Propagation using rooting balls or air layering pods is such a great idea for propagating plants. It means that the gardener creates a new plant from the stem of a mature plant but the plant will have similar characteristics as the parent plant. I will explain to you in detail how propagating using rooting balls work below.
Select Branches
In this propagation technique, the first important aspect is choosing the right branches. Choose healthy branches with buds on them but not overly developed branches of a tree. You want to get a branch that is approximately as thick as a pencil and which has a healthy growth of leaves.
As we’ve seen, this means choosing the right branch is pivotal for the success of your propagation. Do not use branches which have terminal buds or are new, damaged, or come from shaded trees as these may not develop good roots.
Cutting and Repairing Wounds
The next process that follows once a viable branch, has been chosen involves making a wound on the branch into which the rooting ball will be inserted. This in a way will compel the plant to grow roots at that specific area that the tuber is planted.
1. Make a Cut: With a clean sharp knife, carefully cut round the selected branch at the base of the plant or at any broken point. The cut depth should be shallow enough to protect you against having a chop on the branch core.
2. Remove Bark: Peel off a ring of bark around the circumferential area of the cut. Thickness of the branch should warrant a strip of about 1 to 2 inches, although this will depend on the thickness.
3. Apply Hormone (Optional): Even if it is not mandatory, dipping the part of the stem that was exposed to a rooting hormone accelerates the rooting process. You simply use a brush or a piece of cotton to spread the hormone all over.
4. Repair Wounds: After you make these cuts you just let the branch have some time to form a callous over the wound. This usually takes a couple of hours. Just make sure that the wound is sterilized during this time to ward off infections.
Prepare High-Pressure Ball
Now it’s time for an experienced submersed high-pressure rooting ball into the prepared branch. It will create a suitable atmosphere for root development of this particular ball.
1. Open the Rooting Ball: Gardening experts opine that most rooting balls are easy to use. Open them up in readiness to add your growth medium.
2. Add Growing Medium: Transplant the cutting into a high-quality growing medium that should be filled into the rooting ball. This could be peat moss mixture, sphagnum moss or compost. The growing medium to be used should be wet, but not sloppy enough to ensure there is balance between air and moisture contents.
3. Position the Ball: Put the rooting ball into the cutting at a point near the cut area of the branch. Make sure that the exposed cambium layer of the cutting is touching only the growing medium inside the ball.
4. Secure the Pod: Make sure that you enclose the rooting ball and do it firmly around the branch of the tree. Some rooting balls have clamping systems wherein you need to clamp it to have a secured rooting ball; some need to be tied using string or wire to ensure the stability of the ball.
Maintain
The next exercise is the classic process of caring for the arrangement, during which the rooting ball is attached, and the main goal is to wait for the roots to come out and be able to transplant the plant.
1. Regular Check-ups: Sometimes it is necessary to check the rooting ball and determine if it is dry. In addition, the growing medium should have moist feel, but it should not be sopping wet. If it looks as though it might be getting too dry put water into the pan.
2. Inspect for Roots: You need to check the rooting ball every two or three weeks. Some of the rooting balls are clear or come with observation tubes, so that you can track the root growth without interfering with the process.
3. Avoid Disturbances: Resist any force likely to interfere with the branch in that young vegetation stage preferably during root formation. It is also essential to ensure that the branch gets sufficient light and it is not affected by extreme conditions.
4. Harvesting: After the rooting ball has developed a good volume of roots, (this may take anything between a few weeks to a couple of months) the new plant can be separated. Prune the branch just behind the rooting ball using a sharp or new blade of a knife and if possible trim using a pruning shears.
5. Transplanting: Prize out the rooting ball and transplant the new rooted part of the stem into a new pot or directly into the soil. As the new plant is adapting to the new conditions make sure that there is enough water and the proper care is taken.
Depending on the plant type, rooting balls as used in propagation proved to be effective and rewarding in cloning plants. The important efforts which one puts at the earlier stages can open up a lot of benefits by new and healthy plants that appear in garden.