Have I left it too late to air layer?

[PearTree]

It’s June and I’m in the UK.

Have I left it too late to air layer some of my fruit trees and plants? Or should I be okay?

I guess I could try anyway.

Realise I probably should have started 1 month ago…alas…

[clarkinks]

@PearTree

I’m assuming your following this method How to Air Layer Pear Trees

" How to Air Layer Pear Trees

By Kristi WaterworthUpdated Sep 2, 2012 1:31 p.m.

Pears are easy-care orchard plants once established.Getty

Pears (Pyrus spp.) are among the easiest-to-grow fruit trees in United States Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 9, depending on type and cultivar. Although pears are usually grafted onto rootstocks because of the difficulty involved in rooting the best-fruiting varieties, some rootstock varieties, including the “Old Home” series, are also used for fruit production. Air layering (sometimes erroneously called air grafting) one of these varieties might be a simpler method of propagating your favorite fruiting pear, through you should start many more air layers than the number of trees you require as insurance against failure.

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1. Put two large handfuls of sphagnum peat moss per air layer into a bucket hours before you intend to make your air layers. Fill the bucket with water and set it aside, stirring occasionally to ensure that all of the moss is thoroughly soaked.
2. Select several year-old leafy shoots that are about the width of a pencil and 12 inches long on the pear tree you wish to air layer. Remove the leaves from an area 3 to 4 inches wide about 8 inches down the shoot.
3. Make a horizontal cut in relation to the shoot through the bark layer, about 1 inch below the beginning of your freshly defoliated area. Repeat this cut 1 1/2 inches below the original in the defoliated area. Make a vertical cut to connect these two horizontal cuts. Peel off the bark between the two cuts.
4. Dust the exposed area with rooting hormone. Take two large handfuls of sphagnum peat moss from the bucket, wringing it out slightly before proceeding. Form the sphagnum peat moss into a ball over the defoliated area by pushing both hands loaded with moss over the wound and pressing them tightly together. Wrap a length of soft string around the moss several times to hold it in place.
5. Cut a piece of clear plastic that fits over the moss ball, and overlap it onto the shoot by at least a half inch. Wrap the plastic loosely over the ball before securing it to the branch on both ends with electrical tape. Tape the seam where the plastic overlaps itself.
6. Check your air layer frequently. Before resecuring the plastic cover, water the moss ball if it appears to be drying out. Watch diligently for roots to emerge from the moss ball – this may take several weeks to months.
7. Unwrap the plastic from the newly formed root ball, and cut the young plant from the mother about 1/2 inch from the bottom of the root ball. Fill a pot with a soilless seed-starting medium, and plant the seedling in it. Water the pot thoroughly before placing a large clear plastic bag over the top of it, positioned so the bag does not touch the young pear tree. Secure the bag with a rubber band or, in the case of a very wide pot, with electrical tape.
8. Move the pot to a well-lit location. Check it regularly to ensure that the plant has not dried out, watering as necessary. Gradually remove the plastic tent once the young pear begins to put out new leaves.
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Before you go start let me warn you there is a reason old home keeps coming up. Old home pears or those closely related root easily but many other pears do not.

Old home pear

These pears are challenging to find now. Here is what they say " 14 Sep 2022 Wade Mitchell We had these pear trees where I grew up in SE Texas.(Zone 9a) The flesh is very hard but sugary sweet with a tough but thin skin. The core and seeds are small; most of the pear is edible meat. I enjoy them fresh, but they may be too hard for some folks’ liking. They’re great for canning and preserving as well as for baking. Like a Granny Smith apple, they hold their shape very well if baked into a pi…

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Your not out of time but you cannot delay any further. The second article is about making hardwood cuttings but there is little difference in how it works.

[PearTree]

Similar…pretty much the same except, I don’t/haven’t historically used rooting hormone…and I previously used branches that are around 1-2 inch in diameter. So far I have only done to non fruiting trees (with success 2 of 2).

But this year, ideally want to try with fruit trees and roses (but these are all small/young, so would be very thin/new branches per the method described).

[PearTree]

Thanks, will get to it this weekend! (Have to wait 4 days…long story…hopefully should still be doable).