Plant propagation by layering
Sharing the experience of home flower cultivation, the method of plant propagation by layering. Let's learn about it together below.
Plant propagation by layering involves burying or wrapping the branches of the plant in the soil, utilizing the nutrients from the mother plant to sprout new roots, and then separating from the mother plant to be planted as a new plant. The characteristic is that it promotes root growth without detaching from the mother plant, has a high survival rate, and is easy to shape; however, the operation is troublesome, the繁殖 quantity is small, and it is mostly suitable for home flower cultivation. Layering propagation is generally divided into common layering, horizontal layering, earth-layering, and aerial layering methods, which can be operated according to different types of flowering plants.
Common layering is suitable for丛生 (clumping) flowering plants, such as wintersweet, forsythia, gardenia, and jasmine. Select 1-2-year-old branches near the ground, first scar the area below the node close to the ground with a knife or perform a ring girdling; then dig a trench along the root zone or pot edge, 10-15 centimeters deep, bend the branch down into the soil, secure it with a U-shaped wire to prevent it from bouncing back; then cover the soil, leaving the top of the branch exposed, tie the main branch to prevent it from breaking. This method is usually done in early spring or late autumn, with layering in spring and separation in autumn; or layering in autumn and planting in the following spring.
Horizontal layering is suitable for long and vine-like flowering plants, such as chrysanthemum, climbing roses, English ivy, and Chinese trumpet creeper. Bend the stems to lie flat on the soil surface or in shallow trenches, cover with soil, and cut off after the roots have formed. This method can also scar the area below each node to obtain multiple seedlings at once.
Earth-layering is suitable for flowering plants with many buds, clumping nature, and branches that are not easily bent, such as forsythia, wolfberry, goldfinch, hydrangea, June snow, Chinese flowering crabapple, andChinese abelia. Before layering, first scar the bark at the base of the branch, then heap soil 30-40 centimeters high and keep the soil moist. After the roots have formed, dig open the heaped soil, separate from the mother plant, and use it for planting to become a new plant.
Aerial layering is suitable for flowering plants that do not produce suckers at the base, are not easy to propagate by cutting, and have branches that are not easily bent, such as roses, osmanthus, michelia, white magnolia, yulan magnolia, segment leafwood, schefflera, dracaena, and rubber tree. Aerial layering is usually done at the end of spring and beginning of summer, generally selecting 2-year-old healthy branches. First perform a ring girdling or scoring at the node of the branch, reaching the bark layer. After treating with a rooting hormone, wrap the lower part of the cut with plastic film, then turn it up and fill it with moist moss, peat, or fine sand. Seal the top, leaving a small gap to replenish water and collect rainwater. Keep the matrix moist, neither losing water in the middle nor getting too wet. After a few months of care, the roots will be rich in autumn, and after the autumn or the following spring, separate from the mother plant and plant in a pot or in the open ground. After 1-2 years of care, they can bloom and be admired.
The above is a brief introduction to the method of plant propagation by layering, hoping to bring a little help to your life!