want to try to get some roots by that method of making a cut in the stem and
packing it with spagnum moss and wrapping in a polythene bag and keeping
moist until roots appear.

is there anything else i should specifically know about this technique?

also does anyone know where i can buy spagnum moss for this in north London
(u.k.) please?

"jw 1111" wrote in a message:
I want to try to get some roots by that method of making a cut in the stem
and packing it with spagnum moss and wrapping in a polythene bag and
keeping moist until roots appear.
is there anything else i should specifically know about this technique?
also does anyone know where i can buy spagnum moss for this in north
London (u.k.) please?
--------
Although sphagnum moss is recommended for air layering, you don't need to
use it. I have had great success using ordinary garden moss mixed with a
moistened multi purpose compost. I always dust the cut in the stem with
hormone rooting powder before packing the moss around the stem. For me,
air layering has worked very well with leggy Rubber plants: F. elastica.
There is no need to throw the old plant away, as it will send out new growth
from under the cut. If you intend propagating from a Rubber plant, once you
have cut the stem, it will bleed sap. To staunch it, use powdered charcoal.

MCT

"jw 1111" wrote in message
...
want to try to get some roots by that method of making a cut in the stem
and packing it with spagnum moss and wrapping in a polythene bag and
keeping moist until roots appear.

is there anything else i should specifically know about this technique?

also does anyone know where i can buy spagnum moss for this in north
London (u.k.) please?

You should be able to get dried moss from the garden centre
OR
You could use something else...........
-coconut fibre (from garden centres
-http://www.supamoss.co.uk/index.htm
-I reckon chopped up newspaper or something similar might work too?

It usually takes a while for roots to form, so be patient.
You need to keep the packing material moist.

Jenny

jw 1111 writes
want to try to get some roots by that method of making a cut in the stem and
packing it with spagnum moss and wrapping in a polythene bag and keeping
moist until roots appear.

is there anything else i should specifically know about this technique?

also does anyone know where i can buy spagnum moss for this in north London
(u.k.) please?

I've had success with air layering fig trees using peat-free compost. I
think the important thing is that it must be something that retains
water very well.

Cling film is easier to use than a plastic bag.


--
Kay

In article ,
"MikeCT" writes:
|
| Although sphagnum moss is recommended for air layering, you don't need to
| use it. I have had great success using ordinary garden moss mixed with a
| moistened multi purpose compost. ...

My understanding is that "ordinary garden moss" IS sphagnum moss! It
may not be as luxuriant as that which I am going to be squidging through
this weekend and next week (Rannoch), but it is a sphagnum moss
nonetheless.

So you merely need find a suitable boggy 'lawn' and pick some up with
your fingers.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

K wrote:
jw 1111 writes
want to try to get some roots by that method of making a cut in the stem and
packing it with spagnum moss and wrapping in a polythene bag and keeping
moist until roots appear.

is there anything else i should specifically know about this technique?

also does anyone know where i can buy spagnum moss for this in north London
(u.k.) please?

I've had success with air layering fig trees using peat-free compost. I
think the important thing is that it must be something that retains
water very well.

Cling film is easier to use than a plastic bag.

Not sure what the OP wants to prop, but air layering seems too much
hassle to a lazy man like me: simple cuttings are easy enough,
especially if it's a ficus elastica.

--
MIke.

In article ,
K writes:
|
| My understanding is that "ordinary garden moss" IS sphagnum moss! It
| may not be as luxuriant as that which I am going to be squidging through
| this weekend and next week (Rannoch), but it is a sphagnum moss
| nonetheless.

Dunno. I have been on the look out for a suitable book on British
non-vascular plants for some years, but they all tend to be trivial
(glossy and information-challenged) or learned (big and expensive).


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren writes

In article ,
K writes:
|
| My understanding is that "ordinary garden moss" IS sphagnum moss! It
| may not be as luxuriant as that which I am going to be squidging through
| this weekend and next week (Rannoch), but it is a sphagnum moss
| nonetheless.

Dunno. I have been on the look out for a suitable book on British
non-vascular plants for some years, but they all tend to be trivial
(glossy and information-challenged) or learned (big and expensive).

I had a quick look through the Roger Phillips book (glossy and
information challenged, though better than most), and none of the 8
species of Sphagnum illustrated had any indication that they might be
found in lawns.

(To my untutored eye, there were an awful lot of mosses which looked
like Sphagnum but weren't, but I haven't a clue about how the taxonomy
of mosses works)
--
Kay

In article ,
K writes:
|
| I had a quick look through the Roger Phillips book (glossy and
| information challenged, though better than most), and none of the 8
| species of Sphagnum illustrated had any indication that they might be
| found in lawns.

I stand corrected, and a quick check confirms that. Apparently the one
that I thought was a sphagnum is Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, and it is
not closely related. Anyway, from a gardening viewpoint, it can be used
interchangeably!

| (To my untutored eye, there were an awful lot of mosses which looked
| like Sphagnum but weren't, but I haven't a clue about how the taxonomy
| of mosses works)

I have a clue, somewhere, but can't find it just now :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in a message:

I stand corrected, and a quick check confirms that. Apparently the one
that I thought was a sphagnum is Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, and it is
not closely related. Anyway, from a gardening viewpoint, it can be used
interchangeably!
---
I'm glad that's been cleared up! The moss I have growing in my garden IS
very similar to sphagnum but on a much smaller scale, it works for air
layering and covering the surface of the compost of all my potted up
carnivorous plants.

MCT