When I did the air-layering before, it didn’t do anything except for one on a fig tree branch. I looked at more videos, and ordered more of those plastic rooting balls that clamp onto the stem of the tree or bush. I am going to try this with more of the rose bushes, and also blueberries. This year, I put netting over the blueberry bushes, so I am hoping that we will actually get to eat the berries, instead of the birds and squirrels eating all of them as soon as they start to get ripe. We have had lots of rain, and the berries are really large already, and still green. I see some blossoms on the blackberries I planted along the back fence last summer, and they are growing good, so we should get a few berries this year, and lots of berries by next year.
When I moved to Alaska, one of the big surprise was robins. I had been used to robins eating worms and such, and when I moved to the state, there wasn't a worm within 400 miles, but the robins of spring still appeared. I think the robins here are berry eaters rather than insectivores and vermivores. I know they will eat every berry on a honeyberry /haskap bush if the bushes are not netted. The birds seem to recognize the bushes and sometimes nest in them to have a ready food supply. It is similar to your blueberry bushes @Yvonne Smith
My new rooting balls arrived today, and I have one out on the pink Knockout rose bush. I followed all of the directions, and will check on it to make sure it is not getting too dry once the weather warms up. One video I watched said to cover the airlayering with aluminum foil and that keeps the moisture in better and reflects sunlight in hot weather. Then, I can just peek under the foil now and then to see if it is making roots. I was going to trim back the small fig tree out front (it shot up a tall spike ) and instead I used one of the ziplock bags with potting soil inside (and sliced to let the roots and dirt merge), and it is on the fig and secured with zip ties. I still have to trim the ties and put on the foil, but the rain arrived just now, so that will happen later, or maybe tomorrow, depending on how long the rain lasts.
I wonder if it will work on my aronia bushes (choke berries) and a few other woody shrubs I have. I have never had any luck with rose propogation. But it is just as well, if the deer don't nip off all the buds, the aphids and japanese beetles will take them out.
I just looked on youtube and it shows people taking cuttings from their Aronia bushes, and also starts from little side shoots coming out nearby. I had heard of chokeberries before, but now watching more videos that show how healthy these are, so I am going to see if I can find some cuttings maybe on ebay and start a bush myself. How do you use the berries, @Mary Stetler ? Edit to add: I just ordered some aronia cuttings from ebay, hoping they will root for me, and then I can grow some of these berries, too !
I have never used them. I wanted some for their health benefits and bought a bush at Walmart, last year, covered in blossoms. I brought it home and set the pot next to the house while trying to figure where to plant it. Next day, I found all the branches with flowers had been nipped off by a deer and that the flowers grow on 'old wood'. So this year it had one little flower bunch. Welllll, I'll show that deer. I went to Walmart again and bought ANOTHER bush!!! They only have two or three of them at Walmart. I think when people see 'choke berry' on the tag it turns them off; kind of like 'stinging nettle'. If they labeled them aronia berries I think they would sell better. I want a grove of them at the farm along with a few other deer drawing berry bushes. My plan now is to put them in the dog yard at the far side. The yard is fenced in. The berries are not reputed to be sweet. But I think it depends on the taste of the person. And if I squeeze the pits out and dry them it might improve the flavor. One can always add sweetener like with rhubarb. You and I will have to see. Hope to have a small harvest from my new bush to try.
I have recently read about using castor oil as an animal repellent. I have never tried it, but it is said that it tastes as bad to critters as it does to humans without being toxic. A bit like the anti-cribbing stuff, which may also work.
I heard than human male urine also works. Haven't tried it yet. Hubby is uncooperative peeing outside.
Here are pictures of my grafted rose. The first picture is the wild rambling rose, which shoots out branches 5+ feet long, so I have been trimming it back. You can barely see the little “ bandaid” on the right side (I circled it in orange) where my graft nub is taped into the branch. The second is a closeup of the graft, and it has not grown much yet, but still looks alive to me, so I have hopes of it growing. A problem I have is that it has to be done fairly close to the ground, and I have to be bent over to see what i am doing. The people i the YT videos used potted roses, so they could have them on a table and easily see what they were doing making the tiny cuttings for the grafting. I am thinking that I may have to pot up a wild rose (they root easily) and then I can make the grafts from my potting table out back where I can get closer to the plant and see what I am doing.