Sangu Kaku Layer

RichKid

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Anyone ever successfully layer a sangu kaku? If so what technique did you use? I have a grafted one in my landscape and I want one with its own roots to work on. I've had three air layers fail in as many years. I've successfully layered other palmatums w the same technique. Is there something about this cultivar I'm missing? I'm planning on trying again come spring. They mostly just turn black. I've had on failure start to show little roots but only once. Thanks for any input.
 

cbroad

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@RichKid
I tried doing one this summer too, about 1" wide and probably 3" long trunk with about 8 branches and last I checked in the fall I had no roots. I think about a week in 95% of the leaves dropped. But I believe the branches were/are still alive but they never flushed new leaves. The top of the tree was broken when I got it, so the layer I tried has a stump at the top and it is turning black...

I'm definitely interesting in how long/if they air layer successfully. I have a big Emperor 1 that has so far taken 1.5 years to root, last I checked it had 1...
 

0soyoung

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More specifically, you notice the leaves on the layer suddenly turning brown from low down going upward. Then, you find that the bark below the girdle is back.

Right?
What does this mean?
The blackness reflects cambium death. Biologically active auxin is passed as a bucket brigade from one cambium cell to the next, always in the direction toward the roots. The girdle stopped the supply of auxin -- > no signal of life above --> cambium dies --> signals living cells in the wood to seal off the xylem (now the layer is effectively a cutting without a humidity tent to prevent desiccation).

I have this same problem with 'Higasayama' and have yet to solve the problem in well over 5 years of trying different things. I have also experienced similar failures with overwintered layers of 'Okushimo', 'Shishigashira', 'Aka shigatatsu gawa', and 'Tsukushigata'.

This past season I tried a method of making a series of vertical cuts around the stem instead of a girdle that was discussed here last year. I painted these cuts with 3000 ppm IBA + 1250 ppm NAA dissolved in PEG400. I tried this on acer palmatum 'Higasayama', acer palmatum 'H Nishiki', and on an acer shirasawanum that past season. No roots were generated in any case, nor did any cambium black death occur either. I got callus along the edges of the cuts and some enhanced stem thickening, but nothing else.
 

ysrgrathe

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I have taken several layers off of my sango kaku (pa 6b). I had very poor results with that cultivar in the landscape though... After losing several coral barks I kept them in pots in my garage during the winter with much better results. They seem very prone to bacterial infections.
 

cbroad

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@ysrgrathe
Did you do anything special, as in timing, more/less/no rooting hormone, more scraping of cambium or wire girdle? Just trying to figure out any specific variables to tweak. How long did it take before you separated?
 

ysrgrathe

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One caveat -- I am not an expert by any stretch and am just starting to get good success rates with my layers. I didn't do anything special -- I did my usual approach:
  • Did not use wire girdle
  • Timing - 4-6 weeks after leaf emergence (May / June)
  • Cut 1" section of bark, scrape cambium
  • Gel hormone (IBA)
I have tried several mediums, best roots were from small boon mix with spagnum at top and bottom of pot. However this medium requires more care to keep hydrated than pure spaghnum.

Separated in mid-August. I find if I separate too late I get more roots but they don't wake up in spring.

I took layers from thicker segments of the tree (more leaves => more roots) and cut back significantly when I removed the layer.
 

ysrgrathe

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I just checked and it was 3000ppm IBA in a 2-Hydroxyethyl cellulose gel. I used this product mainly because it is easier to apply to layers than dust or liquid. "Slopping it all over" is probably accurate -- I try to spread it in maybe a 1" band around the cut.

Unlike @RichKid I never had problems with the cambium dying back or leaves dropping. The layers (while attached) looked just like the rest of the tree -- over the summer they got slightly ratty looking but not too bad. You can see in this pic fall color in October; the layer kept almost all of its leaves even after separation. However, despite getting seemingly good roots this layer did not wake up in the spring. You can see I didn't cut this one back after separation; the ones I took this year I cut back immediately.

I can report back in a few months as to how the layers I took this year did.
 

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Paulpash

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I've had success with sangu Kaku but at a lower success rate than any other Acer I've layered (which is quite considerable now I have so many cultivars in my maple grove) - 3rd one took. I just used the ring bark & sphagnum method, nothing special - no rooting hormone.
 

RichKid

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@ysrgrathe im also in Pa what town are you in? Maybe if your current batch wakes up this spring we could make a deal ;)!
 

ysrgrathe

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Wish I could help; I lived in Western PA for years but recently moved across the country!
 

ysrgrathe

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Repotted this layer -- 2 years in the small pot. It formed a great, dense feeder root system -- this is after removing maybe 30%. Hard to see in the photo but it formed a disk-shaped callus nearly 3" across -- could be an interesting nebari someday.
 

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