Subject: Air layering a really tall corn plant

From: [email-masked] (Kashmir761)
Date: 25 Mar 1995 23:35:38 -0500

Please help!  My corn plant (houseplant) is over eight feet tall and is
touching the ceiling, although the brown "trunk" is only about twelve
inches tall (the rest of the stem is green).  A friend suggested that I
use the "air layering" technique to reduce the heighth of the plant (while
propagating a "new" plant from the top of the old one).  I would like
information on how to air layer the plant without killing it altogether. 
Also, has anyone ever heard of a corn plant getting this tall??

Thanks, 

Sherry

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 27 Mar 95 19:04:04 -0600

> Also, has anyone ever heard of a corn plant getting this tall??

Air layering is easy.  Get a sharp paring knife, a good-sized wad of
long-strand sphagnum moss, some plastic film (saran wrap, handi-wrap or
equivalent), and a couple of matchsticks or a broken popsicle stick or
something similar.  You can also use some rooting hormone, if you like.
You'll also need twistems or something similar long enough to reach
securely around the stem.

Figure out where you want the new roots to form (usually just below the
lowest leaves).    Wet the sphagnum moss with hot water (pour hot water
on the moss in a bowl, and let it cool.  (You'll need a good lump of
sphagnum: something that will squeeze down to grapefruit size is about
right for most large airlayering projects.)

Divide the lump of sphagnum in two; squeeze the excess water out until it's
about as wet as a kitchen sponge you'd use to clean the counter (not
so wet it drips, but not wrung-out-completely).

Take a big breath, relax, and stab the stem all the way through, 
splitting it longitudinally.  |           |   
                              |    :   ___|   < node
                              |    :      |
                              |____:      |
                              |    :      |
                              |    : _____|
                              |    :      |
                              |    ^cut   |

The object is to pierce the stem through at least one, and preferably 2-3
nodes (roots tend to form there the easiest).

Leave the knife in place, and rotate the blade a little, to pry the
halves of the stem apart a bit.  Insert a couple of wooden matchsticks
or a piece of a popsickle stick, or something similar, then withdraw
the knife.  You should then have a stabbed stem with a couple of bits
of wood sticking out the slit.  If you want to use rooting hormone,
dust the slit with it (or paint the area if using liquid rooting hormone).

Take the two handsfull of sphagnum, and mash it around the slit, covering 
the area above and below the slit.  Wrap the plastic wrap around the 
stem and sphagnum, securing it above and below the ball of sphagnum with
the twistems.

Now comes the really hard part: waiting.  It may take several months
for the roots to form.  You'll need to open the plastic at the top
of the sphagnum ball and water it occasionally (sphagnum goes to a 
light brown when dry).  Don't let the sphagnum dry out completely.
Wait until you see a good root mass in the sphagnum ball.  If you have
no sign of roots in 2-3 months (yes, you can unwrap it and gently pull
the sphagnum back to peek), assume this air layer isn't going to 
take.   Undo the sphagnum ball, take out the matchsticks, and
let the stem heal back together; try another spot.

If you see a good mass of roots in the sphagnum, you're ready to 
repot your new (old) tree...  Get a good pair of clippers, and
sever the stem BELOW the sphagnum ball.  Unwrap the plastic wrap,
shake off any sphagnum that wants to come off easily, and pot it
in good potting soil in an appropriate size pot (not more than a
couple inches in diameter larger than the sphagnum ball).  Baby your
"new plant" for awhile, because chances are, it won't have enough
roots to support the top growth easily.  Mist it, stake it, move it
up in pot sizes as soon as the rootball looks even the least bit rootbound.

The left-over plant will probably form some new sprouts from the
tip of the old "stump".  These can be propagated by further
airlayering, or you can ditch the stump.

________________________________

A couple more tips:  If you've got a "bare-legged" plant with 
a long stem with no leaves, and just a few leaves on top,
make the main airlayer about 6" below the leaves.  You can
make further airlayers down the stem at about 12" intervals,
if you like... you can pot up the leafless, but rooted, stems
and they will probably sprout new leaves.

If you have managed to grow a tall plant that has leaves all
along the stem, you'll need to remove several leaves to do the
airlayering process.

Kay Klier   [email-masked]

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From: "Sean A. O'Hara" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 95 17:40:17 PDT

> From: [email-masked] (Kashmir761)
> Newsgroups: rec.gardens
> Subject: Air layering a really tall corn plant
> Date: 25 Mar 1995 23:35:38 -0500

Sherry -

Our good friend Waldo, here in the office, is a 'Corn Plant' (Draceana
fragrans).  Actually, I'm really talking about Waldo II, as Waldo I is
upstairs in a separate office.  Waldo I had the same problem that your
plant has.  You can 'air-layer', but this easily grown plant can be 
propogated using a simpler method:

Merely cut off the top section of the plant, with about 10inches more that
you'd like in your 'new' plant.  The 'old' plant will re-sprout from the
cut, sometimes with multiple stems (Waldo I only sprouted one, and is now
close to needing another 'beheading').  Pull off the lowest leaves on the
'extra' 10inches, and put this stem in water for a week or so (the container
needs to be good and heavy to keep this 'cutting' from falling over!).  Soon
roots will form and the stem can be planted as you would any houseplant.
(come to think of it, Waldo II might need a beheading soon if we can't
manage to move him off the file cabinet and onto the floor!).

As a sideline - someone in a neighboring office group had one of these in
his closed office.  It sprouted the most interesting branched clusters of
flower buds (in whorl-like balls, kind of like Ivy).  One day, he entered
his office to find it over-powered by strong perfume!  Draceana fragrans is
a good name for this plant!  Unfortunately, he is also an allergy sufferer,
and the fragrance and/or pollen was too much for him to take - he had to
cut them off and throw them away (sad).  Just thought I'd mention the pros
and cons of flowering one of these tough and dependable plants.
 
 H O R T U L U S   A P T U S  ('gardens', 'suited to their purpose')
 Sean A. O'Hara
 710 Jean Street, Oakland, CA  94610-1459        [email-masked]
 (510) 987-0577

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From: [email-masked] (Don Bonner)
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 1995 06:32:55 GMT

>Sherry 

This is a great way to propagate a number of your house plants that have got 
too big for the area they are in.

Your will need some plastic wrap, wet peat moss, sharp knife and a popsicle 
stick.

First take the SHARP knife and shove it completely through the centre of the 
stem where you want roots to start growing. (Usually just below a leaf or bud 
in the stem)  Then you shove the popsicle stick throught the cut and leave it 
in.  Then you wrap the cut with the wet peat moss and then wrap the peat moss 
with the plastic wrap and secure it at both ends with string or twist ties.  
You can use a root hormone #2 if you want but it's not really necessary.  Then 
wait until you see roots growing in the peat and then cut off the stem BELOW :)
the roots ball and plant it in a pot.  Larger stems need larger root balls and 
lots of roots.

Good Luck
*****************************************************************************
>From each according to their abilities.
To each according to their needs.
                                          [email-masked]
*****************************************************************************

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 30 Mar 95 07:08:07 -0600

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Matt Heffron) writes:
> In <[email-masked]> [email-masked] writes:
> [clear, straightforward advice on air layering!]
> 
> This brings to mind the question:
>   What kinds of plants can be air-layered successfully?
> Clearly, it is only practical for perenials, but, other than that,
> are there any rules about what kinds of plants can be propagated this
> way?

Actually, you can air-layer annuals too... which is how I teach the
method (I teach a plant taxonomy course and an economic botany course,
both primarily populated by students intending to be high school 
biology teachers or natural history interpreters.  So when I've got
a few spare minutes in an otherwise fairly dead lab period, I'll give
5 minute lessons on horticultural techniques, and the botany behind
them.  The students like it, even if (strictly speaking) it isn't
plant taxonomy.)

As far as "rules":  No, I'm not aware of any "how to tell whether it
will work by looking at the plant" rules.  If the plant is a rosette
former, like  a dandelion, the internodes are so close together
that there's no point in trying....  If the apical meristem (the
growing point) is very low in the stem (like a young corn (Zea mays,
not Dracaena) plant), likewise, there's not a whole lot of reason,
and not a whole lot of chance of success.

Really woody plants, like dicot trees, can be airlayered if you think
about the type of twig that is chosen for cuttings: generally this
year's wood, or last year's, but not older than that.

Some plants are just plain stubborn about forming adventitious roots.
Some plants will form the roots, but the cuttings behave strangely
(for instance, a leader from a norfolk island pine (Araucaria) will
continue to grow UP once you've severed it from the parent plant,
while a side branch will continue to grow laterally.

I'll try to airlayer just about any plant that comes my way, particularly
if I've made some cuttings and the cuttings have failed to root.  If
the airlayer fails, I've lost nothing but some time, and haven't
harmed the parent plant.  

My basic advice is then, try it!  Write down what works and what
doesn't.  Try it on enough species, and you can then write the
definitive book on airlayering and become Rich and Famous. (Well,
considering this is horticulture, famous.  You'll probably only
be Rich in horticulture if you change your name...  ;-) )

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From: [email-masked] (Richard Campbell)
Date: 30 Mar 1995 16:21:58 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] writes:
|> In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Matt Heffron) writes:
|> > In <[email-masked]> [email-masked] writes:
|> > [clear, straightforward advice on air layering!]

|> [snipped more on air layering]  
|> 
|> My basic advice is then, try it!  Write down what works and what
|> doesn't.  Try it on enough species, and you can then write the
|> definitive book on airlayering and become Rich and Famous. (Well,
|> considering this is horticulture, famous.  You'll probably only
|> be Rich in horticulture if you change your name...  ;-) )

   That's me!  ;^)

   You knew this was coming didn't you?

-- 
Rich Campbell
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Matt Heffron)
Date: 29 Mar 1995 13:37:19 -0800

This brings to mind the question:
  What kinds of plants can be air-layered successfully?
Clearly, it is only practical for perenials, but, other than that,
are there any rules about what kinds of plants can be propagated this
way?
-- 
Matt Heffron           [email-masked]
Beckman Instruments, Inc.         voice: (714) 961-3128
2500 N. Harbor Blvd. MS X-10, Fullerton, CA 92634-3100
I don't speak for Beckman Instruments (or CRFG) unless they say so.

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 30 Mar 95 07:08:07 -0600

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From: [email-masked] (Richard Campbell)
Date: 30 Mar 1995 16:21:58 GMT

That's me!  ;^)

-- 
Rich Campbell
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Matt Heffron)
Date: 29 Mar 1995 13:37:19 -0800