Are your houseplants bumping up against your ceiling?
Or maybe you want to make more plants without spending a lot of money.
Air layering is the way to go.
Credit: Scott Little
Instead of tossing your favoriteficusorphilodendron, you’ve got the option to air layer it.
Air layering lets a new set of roots grow higher on a stem or branch.
Once established, you might cut off the stem below them and pot up the newly shortened plant.
Credit: Scott Little
Air layering is also a quick and easy way to make more plants.
Heres what you gotta know to air layer your houseplants successfully.
Many plants simply cant bepropagated by leaf cuttings.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Air layering creates an identical copy, or clone.
A moistened growing medium is then placed over the cut so new roots can develop.
While theyre growing, the parent plant keeps growing, too.
When Is the Best Time for Air Layering?
Your potted indoor plants need a little help.
Spring or mid-summer is the best time of year to air layer your houseplants.
Use stems that grew the previous year if propagating with this method in the spring.
If you propagate in the summer,use the current years stems.
Remove any leaves from that spot.
Cut one-third to two-thirds of the way through the stem or branch, but not all the way through.
Use a toothpick to hold the cut open and sprinkle or brush powdered rooting hormone over it.
Use twine or floral ties to hold everything in place.
Once a week, check the moss.
If drying out, moisten it with water from a spray bottle.
Wait until you might see them and theyre a couple of inches long before you remove the plastic.
Dont remove the moss until youreready to pot up your shortened plant.
Itll help protect the young roots.
Instead of slicing into a stem or branch, youll need to peel off a ring of bark.
Its best to do this in the spring and summer when the plant is actively growing.
Start by measuring the diameter of the branch or stem you want to propagate.
Then make two parallel cuts 12 to 24 inches from the tip of the branch.
The distance between the parallel cuts should equal 1 12 to 2 times the diameter of the branch.
Remove all the bark between the cuts.
This leaves a ring around the branch without any bark on it.
If it doesnt, scrape it off with your knife.
Then brush powdered rooting hormone over the scraped area.
