Air-Layering Technique with Plain Water - Part 2

(This is the continuation from Part 1)

With the bottle now covered and secured, water and fertilize the plant as usual. Occasionally check the inside for water. Fill it up if the water level falls below 1 inch. Water loss may occur due to evaporation or spill-out when the plant branch is disturbed.

Wait until the roots will form.

Procedure Once the Roots Emerge

18. After 30 days, remove the foil cover of the bottle to peer on the inside of the plastic bottle. If the water in the bottle isn't to cloudy, you could actually notice some of the roots.
    
    
    
    
    

Air-Layering Technique with Plain Water

It was almost incredible to learn that some gardeners have professed to being able to propagate plants with just plain water. By this, I don't refer to dipping cuttings into a jar of water and then wait for some nubs to form which, hopefully, grow into roots.

That kind of propagation works, but seemingly to just a few kinds of plants - and sometimes, the mortality of seedlings is high.

Tip to Pre-Label Marcots or Air-Layers

In the first part of this two-part series, I discussed a technique to identify marcots for pre-labeling them in a multi-plant garden pot. The purpose is to easily identify the marcots without relying on flowers' color come harvest time. That's because there may be no flowers when the marcots have rooted. By identifying marcots and then pre-labeling them, removes the confusion of identification in a multi-plant garden pot.

But there's more. Say you have several different bougainvilleas planted to different pots. Then you managed to cut or harvest many marcots from these different pots and then put them in a big pile or a tray of water. How will you identify the marcots when you'll be potting them? This is especially if they have no flowers, and the leaves look very similar. How will you know which bougainvillea variety is one from the others?

Identifying and Pre-Labeling Marcots

When we were still in a buying frenzy for bougainvilleas, one of the pots we bought had two bougainvillea plants in it. One had white bracts and the other, violet. The garden pot had plenty of both of these colors and was absolutely gorgeous. I decided right there that I would be marcotting these two plants in the pot.

I've been marcotting (air-layering) plants for some time now and it's nothing new to me. Immediately I started marcotting all the branches that were a bit mature and had the likelihood of successful rooting. There were I think a dozen marcots that I air-layered that day.

Repotting Seedling Plugs from the Garden Tray

After pricking the seedling plug from the garden seedling tray, the next thing to do is repot it. For most garden plants, repotting is fairly straightforward. Take a stick or use a finger to create a hole on the ground or the pot's soil. Put the seedling's root ball in and backfill with garden soil.

Some garden seedlings though have a more delicate root system where the roots break off easily if mishandled. Sometimes an unintentional sudden tap on the main stem may break young brittle roots. Such is the case for Bougainvillea seedlings grown from cuttings.

Picking Seedling Plugs from the Garden Tray

The use of a garden seedling tray is a practical way to grow garden plants from seeds and cuttings. A garden seedling tray has multiple cells where one can sow seeds or stick cuttings for propagation. Each cell has its own drain hole to let out excess water. Seedlings can be watered with light spraying or sprinkling or even by soaking the entire tray in a soaking tub.

But the most practical use of the seedling tray is the convenience in picking seedlings mature enough for transplanting. Because cells are partitioned in a seedling tray, it's easy enough to harvest seedlings without disturbing the other seedlings in the adjacent cells.

Wall-Mounted Rod for Hanging Baskets

In a past article, this gardener discussed a simple, yet functional, wall-mounted homemade bracket for garden hanging baskets. However, as more cascading garden plants were grown, more plants in hanging garden pots were needed to be displayed. Numerous individual garden support brackets weren't practical nor space efficient. An overhead garden rod for hanging garden pots would prove to be a viable solution for hanging baskets lined up in a row.

This article discusses a homemade gardening project where 2 overhead rods may be suspended by support brackets. Unlike the garden DIY project in the past article, no screw hooks and nuts will be used. Instead, rebars or reinforcing bars will be used as the garden rods. The two rods could accommodate the small hanging 8-inch baskets lined up in two rows.