This a pruned goumi, I only prune it because it gets in the pathway but the others I grow rarely get cut unless it's to let a little daylight in. At the bottom of the pic you can see the 2 layers.
If anyone wants to do their own layers this is a top secret trick that will help you propagate shrubs, vines, and some trees. To do the easiest airlayer in the world, just take a branch no thicker than a pencil and take off all the leaves except the top 2 or 3. Push the branch through the drainage hole of a flowerpot. You can cut the hole to make it bigger if need be. Scratch the branch a little to expose the cambium layer and dust with rooting hormone. hold the branch upright so that the scratched part is below the top of the pot and fill the pot with potting soil. The pots drying out is the biggest problem you'll have to help with this pile dirt around the drainage holes and cover the pots and surrounding soil with pine needles, leaves, mulch, ect just something to slow down evaporation. Here is a close up of the layers with the leaf mulch removed for photo purposes.
I also took a few semi hardwood cuttings today just for backup.
Here is another top secret trick for propagating plants, a clear 2 liter with the bottom removed makes a wonderful humidity dome. The green kind don't work. Just be sure to put them in the shade and keep the cap loose or they will cook. I've been using both of these tricks for years and I know they work on the following plants:
Abelias "work with both"
Blueberries "work with both"
Roses "work with both"
kiwis "work with both"
grapes "work with both"
Goumis "work with both but do better with layers"
Muscadines "work with both but do better with layers"
Hydrangeas "work with both but do better with layers"
Chickasaw plums "work with both but do better with layers"
Nanking cherries "work with both"
Figs "work with both"
Pomegranates "work with both"
crape myrtles "work with both"
and many other things I can't think of right now. Propagating your own plants is not only a great way to increase your plant numbers it's also great for making gifts to give to friends and family. With both methods it's best to wait until Fall to repot or transplant. To remove the airlayer from the mother plant just snip it off at the drainage hole once the mother plant is dormant. A little prune sealer on the cut never hurts either.
