Air-Layering

[Nievesgirl]

I was reading through my Hibiscus book by Les Beerrs & jim howie at my desk today. I see a section about layering.

Charlie Have you tried this method of propagation ? I just came up with a few ideas I would like to try and see if they work. But i also want to try this layering.

I also has another question about getting hibiscus to root.  Since my first attempts failed. I have bought a dome that is 7 inches tall so I can fit cuttings in there. I wanted to know do you keep dome on the whole process ? What I do with my seeds is cover only at night then let them air out in the day ( I get mold if I leave the dome on 24/7)

I plan to buy a few more things for my second attempt, if it works I will post results.

[Charlie]

Air layering works for sure. The biggest advantage of it as far as I'm concerned is getting a larger than normal new rooted plant. I haven't done much of it because it takes less time and effort to root the normal way or to graft. I am not sure how well it works with varieties that are reluctant to form roots.

The dome should help root cuttings. It does 2 things - it warms the temperature around the cuttings while also increasing the humidity which is crucial to survival of the cuttings. The problem is that either of these 2 important factors can be overdone and also result in killing the cuttings. So it is a balancing act - you need warmth and humidity around the cuttings but too much of either will cause them to fail just as easily as too little of either of them. Sunlight is the big variable since as soon as it directly hits the dome the temps will soar but without it the temperature may be too low. So, use a heat mat for warmth and keep the operation in the shade so that the sun does not spike the temperature.

It's simple once you work it out for your conditions, but several factors make it challenging at first!

Charlie

[blupit007]

Kerry,  what did you end up doing?  I have a few cutting that I am trying.  They look great.  I have had them under the 7" dome for the entire time.  Just today I took it off to find one rotted and a few fuzzy points on some others.  But I have been away for a week, so it has been covered the entire time.  Do you go on for 12 hours off 12?  Or on for a complete 24 hours?  Is there a point when you can take it off entirely before there are no signs of roots yet?  I have only had them in soil for about 4 weeks.  They are lush and green and there is some new growth on them.  They are also under a grow light for 17 hours.

[Louis]

Hello all,

i have been air layering for a long time with great success. right now i have a Illuminati plant that has four leggy branches. I have done the air layering procedure on all 4 stems and all is going well. i did not cut the growing tip off, thought i would leave them on. procedure was done one month ago. i will want a few more weeks to peek into the pod to see if there are roots.


louis

[Charlie]

Great idea, Louis. Illuminati does not root particularly well so if you can get more plants by air layering that is super. Please let us know if it works or not.

Charlie