I disagree slightly with Carl. The cambium layer on Maples is not green, it
is the pale yellowish to colourless single cell thick layer attached to the
heartwood, under the bark. Once that ring of bark has been peeled neatly off
you need to scrape the heartwood with a blade at right angles until no more
slippery stuff comes off and the wood fibres start lifting. It is only a
small detail but can mean all the difference between the layer callusing
over and failing to root.

The thickness of bark that has to be removed depends on the tree. Some
species, like maples, have a very thin "rind" rather than thick bark. A
cork oak will often have bark thicker than the heartwood. The cambium layer
beneath is always roughly the same though and a quick scrape clears it away.

Hope that clarifies things.

Cheers

Kev Bailey
N Wales, UK

Hi Blake:
If you have cut past the cambium layer, and there is no sign of green, your
cut should be fine. Just make sure that the top cut is clean and sharp,
since that is where the roots will apear. Also make sure that the widt of
the cut is at least one and a half times the trunk diameter.

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