kevin_wells46•25d agoMost Upvoted

Rant: I was dead wrong about air layering being a gimmick

For years I thought air layering was just some fancy trick for people who couldn't get cuttings to root. Then I tried it on a rhododendron that was getting too leggy in my backyard. Wrapped some damp sphagnum moss around a branch in late May, checked it in August and had roots thicker than my pinky. Now I'm kicking myself for all the plants I could have saved. Anyone else have a technique they dismissed until they actually gave it a shot?

2 comments

2 Comments

evac7225d ago

Oh come on, it's not that big of a deal. Air layering is fine if you've got the patience and don't mind waiting months for roots, but most people can just stick a cutting in water or dirt and get results way faster. Maybe I'm just not into all the fussing with plastic wrap and moss and tape. Seems like a lot of effort for a branch that might not even take.

rayc8925d ago

Nah, have you actually tried it on something tricky though? Rhododendrons are a pain to root from cuttings half the time, you wait weeks and they just rot. Air layering gives you a guaranteed clone that's already got a real root system. That plastic wrap and moss setup takes like ten minutes, not months of fussing. You could stick a cutting in water and get nothing but a dead stem while this thing is pumping out roots above ground.

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