THE LYCHEE IN FLORIDA 13 
1. Completely remove a ring of bark and 
cambium layer from a section of the branch 
to be rooted. (The cambium is the thin layer 
of greenish tissue between the bark and the 
wood.) This ring should be about one and 
a half times as wide as the diameter of the 
branch. Spread over the cut a small quantity 
of any of the commercial hormone rooting 
powders now on the market. The trunk of the 
limb to be layered may be from one-fourth 
inch to two or more inches in diameter. 
2. Thoroughly wet a ball of sphagnum 
moss, dirt or other rooting medium and 
place it so that it covers the cut evenly. For 
your first attempts you may find moss, if 
available, or a mixture of moss and dirt 
somewhat easier to handle than dirt alone. 
There should be enough medium to provide 
adequate room for the new roots to grow. 
For small plants the ball should be nearly 
two inches in diameter. 
The steps shown above have been the custom for cen- 
turies. However, instead of using string as a wrapper and 
frequently watering the plant, a new method of wrapping 
around the ball flexible synthetic plastics which hold the mois- 
ture but permit the passage of respiratory gases is claimed 
by the patentee to obviate the necessity for re-watering the 
plant, thus saving much labor and effort, and avoiding loss of 
plants by failure to water them. The wrapping material is 
being marketed under the registered trade mark “Airwrap.’’* 
The “Airwrap” process is the same as described above 
except that instead of wrapping the rooting medium with 
string, the plastic material is used as follows. 
* Box 142, Sarasota, Florida. 
