RSS
Archives
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- October 2017
- July 2017
- March 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- May 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- December 2015
- October 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- June 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
Categories
Tag Cloud
Agave air layering albizia Alcataz Island Alcatraz alcatraz gardens Alcatraz history Alcatraz interns Alcatraz Island alcatraz plants archeology banana slug Bardou Job; heirloom rose Bees Black Point Gardens centranthus concrete cordyline dividing drought tolerant echium Fasciation Florilegium Gardens gladiolus Golden Gate Parks Conservacy Habitat hedera heirloom History invasives iris Parks Conservancy phenology photography Plants Pollinators Propagation restoration San Francisco Sustainable Gardening The Garden Conservancy Victorian Victorian Gardens volunteerSlideshow
banana slugIMG_3197IMG_6524 (1)Jane OlenchukMelissa Harris (2)IMG_4413IMG_4432IMG_4547IMG_4652IMG_4655IMG_4664IMG_4675IMG_4685IMG_4755IMG_5744IMG_6500IMG_0210IMG_7039IMG_3371IMG_8486IMG_9446IMG_1772IMG_8600IMG_8615IMG_8616IMG_8622IMG_8625IMG_8829IMG_8833IMG_8839IMG_8844IMG_8845IMG_8847sal 2sal 6IMG_9306IMG_9360IMG_9367IMG_9394IMG_9399IMG_9411IMG_9413IMG_9429IMG_9439IMG_9444IMG_3909IMG_1385
Tag Archives: air layering
We Have Roots!
The island’s first purpose as a military prison introduced the construction of the Sally port and this is where all visitors first walk by today on their way up to the cell house. Before entering the Sally port, they are greeted with the island’s first garden and home to some survivor plants thought to be planted in the 1920s. Among this bed are two historic Cordyline that are very old and are showing signs of decline. The Cordyline australis planted in the Sally port gardens is an old variety and have been very hard to find in the nursery trade. The Cultural Landscape report suggests that these be replaced, but not until we have the same plant with the same genetic makeup of the replacements.
In efforts to replace these declining historic Cordyline, we have tried several propagation methods to ensure they remain as part of the gardens for years to come. All of the methods were done in mid-March and we recently have had some promising results. Below are detailed descriptions of the propagation techniques trialed.
Methods of Propagation
Cutting:
We first tried just a cutting of one of the canes and potted it up in a pot of our compost. We removed some of the foliage and trimmed some of the fronds back to reduce that amount of energy going into the foliage and instead put it into the formation of roots. At first, it seemed as though this method might work, but after about a month, the fronds were almost all dead. The cane itself had become soft and the inside had become rotten. I think this method would work using a thinner cane or a smaller one with less foliage.
Layered:
For this method, we took three pieces of cane, about 6 inches long each and laid them horizontally, half way deep, in a tray of sphagnum peat moss mixed with our compost. I had thought this method would work best, and we actually did have roots start to form alongside the canes, but I think they ended up getting over watered and the canes started to rot. Unfortunately, all three were unsuccessful. I think if we were to try this method again, we would use a different media composition and not allow the soil to get too wet.

Top left: Bark removed around cane. Top right: Cane wrapped with soaked peat moss and plastic. Bottom left: Plant removed from mother plant. Bottom right: Roots shown after unwrapping the plastic.
Air layering:
The air layering method turned out to be the most successful of the three that we tried. This method is actually done on the mother plant itself. We started by soaking sphagnum peat moss for a few hours. This is crucial to keep the stem moisturized to allow roots to form. On one of the canes, we cut an inch wide ring through the cambium layer and removed the bark around the cane. Next, we took the soaked peat moss and wrapped it around the cut tightly and then wrapped it with plastic wrap and tied string around it to hold it in place. We did this twice more on separate canes. We recently cut the three successful air layered canes from the mother plant because roots had formed and they were ready to be potted up. We first soaked them before potting them to allow the peat moss to rehydrate. We put the new plants in five gallon containers and they are happily living in our greenhouse until they reach a more mature state with more developed roots to replace the ones at the Sally port.
The air layering method can be used for other woody shrubs and works well for some trees. This method does take a while to see some roots form, but once they do and it is cut from the mother plant, you already have a bigger plant than you would if you propagated it by seed or a cutting.
To replace the survivors, it is important that they are replanted with the same species of the current Cordyline. By propagating them by the methods we tried, it ensures that the replacements have the same genetic makeup of the current plants. We are very excited to have successful clones to replace the current failing Cordyline.
Posted in Gardens of Alcatraz, Plants, Uncategorized
Tagged air layering, cordyline, Propagation
Comments Off on We Have Roots!