Reproduction of conifers from A to Z - cuttings, substrate and care
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HOW TO REPRODUCT YOUR LIKED CONIFEROUS PLANT
You can make the site cozy and beautiful all year round by planting conifers. But in nurseries, they are expensive. Let's figure out how to propagate them yourself.
Species plants taken from nature (for example, common and black pines, prickly and European spruce, various types of fir, western and eastern, juniper Virginia, flatworm, biota, larch, hemlock, etc.), which breeders did not bother with , easiest to propagate by seed. This allows a large number of seedlings to be obtained. But varietal traits with this type of reproduction are not guaranteed to be transmitted.
The disadvantages of seed reproduction include, firstly, difficulties in collecting high-quality seeds, especially from tall trees (their cones fall off at the same time). And secondly, a long period of seed preparation, waiting for seedlings and slow growth of seedlings. 6 tons of seed collection until the ready planting material is received, a lot of time will pass.
Cutting is the most common, albeit not a universal way of propagating many species and varieties of conifers. Of the conifers, plants from the families of cypress (Cupress ceae), in particular, juniper, especially open and horizontal forms, thuja, cypress, flatworm, tuyevik, microbiota, and also yew (Tax ceae), are best suited for propagation by cuttings. But representatives of the pine family (Pin ceae) of spruce, hemlock and pseudo-sugu are very difficult to root with cuttings. Pines, fir, cedars and larch practically do not lend themselves to this method of reproduction. For these crops, vaccination is used. By inoculation, the standard forms of conifers are obtained.
And in order for the cuttings to take root, several conditions must be met. Failure to comply with even one of them can nullify the whole work.
1. TIME FOR CROSSING
The most favorable time for cuttings comes in the second half of February and lasts the whole March, that is, either before or at the very beginning of the awakening of the kidneys. At this time, you can quickly get a large amount of planting material: the cuttings take root in the first year and next spring they actively start growing. In nurseries, cuttings are practiced at the beginning of lignification of young twigs in late May and June (this is how they root, for example, Canadian hemlock). Cutting at this time of the year is complicated by the heat and dryness of the outside air: you need a greenhouse, rooting stimulants and a fog-forming unit.
However, coniferous plants can be cuttings on a personal plot in August, after the end of growth, when the shoots begin to lignify. Lignified shoots take root in September. In such cuttings, in the first year only callus is able to form - a special protective tissue on the surface of the wounds, which has the form of an influx (sometimes in the form of a thin layer or curd "), and the roots will form only the next year.
2. SELECTION OF THE UTERINE PLANT
The best mother plant from which it is planned to take cuttings is a young (at the age of 4-8, maximum 10 years), healthy, actively developing plant. With age, the ability to form roots in all plants decreases.
In bush and creeping forms, the place of taking the cutting on the mother plant does not matter. It is taken from the most developed part. Forms with variegated needles are cut on the side well-lit by the sun, where the shoots have a characteristic color for the variety. But in the pyramidal forms of coniferous cuttings it is better to cut from the central branches of the first or third order. Then the seedlings will have a straight, symmetrical silhouette, characteristic of the parent plant. From the lateral and horizontal shoots of columnar conifers, plants are formed with a tendency to a prostrate or even creeping form.
3. TECHNOLOGY OF CONIFEROUS SHEARING
Cuttings are cut early in the morning or on a cloudy day to reduce moisture evaporation.
Since the rooting of cuttings can take a year or more, at first the cuttings survive due to the reserves of nutrients in their own tissues. Therefore, the length and thickness of the cutting are important for root formation. Depending on the type and variety, the size of the cut may differ. On average, the annual lateral shoots of conifers should be 5-15 cm long, and in vigorous junipers, thujas and cypress trees, the apical annual shoots can reach 25 cm.The shoot is separated with a knife or sharp pruner 0-5 cm below the beginning of the lignification site (there, where the green color of the bark turns into brown). All needles and side small branches are removed from the lower part of the cutting (1/1 or 2/2 from the base) to reduce water evaporation. Thin and weak cuttings of dwarf varieties, as well as those taken from the lateral branches of the shoot, are depleted faster. They need the most optimal rooting conditions.
Excellent results are obtained from cuttings with a heel, which are not cut with a knife or blade, but are torn off with a sharp downward movement, while capturing part of last year's wood. The place of separation is not cleaned, only the extra long "tail" of the bark is cut off. For columnar varieties, it is important not to damage the apical point of growth - And on the contrary, if you need to get a bushy plant spread evenly in all directions in the future (for example, in junipers), the top of the cutting can be cut off immediately.
In many horizontally growing junipers, tubercles are already visible on the underside of the shoots - the rudiments of new roots. They germinate quickly when in contact with moist soil. Such cuttings with embryonic roots are cut, laid in grooves, sprinkled with soil on the lower part without needles for 2/3 of the length, watered. Already after 1, 5-2 months, young plants take root and actively start growing.
Hard-to-root cuttings, immediately before planting, are dipped in the lower cut into the powder of a rooting stimulator. On the market, you can find many rooters containing salts of beta-indolylacetic acid (IAA), heteroauxin, root (salts of beta-indolyl-butyric acid), succinic acid (CA) salts, etc.
Another technique that accelerates root formation is to make longitudinal notches at the lower ends of the cuttings with the sharp end of a knife or split the base to a depth of 1 cm. Callus forms faster on the wound surface, and then roots.
Reference by topic: Conifers and shrubs - planting and pruning, varieties and species
4. PREPARATION OF SUBSTRATE FOR CONIFEROUS
Root formation in coniferous cuttings can take a year or more, so preparation of the planting site plays a decisive role. The main task of the gardener is to provide the cuttings with soil and air moisture, the right temperature and nutrients in an easily accessible form. It is convenient to use greenhouses or greenhouses for rooting, where seedlings of vegetables and flowers are grown. If there are few cuttings, they can be planted in a flower pot or box and covered with plastic wrap. Well, for easily rooted species, it is enough to prepare the soil in a place protected from the wind with light penumbra - say, in a garden with subtrees.
When planting cuttings in a greenhouse or box, a drainage layer of sand and expanded clay is laid on the bottom. A layer of fertile loose earth (turf, leaf with the addition of coniferous) is poured on top, mixed with sand (10-15 cm). The substrate can be pre-steamed for disinfection. The top layer is made from coarse river sand (3-5 cm) or perlite. Also used mixtures: peat with sand in a ratio of 1: 1 or 2: 1; peat with vermiculite, peat with perlite in equal proportions. The most important thing is that the soil is loose and air-permeable, since waterlogging of the soil can lead to rot and death of cuttings.
5. LANDING OF CONIFEROUS SHEARS
The shank with the bottom part treated with the stimulant powder should not be stuck directly into the soil, so as not to damage it and not to compact the soil at the place of callus formation. You can dig a groove or make a hole with a wooden peg, and then insert the stalk into it vertically (for columnar) or at an angle of 45-50 ° (open and horizontal varieties), tightly squeezing the soil with your fingers around the base of the stalk. The planting depth depends on the size of the cutting, in a greenhouse to a depth of 1-1 cm to 5-2 cm, in open ground on ridges, cuttings are buried 5/5 or 1/2 of the length to reduce moisture loss. The distance between the cuttings in the rows and between the rows is from 1 to 3 cm.After planting, the soil is squeezed and compacted with a peg or fingers, the garden is watered with a watering can with a fine sieve, trying to wet all layers of soil
Reference by topic: Fertilizing conifers in spring
6. CARE OF SEEDING MATERIAL
To preserve the humidity of the air, the garden bed, box or pot is covered with a frame, a film frame and shaded. The moisture content of the soil is maintained within 60-80%, preventing waterlogging and acidification. A simple drip irrigation system, consisting of a container with water and special perforated pipes, helps a lot in this, as well as mulching the surface of a pound with compost, mowed grass, peat. To prevent fungal diseases, the cuttings are ventilated, and the soil is periodically watered with solutions of a fungicide and a growth stimulator
Root formation in coniferous cuttings occurs best at an air and substrate temperature of about 21 - 24 ° C and a relative air humidity of 95-100%. In greenhouses with electric heating and fog-forming installations, the rooting rate and quality of planting material are 15-25% higher than in cold greenhouses.
For evergreens, lighting plays an important role. It should be scattered, but at the same time intense enough. Then the phytohormone necessary for root formation is released in the tissues of the cuttings.
The rooting times of cuttings differ in different species and even in different varieties of the same species. On average, after 3-4 months, the cuttings wake up the buds and begin to grow, which indicates their good condition. In summer, at temperatures above 30 °, root formation may stop and resume in the fall.
Rooted cuttings of conifers winter well without shelter, but it is better to protect them from the drying frosty wind and sun by covering them with leaves, burlap or spruce branches. Next year they can be planted in pots or in a permanent place. And you can leave it for growing for another 2-3 years, until it gets stronger and reaches its presentation. Caring for young plants in the summer consists in regular watering, airing, spraying, treatment from pests and diseases.
See also: Conifers for the garden (photo) compact, weeping, creeping and columnar
REPRODUCTION OF CONIFEROUS CUTLES AND SEEDS - VIDEO
© Author: V. DEGTYAREVA, landscape designer
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We have a lot of coniferous plants growing on the site. Every spring I make sure to add mineral mixtures with magnesium. In the summer I feed with fertilizers with potassium. A few years ago, the needles on the Christmas trees began to turn yellow and fall off. I took a brush and “cleaned out” all the yellow needles, then fed at the root and sprayed with a growth stimulator. By the way, in the fall (before the first frost), I water all evergreens abundantly several times.
I wish all gardeners good health and rich harvests!
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Cutting conifers
Now you can start breeding conifers at home. The roots are best formed by cuttings of juniper, thuja and cypress.
I harvest shoots (10-12 cm long) from the side branches, tearing off, as usual, "with the heel." If it is too long, I shorten it with scissors. I clean the cuttings from the needles and dipped them into the Epin solution (1-2 drops / 100 ml of water) overnight.
I pour sphagnum moss in a container with water to be nourished. Then, wringing it out a little, I spread it on one side of a paper towel folded in half.
I spread the cuttings on the moss with the tops outward, close it with its free edge and fold everything into a roll. The tops remain open at the same time. I put it in a plastic bag, tie it tightly and attach it to the closed blinds on the balcony (shading is important). By April-May, the roots are formed in the plants - you can plant them in the school.
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I heard that there are restrictions on the use of pesticides for conifers, depending on the weather. Is it so?
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- Read the recommendations carefully before using all products. With treatments in early spring or late autumn, it is too hot or cold, it may rain and wash off the entire preparation. The instructions always indicate a favorable temperature. For example, "Angle" is effective in the range of + 10-25 degrees. It is advisable to use it at least 2 hours before the expected precipitation. A common mistake is the treatment of conifers with a growth stimulant such as "Epin" under the influence of direct sunlight. The best time to use most of these products is in the evening, after sunset.