Experienced gardeners have long known such a method for propagating their favorite apple tree (or any other fruit tree), as the use of air vents. It is good because here you can easily do without the grafting process. In addition to this wonderful method, the method described below has spread among gardeners.
The dream of any summer resident is to reproduce the best varieties of fruit plants using cuttings. It turns out that this method can be used to propagate not only currants, but also pear and apple trees. Therefore, the propagation of fruit trees by cuttings can and should be tried to master, in addition, there are many successful examples.
Grafted and rooted apple and pear trees
Today you cannot find a single garden in which a grafted fruit tree does not grow. Any nursery proceeds as follows. Valuable varieties of pears or apple trees are grafted to any stock, and then the resulting plant is put up for sale. The summer resident buys it and plants it on his site in order to obtain a large harvest with high taste characteristics. But is this always the case? Unfortunately not.
Nurseries put the grafting and sale of plants on the stream, so often no one even thinks about the compatibility of the scion and rootstock. As a result of such "experiments", a summer resident in his garden plants a plant that is not ready to survive in the current climatic conditions or produces fruits that are strikingly different from those promised when selling a seedling. This applies to apple trees. If, when grafting the rootstock and the scion of pears, their incompatibility occurred, then the seedling will not only not yield a crop, but in 99% of cases it will simply die.
What about the case when there is a need to fill the garden with exclusive and verified varieties of pears, apples, plums and cherries? There is a way out - this is reproduction by cuttings. In this case, the question of the compatibility of the scion and the rootstock automatically disappears, since the future plant will be grown from a cutting of an already grafted fruit-bearing tree. Own-rooted trees easily tolerate the passage of groundwater close to the soil surface. It will be easy to propagate them not only by cuttings, but also by branches or even with the help of root shoots.
Of course, one cannot say with 100% certainty that propagation of fruit trees by cuttings is the only true and effective way that cannot be compared with the purchase of grafted seedlings. Both of these methods have their pros and cons. We can only say with confidence that propagation by cuttings is another method of vegetative propagation of fruit trees that deserves attention.
What varieties of apple and pear are well rooted
The ability to take root and take root on an independent life is different for cuttings of different varieties of trees. Some types of plants take root better, some worse. This can only be found out empirically. It is noticed that the smaller the fruits are in size, the faster the cutting takes root and the more viable it is.
The following varieties are most suitable for growing by cuttings:
- Pears: Memory of Zhegalov, Autumn Yakovleva, Lada, Moskvichka.
- Apple trees: Severyanka, Ranetka, Pepinka Altai, Moscow red, Kuznetsovskaya, Dream, Vityaz, Altai dessert, Aport Alexander.
How to grow your own rooted apple and pear from a cuttings
Horizontal planting of a seedling
There is a way to grow your own rooted apple tree, in which you can do without cuttings altogether. To do this, take a seedling (grafted or self-rooted) at the age of 2-3 years. In the spring, it is planted in a landing pit in a horizontal position. If there are branches-branches on the apple tree, then they are placed vertically and fixed with supports. In the place where the processes are connected to the main stem, an incision is made and the top layer of the bark is removed. This operation is necessary for the early formation of a root system near each process.
Further, the roots and trunk of the plant are covered with earth. Each shoot will tend to grow upward. Perhaps new buds and shoots will form on an independent branch. For 2-3 years, the apple or pear is left in this position. After this period of time, each shoot will give its own independent root system. Further, each seedling is separated from the main plant and sent to self-cultivation for another year or two. For the sake of experiment, shoots can not be separated from the mother plant and not planted. The end result is something that looks like a hedge.
Reproduction of apple trees and pears by cuttings
Next, we will consider cuttings as one of the most effective methods for propagating fruit trees. Cuttings are cut in central Russia in the second half of June, in cold places - at the end of June and the first half of July. There is an adult plant with new shoots. For grafting, only those shoots are suitable, in the lower part of which the bark has begun to form, and the upper main one is still green. The leaves should already be fully opened except for the last topmost one.
Cuttings are cut in the morning, when the maximum amount of moisture has accumulated in the plant. A grafting knife is used for cutting. The first bottom cut is made at a 45 degree angle towards the kidney, but it is not cut. The upper cut is made horizontally directly above the kidney. One shoot, depending on its size, can be divided into two or three cuttings.
Each cutting should have three leaves and two internodes. The bottom leaf is removed, and only half is left on the top two so that the plant evaporates as little moisture as possible.
Next, the cuttings are placed in a previously prepared solution to stimulate root formation for a period of 18 hours, covered with a bag on top.
While the cuttings are in solution, prepare the box for planting them. The height of the box should be about 30 cm. A nutrient medium about 15 cm thick is poured onto its bottom. Above - calcined sand about 5 cm thick. Calcining is mandatory, since this layer must be freed from harmful microorganisms. The substrate and sand are watered abundantly. For watering, a root formation stimulator solution can also be used.
Prepared cuttings are planted in the sand to a depth of about 1.5 cm. It is important not to dig deeper, otherwise the cutting may rot. A box with cuttings is covered with foil on top and left in a greenhouse or greenhouse. Cuttings will need a lot of light for rooting, but it is important to avoid direct sunlight. The soil in the box should be constantly moist, and once a week the makeshift greenhouse should be ventilated. Watering is best done with a spray bottle to prevent the top layer from eroding with sand.
If the leaves on the cuttings begin to rot, then it is important to remove them from the plant as soon as possible. The same must be done with the cuttings themselves, which did not take root, but began to rot. This is done in order to prevent the spread of infection to healthy specimens.
After about a month, the cuttings will have their first roots. Further, the greenhouse needs to be opened more often, thus hardening the plant. In the fall, a box with cuttings is taken out and buried in the garden at ground level. From above it is covered with peat or sawdust.
In the spring, rooted cuttings are planted in the garden for about another year so that they get stronger. Then they can be planted in a new permanent place.
Another way to root cuttings is to use an empty champagne bottle. The green shoot is cut off at the base, inserted into a bottle filled with boiled water. It is important to seal the bottle tightly with boil or wax. Next, the bottle is dug into the ground, and the shoot is cut off and three buds are left above the ground. Cover the seedling with a film on top. If necessary, ventilate and watered. The seedling is left in this form for two to three years. During this time, he must give his own root system in the bottle. Then it can be safely transferred to a permanent place.
With the help of cuttings, you can grow plums, pears, apples, cherry plums, quince, cherries. This method is not suitable only for apricots and cherries.
