Trenthany
Chumono
In the future airlayers can be left on through winter in most places I believe. You should add you location to your profile.
Harvesting bonsai material from a yew. Questions?
- Thread starter Javaman4373
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Javaman4373
Shohin
My location is in my signature, SW Vermont. Temps may reach -20 F in the winter, although some winters it never gets below Zero or just a few degrees colder. Finally found my way to the profile and inserted my location. I thought yew roots were susceptible to freezing, especially in a pot, not so much in the ground. I transplanted this yew to its current location from a foundation planting about 20 years ago. It has thrived ever since. It has a southern exposure and is blocked from north winds by the barn.
A related question, do you think tamarack/larch air layers could over winter. That is a tree that thrives in cold climates.
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Trenthany
Chumono
Lol sorry. I knew I knew you were northeast somehow but thought I was crazy! You’ve got this!
Javaman4373
Shohin
Decision time soon. I have an air layer going on a large trunk of this yew for 3 months now, that if it worked, should be cut off soon before cold weather sets in here in Vermont. If all I find is callous and no suitable roots, would one strategy be to let it go until spring, shave some tissue off the callous and reapply root hormone and try the air layer again? Another alternative is to give up on the air layer and convert that trunk to dead wood. The foliage above the air layer is looking quite healthy.
Trenthany
Chumono
I’d try again personally. Call it after a while in spring perhaps. I just added hormone and rewrapped when I checked my oak and it took off after I wrapped it in foil. Before the foil and dissolved hormone it just calloused. I pushed back a tiny bit of the crystal looking callous rewrapped it and watered it with hormone dissolved in water. Not sure of percentage but it’s a 5% powder and I dissolved more and more until it had a little powder left that wouldn’t dissolve. I need to get a liquid just for adding hormone to air layers. Added 4 oz to sphagnum added foil and a week later I had roots touching plastic all over. Letting it grow even more before I cut it but it was amazing what adding foil and additional hormone did.
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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@Javaman4373
the normal progression for air layers, you make the ring cut, and remove the bark and cambium, if you are going to use hormones, you dust with hormones, then you pack the wound with sphagnum, or media of choice. THen wrap the bundle up in plastic.
THen WAIT.
THe tree will first form callus. It must form callus before roots will appear. This can take time, sometimes the better part of 12 months. The great news is callus is very winter hardy. It is nearly as hardy as the vegetative parts of the tree are hardy. An air layer that has formed callus can be left on the tree over the winter without causing the air layer to fail.
Often the callus will winter over, and then form roots in early spring. Sometimes the callus will not form roots until the following late summer.
THe speed of air layers taking varies widely.
Ficus and tropicals - can root in 2 or 3 weeks.
Deciduous trees like Elms - can root in 6 to 12 weeks.
Conifers - often conifers do not air layer, but those that do can take 2 to 3 years. Not months, 2 to 3 years.
I have air layered Japanese black pine, several times, and in my Chicago climate roots did not form until the second or third year.
Just keep the air layer moist, give it time, eventually it will root.
I have not personally done Taxus, yew, but I would guess an air layer put in place summer of 2020 would make roots by summer 2021.
Just give your yew time.
the normal progression for air layers, you make the ring cut, and remove the bark and cambium, if you are going to use hormones, you dust with hormones, then you pack the wound with sphagnum, or media of choice. THen wrap the bundle up in plastic.
THen WAIT.
THe tree will first form callus. It must form callus before roots will appear. This can take time, sometimes the better part of 12 months. The great news is callus is very winter hardy. It is nearly as hardy as the vegetative parts of the tree are hardy. An air layer that has formed callus can be left on the tree over the winter without causing the air layer to fail.
Often the callus will winter over, and then form roots in early spring. Sometimes the callus will not form roots until the following late summer.
THe speed of air layers taking varies widely.
Ficus and tropicals - can root in 2 or 3 weeks.
Deciduous trees like Elms - can root in 6 to 12 weeks.
Conifers - often conifers do not air layer, but those that do can take 2 to 3 years. Not months, 2 to 3 years.
I have air layered Japanese black pine, several times, and in my Chicago climate roots did not form until the second or third year.
Just keep the air layer moist, give it time, eventually it will root.
I have not personally done Taxus, yew, but I would guess an air layer put in place summer of 2020 would make roots by summer 2021.
Just give your yew time.
Javaman4373
Shohin
Thanks Leo. I did not know that the callous would be winter hardy. I wrapped this air layer in plastic first, then a covering of bubble wrap, then some black plastic. I will inspect it and if there are insufficient roots, over winter it for the next growing season.
Javaman4373
Shohin
I am following this advice. This spring I inspected the air layer form last summer and there was callous, but no roots. So I made a few minor wounds in the callous and dusted with rooting hormone and continued the air layer. The foliage above still looks good and is showing growth. The next question is if the roots appear this summer, should I proceed with the amputation of the air layer and then what would be the best after care. This is a large trunk and parts of the above structure will need to be chopped back for easier handling. The lower portions have good back budding growth. My assumption is that I should retain some of the apical structure and its foliage to support further root growth in a grow box.Another issue is where to put the plant for the winter. I have a cool section of basement that has some grow lights.
Leo in N E Illinois
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You are in Vermont. Yews are fully winter hardy in Vermont. Just "heal in" by burying the pot the separated air layer is in to the rim in a bed on the north side of your house. It should be fine over winter
Don't baby the yew too much. Warm in winter is more harmful than cold.
Don't baby the yew too much. Warm in winter is more harmful than cold.
Javaman4373
Shohin
Another question. The trunk being air layered has a curved portion of the trunk that has no branches and no back budding started. I want to do a chop on this section after the air layer has been separated and roots well established. I am assuming I need the apical growth (top in photo) to drive the root development now, so I can not make any significant chops on that to stimulate back budding. Is that correct? There is significant back budding already growing around the base just above the air layer now.
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leatherback
The Treedeemer
Just separate, pot up and fertilize & water well net year. Yews backbud like manic once healthy & indecently exposed.
Javaman4373
Shohin
You mean leave all of the apical high growth on the air layer after potting up and planting the pot in the ground for the winter and the next growing season. It will take some significant staking to stabilize it. It is about 6-7 ft tall.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
removing the foliage is risky. Yews have hardly any reserves. So a layer with no needles has a big risk of being notree.
Javaman4373
Shohin
There is probably 10% of the total foliage in the lower trunk area, so the question evolves into whether it would be safe to remove 30 to 40% of the top foliage. The aim being to stimulate some back budding without depriving the cut off air layer of enough to keep the tree alive and producing roots.
Javaman4373
Shohin
Here is an image of the base. The air layer is in the lower left. The foliage to the right of the curved section of trunk is on a different trunk behind the air layer. What program do people use to mark up an image? I should learn to do it.
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Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
Javaman4373
Shohin
Update: I inspected the yew air layer today and found a few thin white roots. This is the second growing season for this air layer. The roots are quite fragile and I think I knocked one off during the inspection. I only looked at one side. The moss was too wet, so I squeezed it out and put a bigger hole at the bottom of the wrapping for drainage. We had over 10 inches of rain this July and some water was getting into the air layer I think. The lower trunk of the air layer has grown some thick foliage. The top section has grown a little, but no where near the other trunks that were chopped but not air layered. The bulk of the foliage, probably about 80% is in the apex. The roots I saw seemed insufficient to support much foliage if I separated the layer this fall. My understanding is those roots will not survive the winter however. So a decision must be made on how to proceed.
Option 1. cut it off this fall, put it in a sturdy pot with more moss, chop off the top growth that will not be kept long term or not. Winter it in the garage or basement with temps in the 50s and some grow light illumination. The garage will go below freezing at times, but will not be as cold as outdoors. Or bury the pot outdoors for the winter.
Option 2. let it go another season attached.
Option 3. chop the top growth and let it go another season to form more back budding. The top growth takes it to a height of about 7 ft, thus it is awkward for subsequent handling after it is separated. I was thinking the top growth foliage was needed to produce the auxin for pushing root growth, which is not working very well so far.
Option 4. As suggested above, separate and put it up and bury the pot on the north side of a buildiing for the winter. Retain the tall top foliage. Do this fall 2021 or fall 2022?
I did an air layer of a favorite apple and after the growing season separated it. It had no roots and some good callous. I wintered it over in the garage and put it out in the spring. It produced leaves and I transplanted it into the ground and it is doing fine. Of course, apples are not yews.
Option 1. cut it off this fall, put it in a sturdy pot with more moss, chop off the top growth that will not be kept long term or not. Winter it in the garage or basement with temps in the 50s and some grow light illumination. The garage will go below freezing at times, but will not be as cold as outdoors. Or bury the pot outdoors for the winter.
Option 2. let it go another season attached.
Option 3. chop the top growth and let it go another season to form more back budding. The top growth takes it to a height of about 7 ft, thus it is awkward for subsequent handling after it is separated. I was thinking the top growth foliage was needed to produce the auxin for pushing root growth, which is not working very well so far.
Option 4. As suggested above, separate and put it up and bury the pot on the north side of a buildiing for the winter. Retain the tall top foliage. Do this fall 2021 or fall 2022?
I did an air layer of a favorite apple and after the growing season separated it. It had no roots and some good callous. I wintered it over in the garage and put it out in the spring. It produced leaves and I transplanted it into the ground and it is doing fine. Of course, apples are not yews.
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Javaman4373
Shohin
Update. After two growing seasons I separated the air layer today. I chopped the apex off, as the foliage was starting to go yellow and an 8 ft. air layer would have been too unwieldy. There were some white roots visible in the moss. First thing I did was screw a board shaped to fit the pot bottom to severed trunk. I carefully removed the plastic and replaced it with some coarse burlap and set the stump into the pot. I then packed it in with more moss and put it in the basement for the time being. I secured the top to an overhead joist. I covered the whole thing with a plastic tent open at the bottom to keep the humidity high.
Now the decision is whether to bury the pot in the ground for the winter vs keeping it in the cool basement. I can keep the temp below 50 in the basement. My concern is the new roots might be killed by our cold temperatures if it is set in the ground. The parent plant is fine in the winter, but it has roots hardened off. The garage is warmer than outside ambient temperatures, but it will go below freezing during the colder days in the winter. We can get as low as minus 20 F. outside.
Now the decision is whether to bury the pot in the ground for the winter vs keeping it in the cool basement. I can keep the temp below 50 in the basement. My concern is the new roots might be killed by our cold temperatures if it is set in the ground. The parent plant is fine in the winter, but it has roots hardened off. The garage is warmer than outside ambient temperatures, but it will go below freezing during the colder days in the winter. We can get as low as minus 20 F. outside.
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Javaman4373
Shohin
Follow up on the yew air layer. I secured the butt of the tree by screwing a board to it. It has been in the basement under lights at about 50 degrees F all winter. The foliage has remained a healthy green and it has produced a lot of flower buds. So I assume it is still alive. The question is what to do next. My plan is to take it out side into partial sun when the frost danger is over. One possibility I ask for advice about is should I lift it from the pot and put it in a grow box and surround the sphagnum moss with bonsai soil. Here are a few images.
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Javaman4373
Shohin
A further update. The severed air layer is outside and pushing new growth. I removed some of the moss in the periphery of the pot and replaced it with a bonsai soil. I also removed some small branches I didn't want to keep, pruned it a little aka Tony Tickle. Meanwhile, the parent tree looked terrible this spring. I chopped it back and I think some squirrels had chewed on it some. But it is basically healthy and it has pushed a lot of new growth during this June.. I wishi I could do more with the parent tree, as it has a massive base, but it would be very heavy and unwieldy if lifted and put in a grow box.
