alley, a handshake and a belt of whiskey to seal the deal.

Looking really good Kevin.

Air layering's great isn't it. I couldn't believe it when I first tried it, it's like magic. Grow roots on a branch, cut it off and you've got a new tree. amazing. The possibilities are almost endless.

Pot's nice as well. Keep us updated (I know you will ).

Regards

Richard

thanks richard... yup, air layering is fun if you have access to a good host tree.
and it is nice to skip several years in the development of girth and character.

next for this one is more ramification.

if i think of it i will post one with it leafed out.