One of the few cases where good 'ole Al and I can agree, to get a decent Bonsai, in your life time, it's gotta go back in the ground for a while. It will take forever to develope the tree in a pot. You can do everything else to it in the ground as far as styling; pruning, wiring, everything...you just can't take it with you. You have a straight trunk and about the only choices are a formal upright or a 'short' cut for a clump. I'd suggest cutting it back to about 5 or 6 feet and taking possession then take your time looking and deciding what to do from there. The root ball doesn't have to be that big either. I've swapped-out quite a few landscape trees in the past in North America. If you dig it with a nice compact 24 to 30" root ball there shouldn't be a problem...why?...it was planted as a nursery plant (out of a container) and it will have a more established root mass than a tree grown from seed in the ground. Then, after you've got it about ready to put in a large Bonsai pot (after a number of years) and it's been 'undercut' about every second year to insure a good well developed root system, it will be easy to lift and pot. I will suggest looking around and getting ideas from some Bonsai people who have worked at giving a tree with no taper one that looks decent. It's also a matter of 'hiding' what you had to do to make it look good in the end. Not hard but it takes time. Bob

I cut a small layer on a branch at the top of the tree. I was planning on taking a lot of small layers this year and chopping the trunk next season. It sounds like you are talking about taking one layer right above the intended chop, Brent. Am I right? How big of a layer could I concievably take? Could I take several layers on the main trunk? Will smaller layers have a better chance? I have read a little about it but have never actully done it, so any advice would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks Turtle

@Cassie (8b Southern AZ, high desert) Hi Al, do you normally use the ring or the tourniquet method when you air layer your ficus plants? Or do you do a combination of both (you mentioned using a tourniquet and blanching part of the stem/branch?)? It would depend on the Ficus species. For most Ficus, I propagate by cuttings, because I've found that under mist or in a humidity chamber, you can start some really thick cuttings of many ficus species (3"+). This image of F salicifolia was a cutting started from the top of a much larger tree. Same tree as above - first pruning after rooting ^^^. Ficus microcarpa cutting ^^^ in process of rooting - note new buds opening. Removing the tops of trees in training is sort of a way to create an almost instant bonsai. Once the tree is fully rooted. a little wiring to reposition branches will turn it into a 'believable' tree, resembling something one might see in nature. If we take the misting and high humidity out of the equation, I prefer ringing the plant; however, even when I use the ring method, I often use a tourniquet immediately below the top of the ring. While I'm thinking of it, the rule of thumb for the ht of the ring is, it should be at least 1/5x the diameter of the branch/ trunk being layered. Also, when you peal the bark back on many species of trees, a very thin layer of vascular cambium usually remains attached to the sapwood beneath it. It is crucial to remove that white/tan layer of tissue as part of the layering process. I'm guessing my reason for layering is probably going to differ from yours. Most plants I layer is because they are seedlings, and as such have a very ugly root system. Strong roots that radiate horizontally away from the trunk and a trunk flare at the base of the tree eventually become a critical consideration for almost every bonsai enthusiast who has practiced bonsai for more than a decade. Eventually, we develop the idea that everything we do should focus on bringing out the tree's best potential, even if we are not the owner who sees it realized. Often, that will result in trees in training for 20 years before they even see a bonsai pot. I couldn't even guess at the number of times I've been a part of brain-storming over a tree, my own or someone else's, and making radical changes that turn a tree which is an acceptable specimen in its own right, back into a bonsai in training for the sole reason a better way to bring out the tree's potential was discovered. The image below is a Trident maple which was air-layered off of it's original set of roots which were way to ugly for my purposes. I used only the ring method for this tree (wire still attached if you look closely). Notice how the roots are almost perfectly spaced (some incongruity adds to the appeal of living plants) and radiating away from the trunk. That is what I was after. The tree below is a Korean hornbeam, and 3-image sequence below shows first what a tree's seedling roots usually look like. Many growers work hard at trying to get these roots straightened around, but I have learned better results cam be had in far less time and with less effort, bu layering the plant off of its old roots. This is one way of using the tourniquet method (below), which takes much longer than ringing/ girdling or a combination of a tourniquet and ringing/ girdling. With a tourniquet, as the diameter of the trunk increases the vascular cambium is compressed as the tourniquet tightens. This 'chokes off' downward movement of photosynthate (the plant's food) and auxin, the hormone that stimulates root development and branching. With food and a surplus of the tree's natural rooting hormone accumulating immediately above the tourniquet, you can be quite certain of a plethora of roots emerging within a short vertical space. With an understanding of the tree's wounding response, I deduced that drilling holes with a 3/16 brad-point drill turned with my fingers and filled with a insoluble rooting gel should help coax the tree into producing an exceptional root base. The roots in the first image (of the trident maple) are the result of this method. Ring + tourniquet method ^^^ BTW - I no longer use zip ties as a tourniquet as they sometimes fail/ break - especially on thick layers on branches/ trunks larger than 1". I use 2-3 wraps of aluminum bonsai wire in size 2-3mm with the ends twisted tight with pliers. The wraps should touch each other, which forces all rooting to occur above the layer. What type of soil do you use when you air layer, since you don't use sphagnum moss? I'm assuming this is one of the few times you want something moisture retentive - do you use a regular potting soil? Peat moss? Seed starting mix? I usually use gritty mix for just about everything I use a pot to layer. Below, there are 2 things going on. I had just finished establishing an air layer on the hornbeam in the background and I was working on pruning 2 China dolls and 2 asparagus ferns. I was layering the hornbeam because the trunk was much too long/ tall given the thickness of the trunk, so the best way to shorten the trunk was to layer it off of it's old roots and start a new root system higher up. The top of the ring cut is at approximately the ht of the duct tape holding the pot together. Below, is a hackberry tree being layered. You can see the gritty mix in the pot This is the same hackberry, same summer, after being separated from the mother plant. In case you noticed, it's planted deep on purpose. I will let it grow wild (almost completely unpruned) and begin work on it in spring of '24. And last question (for now!), what time of year do you typically start your air layering? Spring. I like to have them separated by the end of July. Do you try to time it to plant the new plant in June, or is some other time preferable? If we're still talking about Ficus, spring will always be the best time. If I was layering, I would start the layer on Ficus just before or when I move them outdoors. They really start to want to grow then, so we might as well take advantage of the tree's natural inclinations. I'm wondering if it's better to start the process in June, since you're effectively pruning the parent plant, which would put separating the new plant sometime in August? Geography plays an important role in deciding what the best timing is. I bet you would be fine starting your layers in early May, especially if your plants are outdoors. Then, you should have no problem separating in July-August. Thanks in advance! (And I suppose apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but made more sense in my mind than starting a fresh one and linking back here). No worries. Things are slow on the forum and my wife is recovering from some recent surgery, so I have to be home and indoors for a few more days, it looks like. I'm glad for the opportunity to kill some of the time it always seems so important to save. ;-) Al

Hi, I have three air layers (branch calipers between 3/8 and 3/4") started in April on a large Sango Kaku Japanese Maple in my yard. The top sections above the layering point on all three are doing well with lots of new growth. I used the split pot method with bonsai soil, so I can't see the root development but I'm pretty sure it's moving along also. I want to leave the connection as long as possible, but I need to separate the layers before the Winter because I'm moving. Does anyone know whether it would be better to separate in late August before leaf drop or after the leaves fall. I plan on leaving them in the pots they rooted in, in a cold(35o) house until spring, how should I treat the cut end? Wound sealant? Maybe partially bury the whole small pot in a larger pot with fast draining soil and allow the cut end access to moisture? Any help is appreciated Thanks, Steve