Rhododendron (Rhododendron Varieties)

19/02/19 - Project Update - earlier in January we started to prepare a few plants at college for propagation via air layering. This is an alternative method of propagation where you prepare a plant in such a way to encourage it to form roots on a branch while still attached to the mother plant, and is often done above ground (hence the name air layering)

The stem is wounded in order to cause some damage to the area - either by removing some of the outer bark layer, twisting it or partially cutting through it, and then by wrapping the area with waterproof film such as this bubble wrap, and filling it with moist sphagnum moss, you can encourage it to grow roots. When sufficient roots have formed, it is then possible to cut off the branch and pot up on its own as a new plant 😄

This is a rhododendron and this technique can be done whilst it’s still growing in the garden and providing its waterproof to keep existing moisture in, but not let new water in, roots can form anywhere between 6-12 months (depending on your climate) - maybe even a bit longer. It will be a clone of the mother plant. You can use this technique on some house plants too like Ficus. Will check on these later in the year 👍🏼

Wow! 🤓

#propagation #propagation-airlayering #airlayering #rhododendron-airlayering #rhododendron-propagation #propagation-rhododendron

They're vulnerable species in India

Very interesting. I've heard of this

Interesting 🤔🤔

I saw this on Gardener's World. There was a gardener in Barbados and he was saying over there it takes about 4 weeks 😁😂

I was talking to a guy who does that and he said his worked too. I’ve always been scared to try. He cuts the slit where there’s a v shaped between two young branches so he sets the cutting in the slit and taking a cloth pin to squeeze the two young’s then wraps it. Hope u understood that. So u guys just cut a slit and wrap/moisten it???? That’s a lot easier then putting a cutting in the cut🤗🤗 so how you cut it off?? I’m going to try we had ours in greenhouse at school but I didn’t c end projec

Another experiment I must try! 👍

You will put plant growers out of business 🤣 when you have finished you course Richard what are you going to do?