I¹m wondering if you can shed a little light on a problem I¹m having.

This summer, I attempted my first ever airlayer on a A. palmatum
³Shindeshojo² I purchased from Mountain Maples in 1999. I should mention
that the parent plant has done well in the heat of Houston over the past six
seasons, although it is a bit of a slow grower. Yes, maples WILL grow in
Houston!

Anyway, I attempted my first airlayer, assuming that it would be difficult
to airlayer a A. palmatum. To a degree, I was quite wrong. The layer was
attempted in an open container wired in position, and in a medium of
straight sphagnum moss that stayed quite wet (even soggy) all summer. I
severed it two weeks ago, and the container was filled with a nice mass of
hearty white roots all around the wound.

However, in the last few days since repotting two weeks ago, I fear it has
failed. While the branches are still green, the trunk, beginning below the
soil level and a little above, is turning black * first around branch
junctions and then radiating all around the trunk. I looked at the roots
tonight * not good, brown and soggy. Actually, I¹ve been failing at
repotting recently with a number of species, including pines, and I don¹t
know why (ever since we moved to our new house...hmmm....)

Anyway, if I give you some details, I hope you can guide me:

I repotted the severed layer in mix that was 2 parts screened fir bark (1/4
to 3/8 inch), 2 parts screened and washed crushed lava (about 1/4 inch), a
dash of vermiculite, and a small fistful of ground peat moss. I also added
a spoonful of time release fertilizer pellets. I potted in a 5-inch (1/2
gallon?) black plastic nursery pot * 4 inch just seemed to small for the
root mass that had developed. I tried to remove as much of the original
peat as I could, but a core that was tough to remove was left around the
trunk as I didn¹t want to damage the tender white roots. The water drained
through this mix very quickly. As the temps have consistently been in the
80s, I watered every 2-3 days.

I did NOT use Phyton (systematic fungicide recommended by Mountain Maples),
which I own, but.... It was set out in partial sun, similar to what it had
before the layer. I did not use any rooting fertilizer.

The trunk of the layer was about 1.5 inches caliper, and in full leaf (in
September, just as the new roots really took off, it sent out a new flush of
foliage).

I expect this is root rot, but it seemed that the mix was quite quick
draining so I¹m not sure how this is happening. I¹ve lost other potted
maples to this in the past, but when I¹ve planted in the ground, EVERY maple
(and pine and elm) has survived and even thrived.

So, something about my potting technique/culture is suspect, even though
early in my potting experience I was quite successful. See anything I¹ve
done wrong? Please be kind - I beat myself up about it enough as it is.

Thanks for your time and input,
Blake in Houston

Blake Wilkins wrote:

Hi
I have done 3 air layeringss on maple and on
deshojo as well and all are ok
I took a real time of 3 months and when
looked ready I left one more week 10 days more
before separationg from mother!

the moss with new roots is very delicate and
MUST not be romoved
you need to put the new plant in a deep pot
with a good drainage and a a good granulation of
soil and keep it ia half shade and humid

and forget about until you'll see that have
start showing evident new growth on top of twigs !

starting from this moment you CAN start giving
mild fertilizer and leave the plant a make a
proper root system during at least one more or
2 years
than you can start training


Theo

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