The potted plant has grown too tall but you can't bear to cut it? One method gives you the best of both worlds

Many trees are grown by us as potted plants when they are seedlings, but as the trees grow taller, some are no longer suitable for keeping indoors, and some lose their overall aesthetic appeal once they grow tall. At this point we have to face a choice: cut them down or transplant them outdoors? Actually, neither is necessary. Here is a method that gives you the best of both worlds.

This best-of-both-worlds method is air layering. Using air layering can both reduce the plant's height and give you a new plant. It really couldn't be better, and the success rate of air layering is much higher than that of cuttings, and it takes shape quickly too. It is the best way to deal with potted plants that are too tall. Below, taking the rose as an example, I'll teach you how to do air layering.

1. First, make a ring cut through the bark at the height you want to keep. A ring cut means peeling off a ring of bark. When cutting, pay attention to controlling the force, and try not to damage the xylem. The recommended length of bark to remove for the ring cut is about 3cm. If you cut too little, it will be hard for roots to form.

2. Prepare a disposable cup, preferably a transparent one so you can easily check the rooting progress. Make a hole in the bottom of the cup, just big enough for the branch to pass through, then cut one side of the cup open, slip it over the ring-cut position, and then tape up the part you just cut open.

3. Use rope, wire, or similar methods to secure the cup, then add vermiculite or soil to the cup, and water it thoroughly. Soil has stronger water-retention capacity, and when transplanting you can also pot it directly, but the chance of wound infection is higher with soil. To reduce the chance of wound infection, for the first watering you can use a fungicidal solution such as chlorothalonil.

4. After that, just keep the vermiculite or soil moist and wait quietly. If it blooms at this time, simply pinch off the flower buds to save nutrients. After about 15 days roots will begin to form, and after 1 month the root system will fill the cup. At this point you can cut this section off and transplant it. With so many roots, it would be hard for it not to survive.

In this way we both solve the problem of the plant being too tall and get a new rose plant, killing two birds with one stone. This method can be used not only on roses; many potted plants can use this method too. It's just that different plants root at different speeds. Generally, potted plants can be transplanted within 1 month after air layering, while slow-growing trees like pines and cypresses may take half a year.