Air Layering With Sand Experiment

[Charlie Ficus Empiricus Find all posts View Profile Close Charlie]

Started this experiment on 11/14/15 with a Valley Black. It was slower than other air layers I've done but works. Both were watered with a sprayer twice daily as I watered everything else.

Re-potted one of them just a few minutes ago. Once getting started, taking pics was not a priority since I was in unknown territory. It had good roots and is now with a temporary bamboo splint to help it straighten up. maybe on the next one I can take more of the process since I'll be more comfortable with what to do.

Pretty much, it was cut from the mother, lower leaves trimmed, sand washed gently out of cup with sink sprayer and set right into a grow bag with a hole in the sand and then sand gently washed in around the roots with the sprayer.

The next to last photo of the root in side of cup was taken on 12/13/15.

[pppldj Veteran Find all posts View Profile Close pppldj]

Looks great Charlie. Gotta love using sand.

[COGardener Fig Phenom Find all posts View Profile Close COGardener]

That is fantastic Charlie! Most people would have let the side growth either go or just pruned it off.

As always, you are an inspiration.

[lifigs Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close lifigs]

Charlie you caught my interest on this one. I am going to give it a shoot. I ordered a 10 pack of 2 gallon grow bags from Home Depot (shipped free to store). Hope to stop by the local masonry supply this weekend to ask about coarse sand. Did you wound the side shoots for the air layer experiment?

[Charlie]

Hey Bill, no there was no wounding. You might also find it as filter sand. The sand plant calls it 10-20.

[COGardener Fig Phenom Find all posts View Profile Close COGardener]

Bill, masons use primarily fine sand, you may have better luck at a landscaping sand and gravel place.

[lifigs Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close lifigs]

Thanks for the tip.

[COGardener]

No worries.

[don_sanders Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close don_sanders]

You know, I think I've had my best success when I was rooting in a cup of sand inside a plastic bag when I first started. It was back in the beginning and I didn't really pay much attention; just fill the cup with the sand and cutting, water, seal in the plastic bag, and wait.

You don't read about it much in the forums but I may have to try sand again.

[Charlie Ficus Empiricus Find all posts View Profile Close Charlie]

The article that initially inspired my work with sand is http://www.gardeningoncloud9.com/201...g-propagation/

I tested the wicking ability of it for the sand grow bags by putting some in a clear solo cup that had holes poked in the bottom and setting it into a plate of water. In a few days it had wicked up to four inches so that is the depth of the sand in the grow bags. It just seemed a good thing to try since sand is working well on the other projects. Once a cutting is put in and watered to settle the sand around it and put into a tray of water, it never dries out except right at the surface.

For the air layering, since it has no tray of water and dries out rather quickly, they were sprayed twice daily.

[Charlie Ficus Empiricus Find all posts View Profile Close Charlie]

Sand air layer experiment is over. Got the other one moved and it just ran into another media experiment since I was mostly out of sand. Mixed some stuff together to do the up potting.

This one had a bit more and better roots than the first. Washing the sand away with the sink sprayer over a bucket in the sink works like a charm. Even the tiny hair roots remain.

[Harborseal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Harborseal]

Charlie, would you post a photo of your sand with a tape measure or ruler with 1 mm ot 1/32nd inch markings? Thanks.

[Charlie Ficus Empiricus Find all posts View Profile Close Charlie]

[Harborseal]

Now that's what I was imagining. Thanks.

[Charlie]

You're welcome Bob.