A Detailed Guide to Three Methods of Layering Propagation for Flowers

Layering propagation of flowers involves wounding a section of a parent plant's branch and burying it in soil; once roots form, it is cut away from the parent plant to become an independent new plant. It is generally divided into 3 types: simple layering, mound layering, and air layering.

1. Simple layering. It is mostly used for vine flowers with soft and slender branches, such as winter jasmine, Japanese honeysuckle, and Chinese trumpet creeper. When layering, bend a branch on the outer part of the parent plant into an arc, wound the downward-bent protruding part, bury it in soil, then secure the downward-bent part with a hook; once it has rooted, it can be cut away from the parent plant and transplanted separately.

2. Mound layering. It is suitable for deciduous shrubs with strong clumping growth and relatively hard branches that are not easy to bend, such as redtwig dogwood, elm-leaved spirea, and yellow rose. In early summer, perform ring-barking about 1cm at a point about 25cm above the ground on the lower part of the branches, then mound soil around the parent plant, burying the lower half of the entire clump in soil, and keep the soil mound moist. After it has rooted sufficiently, before early spring sprouting of the following year, dig open the soil mound, cut the branches away from the parent plant at the base, and transplant them by division.

3. Air layering. It is used for evergreen flowering trees and shrubs whose branches are difficult to root and not easy to bend, such as white orchid, Aglaia odorata, and banana shrub. It is generally carried out during the peak growing season; select well-developed 2-year-old branches and perform ring-barking at an appropriate position on them.

Then put peat soil, mountain soil, moss, etc. into a plastic bag, wrap it around the branch, water thoroughly, tie and secure the bag opening, supply water promptly afterward, and keep the growing medium moist. After the branch has rooted, cut it away from the parent plant from below the bag, remove the wrapping material, plant it with the soil into a pot, place it in a shady place for care, and expose it to full light only after it has sprouted a large number of new shoots.