Firethorn is very easy to propagate yourself, so you can raise numerous offspring from a vigorously growing mother plant. Breeding is possible using seeds contained in the bright orange-red berries as well as cuttings or cuttings.
How can you successfully propagate firethorn?
Firethorn can be propagated by cuttings, seeds or sinkers. Cut cuttings in spring or early summer and plant them in the growing medium; obtain and sow seeds from fruits in autumn; or create lower branches of flexible branches that will later be separated from the mother plant.
Propagation by cuttings
You can propagate firethorn through cuttings on:
- Spring or early summer are the best time for breeding.
- Cut cuttings about 15 centimeters long from already woody shoot tips.
- Separate the sprout from the mother plant with clean rose scissors (€25.00 on Amazon).
- Remove the leaves except for two to three pairs of leaves.
- Place the sprout directly into the prepared soil at the intended location and water.
- Alternatively, root in potting soil or water.
- The seedling will root faster if you cover it with a foil hat (greenhouse climate).
Propagation by seeds
When the bright red berries have ripened in autumn, you can pick some of the fruits. Remove the pulp completely from the small seeds and sow the seeds in small pots filled with potting soil. Since firethorn is very sensitive to moisture, it is recommended to add a drainage layer made of clay granules to the cultivation pots. Alternatively, you can mix the substrate with fine-grained granules or sand before filling.
The firethorn is a dark germ
Use a kebab skewer to make narrow furrows in the soil into which you scatter the seeds. The distance between the grooves should be at least two centimeters. Cover the seeds with a fine layer of soil and place a plastic bag over the growing pots. Water the soil regularly with a sprayer to avoid washing the seeds out of the soil.
Isolating the plants
Once the small firethorn plants have grown a few centimeters tall, you can remove the plastic bag greenhouse. Once the small fire thorns have sprouted several leaves, they become isolated. Care for the plants indoors during the winter and slowly get them used to the changed conditions outdoors in the spring.
Propagation by reducers
By cutting down, you can propagate individually growing firethorn bushes into a densely growing hedge over time.
- Choose a lower, slightly hanging branch.
- Curve towards the ground and determine the place where the branch will be buried.
- Thoroughly loosen the soil at this point so that the new wood can grow in well.
- Leave out a recess.
- Bend the branch into the hollow so that a few shoot tips still stick out of the ground.
- Completely defoliate the resting area of the branch.
- Fix the branch in the ground. The fork of a tree branch, a tent peg or a flat stone are suitable for this.
- Cover evenly with soil.
- As soon as roots have formed and the shoot sprouts, separate it from the mother plant.
