20. Air Layering / Marcotting

Many types of plants and fruit we see in the supermarket are actually not grown from seed. For example, most commercially available apples, like Grannie Smith and Fuji,  are either grafted or layered. If grown from seed, there is no guarantee they will be as tasty as the source tree. In order to preserve that distinctive and uniform quality from one plant (or fruit) to another, horticulturalists use grafting and layering techniques the Chinese discovered centuries ago.

This post is about the air layering (or marcotting) technique.

The technique involves wounding a stem or branch of a plant by removing a small segment of bark and wrapping the wounded area with a moist medium and then covering it with plastic. In a few weeks or months, the wounded area will grow roots and the branch can be cut and put into the ground to grow.

Here's a pictorial account of the technique:

Pi Jo selects a Mulberry Tree to air layer

Cut the bark around a small segment of a branch

Ensure all the bark is removed

Looks about right

Ready for the next step

Cutting up some plastic to cover the wound

Put a moist medium into plastic. It can be anything. In this case,
wet coconut husks.

Wrapping wounded branch with the medium and plastic

Close-up showing wounded area covered all the way around

Tie up the ends of the plastic to ensure it stays moist

Tie both ends securely 

The air layering is complete!

In a few weeks roots should start to form inside the plastic. 

Some things to be aware of when air layering: 

•  the roots won't grow as strong or fan out as broadly as other growing techniques, so the plant needs to be supported
• the plant will not grow as tall as from seed
• the life of the air layered plant will be as long as the lifespan of the original plant. In other words, if the original plant is five years old and has a lifespan of ten years, the air layered root is also five years old and will only live another five years

I'll report back on the progress of this air layered Mulberry in a future post.