in which period is the layering done for the apple tree

Dear Paolino,

the air layering is generally applied in spring, in March or April; in fact in this period the plants are in full vegetative development, and therefore the chances of the layering root are greater. Generally, before preparing a layering, it is good to choose carefully the branch on which to make it; in fact it is advisable to choose a very well developed and branched branch, healthy, and possibly with few (or even without) flowers or fruits, in this way you will be more certain that the layering can develop on its own, once detached from the mother plant . A layering is prepared by cutting the bark in the desired point, making a circle all around the branch; then it spreads some rooting hormone, and is covered with moist soil, to form a sort of “vase”, right in the point where the bark has been engraved. Everything is covered with plastic film, so that the earth does not dry out; possibly the film should be opaque, so that the earth does not receive an excessive amount of direct sunlight. The layering takes months before rooting (in some cases even years), for as long as necessary you will have to water the earthen bread, in order to avoid that it remains dry for a long time, and checking that the plastic film does not come off. You can also water the soil with a syringe, if you want, so as not to have to open too often the package that you keep around the base of the layering; to stop the package you can use bonsai wire, raffia, ties, whatever you want, as long as everything is well adherent to the branch you intend to lay off. You can be sure of the success of your operations only when you see roots inside the bread of earth. To detach the layering from the mother plant it is good to wait until autumn.