Propagation of apple trees by cuttings and other methods
Sooner or later, almost any gardener faces the problem of propagating his plants. This desire or necessity is connected with the fact that it is necessary either to rejuvenate the plants, or to preserve a dying variety, or simply to propagate a very favorite one.
Content:
- Are apple trees propagated by seeds?
- Propagation of apple trees by cuttings
- Proper preparation of cuttings is the key to success
- Performing budding - propagation by eye
No exception apple trees. There comes a time when you need to find out which method of propagating this fruit tree is most effective.
Are apple trees propagated by seeds?
As it turns out, apple trees are bred and seeds. Of course, ordinary gardeners do not do this in their garden plots. This method is mainly used in nurseries to obtain new varieties of apple trees.
Propagation by seeds allows you to obtain plants with certain properties of the parent plants, since they are best transmitted through seed material.
To obtain seeds, pollen is artificially transferred from flowers of one variety to flowers of another. When plants obtained by hybridization are then planted, apple trees grow that do not retain the properties of only one of the parents, but combine, to one degree or another, the characteristics of both parents.
This method is very labor-intensive, because it is almost impossible to obtain the requested plant the first time while maintaining all the specified properties.Therefore, growing apple trees from seeds is in demand only among breeders with experience.
For ordinary gardeners, apple tree seedlings obtained from sowing seeds can only be useful for grafting others onto them. varieties.
Propagation of apple trees by cuttings
When propagating apple trees from cuttings, you will first need to prepare a rootstock. An apple tree grown from seeds or a wild apple tree grown in nature is suitable for this.
The latter option is even preferable, since a wild tree is much more resistant to climatic conditions, hardy, and can withstand frosts.
Then you need to graft a cutting of the apple tree variety whose adult plant you want to obtain in the future onto the root system of such a wild plant.
Choosing the right rootstock is the key to further growth of the entire tree. If the wild apple tree is a dwarf variety, then it is preferable to grow columnar apple trees on such a rootstock. And if the rootstock is grown from seeds, then it is better to graft a cutting of an ordinary, tall apple tree onto it.
After execution vaccinations cuttings, there is no need to sprinkle the grafting site heavily with soil. If this is done, the grafted cutting may take root on its own from the lower living buds, which will negate all your efforts to impart the beneficial properties of a wild apple tree to the future plant.
Proper preparation of cuttings is the key to success
In order to properly propagate an apple tree, it is important to correctly prepare cuttings for the scion. Annual shoots of apple trees are suitable as scions. They are usually prepared on the same day that they are going to be vaccinated.
You should not prepare too many cuttings for scions. It's best to first think carefully about how much material you might need on that particular day.
After the cuttings are cut from the mother plants, all leaves are immediately removed from them, leaving some of the petioles.
Performing budding - propagation by eye
To propagate an apple tree by eye, it is necessary to make a T-shaped cut in the bark on the selected rootstock using a special, very sharp budding knife. Then the edges of the bark need to be carefully turned to the sides to expose the wood.
A part cut from a harvested varietal cutting is inserted into this incision, on which there is a bud with a part of the bark and a petiole about 1.5 centimeters long.
After all these manipulations, the bent bark of the rootstock must be carefully pressed against the edges of the bud inserted into the cut. And as soon as possible you need to tightly and carefully tie the trunk with a damp washcloth. You need to make sure that the growth bud itself does not get under the washcloth; it must be open.
To make the graft more likely to take root, it is recommended to graft an apple tree with a bud in the morning or vice versa - at the end of the day.
If it is raining outside, it is better to postpone all budding activities. Rainwater can get into the resulting wound on the trunk of the rootstock, which can negate all efforts. Even in strong winds, it is not recommended to carry out budding, since such vaccinations are very sensitive to dust getting into the wound, along with which harmful bacteria can get onto the cuts.
After about two weeks, it will be necessary to check the survival of all eyes. If the eye has taken root well, it has a greenish color and looks fresh. According to the observations of gardeners, the survival rate of buds during the autumn propagation of apple trees by them is about 70-80%, but in the spring the survival rate is much lower - only 10%.
