air layer bottlebrush

[Joe Dupre']

My brother in law wants to trim the lower branches from his huge bottlebrush tree. This is not a shrub. It's close to a foot in diameter and over 20' tall. I asked him to wait until late summer to trim so I can air layer some large branches. Last year I successfully took a couple of small air layers in the 5/8" diameter range.

If I were to get a couple of 1.5 to 2 inch diameter branches to throw roots, could I then trunk chop them and grow out the branches? I know they are evergreen and the standard rule for evergreens is to leave adequate foliage on the tree.

 

[Craigm]

G'day Joe , once the Layers are established and have grown enough roots to build strength and have also put out a couple of sets of new foliage they can be chopped back to where your thinking.Callistemon can be reduced to zero foliage with correct care after.As with any cutting or Layer ,it needs time to become a plant with energy before playing around too much.Have fun.

 

[Joe Dupre']

Thanks, Craigm. I think I'll try a couple of 1.5" layers and follow your advice. That size branch tends to have really nice bark character and is still small enough to grow out in a reasonable amount of time.