well, I guess I can leave it in good morning sun until our southern maryland frost comes (october 1st?) then chop it off below the girdle. I only didnt girdle it because I vaguely remember hearing it is a member of the aralia family and as a result sheffleras dont have a true stem (maybee more like a dracenea or palm tree) and that girdling wouldnt work with these kind of species. But im not real sure. Do you think I should cut back some leaves, give it more light, girdle it, then give it till before first frost and chop it down at that point no matter what it has on it? or do you think it could continue rooting in the moss If I move it indoors. (remove leaves is a good idea to decrease evaporation?, or try a clear bag instead?) thanks

You can do multiple air layers on one tree, but dont do too many. The amount you can do really depends on the size of the tree. Maybe a 6 ft tree, you probably could get away with 3 or 4. If the tree is smaller than that, i would only do one or two tops.

That is a tragic story, indeed! I have done this very procedure many times, so have courage. You can go about this two primary ways: the first is simply to repot the entire tree; the second is to cut off the healthy top and root it, and also repot and hope the trunk and rootmass survive. I think it is imperative that you use a free-draining potting mix. I use bark, perlite, lava rock, and just a little potting mix as a binder/moisture retentive ingredient. And when I say "a little potting mix," I mean less than 10% of the overall mix. If you can't mix your own, I recommend a fine-grade Orchid Mix, to which you will probably add some coarse Perlite. Repot keeping the roots moist at all times, thoroughly water and saturate the new mix when done, and place the tree in outdoor shade if available - no direct sun. Keep the mix uniformly moist with light waterings for at least a week after repotting. You can either repot the tree first, and the cut the top off....or you can cut the top off and repot the tree all at once. It's a bit of a gamble, as I don't know the vitality of the tree, but I have confidence from repeated experience that the top will root (if it is healthy as you describe). I place the cut top in a vase/jar of water, and I wait for white root primordia to appear. As soon as they appear, I transfer the cutting into a container of the same moist, free-draining mix, and I keep it moist while the cutting continues to root. I use #1 nursery containers.

I recently ordered a couple trees from Peaceful Valley because they had they had the varieties I wanted on Citation. One tradeoff for their lack of cold storage is their cheap price of $20 per tree. I figure it is worth the experiment. I plan to pot them in a well drained tub and keep them in a cold storage shed until it is time to plant. I figure I can keep them better hydrated in potting soil. I prefer prepping the ground in autumn when the ground is solid. Usually the clay is way too soggy in the spring to work with. I remove sod in 6' circle and dig the soil so it is heaped around the rim of the hole. Depending on where it is, I will dig a small drainage channel to make sure it doesn't hold water. In general, I would say it is fine to plant them as soon as the danger of deep freezes are over. The seasonal low is usually in mid January, so some time after that depending on your location. In an El Nino year, however, the winter low could be in February or March. Obviously unpredictable El Nino weather is the biggest risk to any plan.