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1. Completely remove a ring of bark and cambium layer from a section of the branch to be rooted (The cambium is the thin layer of greenish tissue between the bark and the wood). This ring should be about 1 and a half times as wide as the diameter of the branch. Spread over the cut a sma11 quantity of any of the commercial hormone rooting powders now on the market. The trunk of the 1imb to be layered may be from one-fourth inch to two inches in diameter.

2. Thoroughly wet a ball of sphagnum moss, dirt or other rooting medium and place it so that it covers the cut evenly. For your first attempts you may find moss, if available, or a mixture of moss and dirt somewhat easier to handle than dirt alone. There should be enough medium to provide adequate room for the new roots to grow. For small plants the ball should be nearly two inches in diameter.

The steps shown above have been the custom for centuries. However, instead of using string as a wrapper and frequently watering the plant, .a new method of wrapping around the ball flexible synthetic plastics which hold the moisture but permit the passage of respiratory gasses is claimed by the application for patent to obviate the necessity for re-watering the plant. Thus saving much labor and effort, and avoiding the loss of plants by failure to water them. The wrapping material is being marketed under the registered trademark “Airwrap”.

The “Airwrap” process is the same as described above except that instead of wrapping the rooting medium with string, the Plastic material is used as follows.