Air Layering Guide: Cloning Your Plants
Air Layering - A Guide to Cloning
If you like plants or love fruits then this is the article for you. Today we want to give you our Quick and Easy Guide to Air Layering Fruit Trees. Air Layering is a way to duplicate your favorite plants and increase the number of fruits you want by creating more of the same plant.
We, at Ricardo’s Nursery, will go through exactly how to air layer in a simple and easy to understand way. You can also watch this process on our YouTube channel @Ricardos Nursery .com
1. Use a sharp knife to cut the thin layer of skin around the branch. Remove around 2-3 fingers lengthwise of the outer bark skin layer to reveal the cambium layer. By cutting the skin from the tree we are interrupting the energy process and encouraging regrowth at the site of injury.
2. Create nutrient rich mixture for the air layer. Our secret potion is a mixture of peat moss, planting mix, and sand so we can keep the moisture locked into the air layer. Mix and create a paste out of these ingredients.
3. Wrap moist mixture around the open branch. Use the paste you created, place a large handful into a plastic sleeve or recycled plastic grocery bag to wrap it around the branch and cover the injury entirely. Major HINT: Be sure to use a lot of pressure when you are air layering!
4. Tie both ends tightly with flexible tape. Tie it up tight with green tape (which is very flexible) so that we prevent outside air from entering and keep the layer moist. This same method works for nearly all fruit trees from mangos and guavas, to peaches and avocados. This method greatly decreases the amount of time you have to wait, especially compared to if you were growing from seed.
5. When ready to plant, cut just below rooted section. How will you know when the air layer is ready to replant? You will see visible rooting. Remove the plastic sleeve and cut just below the rooted section and have all your planting materials ready. Transfer into the ground or planter quickly because you don’t want those roots to dry out. This process of developing roots usually takes around 6 months.
That is significantly faster than if you were to use a seedling, which takes nearly six months simply to germinate. If visual learning is more you style, don’t forget that you can also watch us go through this process on our YouTube channel.
Make sure to like and subscribe as well as follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and online at RicardosNursery.com We host several grafting and air layering workshops at Ricardo’s Nursery in Long Beach, CA. Call us for more information, (562) 428 – 7252 or email at Sales@RicardosNursery.com
Let's Keep on Growing!