How-to Guide
How to Propagate Plants by Layering and Air Layering
The short answer
Layering roots a new plant while the shoot is still attached to and fed by the parent, so it's more forgiving than a cutting. For simple layering, bend a low, flexible stem down to the soil, wound and bury a section, and let it root before you sever it. For plants without flexible stems, use air layering: girdle or wound a section of stem up on the plant, dust it with rooting hormone, wrap it in moist sphagnum moss sealed in plastic or foil, and wait for roots to form inside.
Air layering works because interrupting the stem's downward flow of carbohydrates makes those compounds pool at the wound and trigger rooting. The best window is early spring while the plant is still dormant through mid-summer.
Simple layering (flexible-stemmed shrubs)
- 1Choose a low stem — Pick a flexible, low branch that can reach the ground.
- 2Wound and bury — Bend it to the soil, wound the underside of the buried section, and cover with soil, leaving the tip exposed. Pin it down if it springs up.
- 3Wait, then sever — Leave it attached until roots form at the buried section, then cut it free from the parent and pot or transplant.
Air layering (stiff-stemmed plants and houseplants)
- 1Girdle the stem — Remove a cylinder of bark (or partially girdle) at the chosen point to interrupt the downward flow of carbohydrates.
- 2Apply rooting hormone — Treat the exposed cut surface with rooting powder.
- 3Wrap in moist moss — Pack the wound with moist sphagnum moss and enclose it in plastic or foil to hold moisture.
- 4Sever after rooting — Once roots fill the moss, cut below the rooted section and pot it up.
→ Layering needs no special equipment and is one of the easier home propagation methods; time it from early-spring dormancy through mid-summer.
Sources
Reviewed 2026-07-18. We cite university Extension, government, and established horticultural sources — and never invent pesticide rates or dangerous treatments.
- Iowa State University Extension — How to Propagate Shrubs by Layering — Layering roots a new plant while attached to the parent; done at home without special equipment; timing from dormant spring through mid-summer.
- Iowa State University Extension — How to Propagate by Air Layering and Simple Layering — Air layering for plants without flexible stems; girdling, rooting powder, moist sphagnum moss wrapped in plastic/foil; simple layering as an easy method.
- Clemson HGIC — Air Layering — Girdling interrupts downward translocation of carbohydrates, which pool at the wound and promote rooting.