layering - Ground layering

A means of propagating plants by burying a stem in the soil while it is still attached to the plant. The buried portion forms roots, and eventually a separate plant.

Layering is a technique for plant propagation in which a portion of an aerial stem is encouraged to grow roots while still attached to the parent plant and then removed and planted as an independent plant. This is done in plant nurseries in imitation of natural layering by many plants such as brambles which bow over and touch the tip on the ground, at which point it grows roots and, when separated, can continue as a separate plant.

Layering is more complicated than taking cuttings, but has the advantage that the propagated portion can continue to receive water and nutrients from the parent plant while it is forming roots. This is important for plants that form roots slowly, or for propagating large pieces.

Ground layering

Ground layering is the typical propagation technique for the popular Malling-Merton series of clonal apple rootstocks in which the original plants are set in the ground with the stem nearly horizontal, which forces side buds to grow upward. At the end of the growing season, the side branches will have rooted, and can be separated while the plant is dormant. When sufficient roots have grown from the wound, the stem from the parent plant is removed and planted.