How to Propagate Flowers and Trees by Layering? Latest Technical Method Tutorial
Layering propagation of flowers and trees is the practice of bending or wrapping a plant's branches into or in soil, using the nutrients from the parent plant to sprout new roots, then separating them from the parent plant and planting them to become new plants. Its feature is that it encourages rooting without detaching from the parent plant, giving a high survival rate and easy shaping; however, the operation is troublesome and the propagation quantity is small, so it is mostly suited to home flower growing. Layering propagation is generally divided into ordinary layering, flat-lying layering, mound layering and air layering methods, and can be carried out according to different species of flowers and trees.
Ordinary Layering
Suitable for clump-forming flowers and trees, such as wintersweet, winter jasmine, gardenia, jasmine and so on. Choose 1-2 year old branches near the ground at the base, first use a knife to score several cuts below the node near the ground, or carry out ring barking; then open a trench along the root zone or pot edge, 10-15 cm deep, bend the branch downward and press it into the soil, use wire bent into a U shape to pin it downward and prevent it from springing back; then cover with soil, leaving the branch tip exposed outside, and tie it to a main stick so it does not break. This method is mostly carried out in early spring or late autumn; layer in spring, separate in autumn; layer in autumn, separate and plant in the following spring.
Flat-Lying Layering
Suitable for flowers and trees with long branches and climbing habits, such as chrysanthemum, climbing rose, ivy, Chinese trumpet creeper and so on. Bend the stems and branches flat onto the soil surface or into shallow trenches, cover with soil on top, and after rooting cut them off and plant them. With this method, each node can also be scored with a knife, so that multiple young plants can be obtained at one time. Mound Layering Suitable for flowers and trees with many tiller buds, clump-forming habit and branches that are not easy to bend, such as winter jasmine, paper mulberry, Caragana, hydrangea, serissa, forsythia, Chaenomeles speciosa and so on. Before layering, first score the bark at the base of the branches, then mound soil 30-40 cm high, and thereafter keep the mound soil moist. After the branches have rooted, dig away the mound soil, separate them from the parent plant, and use them for separate planting to become new plants.
⟦NL>Air Layering
Suitable for flowers and trees that do not produce tiller buds at the base, are difficult to root from cuttings, and whose branches are also not easy to bend, such as Chinese rose, osmanthus, Aglaia odorata, Michelia alba, magnolia, Dracaena, Schefflera, Dracaena draco, rubber tree and so on. Air layering is usually carried out in late spring and early summer, generally using robust 2-year-old branches. First carry out ring barking or scoring below the node of the branch, deep enough to reach the bark. After treatment with rooting hormone, at 3-5 cm below the wound, tie on plastic film, then turn it upward, and fill it with moist moss, peat soil or fine sandy soil. Seal the upper opening, leaving a small gap to allow water replenishment and catch rainwater. Keep the medium moist; it must neither dry out midway nor become too wet. After several months of care, by autumn the root system has already grown abundantly, and after autumn or in the following spring it is separated from the parent plant and planted in a flower pot or in the open ground, then cultivated for another 1-2 years before it can bloom and be enjoyed.