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This is a method by which the stem of the plant is induced to form roots before severing it from the parent plant.
Select suitable strong shoots / stems and make a hole where they are to be pegged down.
Fork up the base of the hole then place some sharp sand or grit in the bottom.
Make a shallow incision on the underside of a leaf node with a sharp blade and dust the wound with hormone-rooting powder.
Peg the shoot down, cover with compost and keep the area moist.
alternatively; use a sunken pot / tray filled with compost as opposed to layering into a hole.
Another alternative and one that can give more plants per stem is to use what is known as the 'serpentine method'
This is basically the same as above but as opposed to pegging down one leaf node, you can peg down as many nodes as you can along the same stem.
Fruit trees; Tip layer the snoots (tips)in late summer.
Select healthy shoots that have been made this season and can be readily bent down to a convenient spot beneath the plant.
Excavate a 150mm (6”) deep hole with a hand trowel, make one side sloping towards the parent plant.
Secure the shoot tip with a wire peg or stone before filling in with soil.
The layer/s should be well rooted by winter.
After rooting sever it from the parent plant leaving about 300mm (12”) of old cane still attached, over-winter it in a cold frame.
Transplant severed layers in early spring.
An alternative method is; do all as above, but layer into a pot of compost as opposed into a hole.
Rhododendrons; Choose low-lying stems and remove any leaves that would be buried when they are pegged down.
Make a shallow incision on the underside of the stem with a sharp blade and dust the wound with hormone-rooting powder/gel.
Loosen soil below the shoot and add lime-free sand to aid rooting.
Peg the wounded section of the stem down into a shallow hole, then carefully tie the tip as upright as possible to a support stake without snapping the stem.
Cover with soil and keep moist.
alternatively layer into a sunken pot filled with compost rather than forming a hole.
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