Many trees can be propagated yourself with little effort instead of buying them for a lot of money in a garden store or tree nursery. However, it takes some time for tiny cuttings or seedlings to grow into large trees. That's why you need patience - and sensitivity, because not every seed or branch becomes a real tree.
How can you propagate trees yourself?
Trees can be propagated by seeds, cuttings, cuttings or cuttings. Deciduous trees can be grown from seedlings, fruit trees require grafting with scions, and conifers can be successfully propagated from cuttings. Patience and tact are essential.
Increase deciduous trees
You can simply go and collect local deciduous trees in spring, because then small and larger seedlings of oak, maple, beech, chestnut, lime, etc. grow out of the ground everywhere. All you need to do is carefully dig up the young plants and plant them in the designated spot in the garden. Furthermore, many deciduous trees can be easily propagated by seeds - but make sure that they are exposed to a period of cold. Without frost, the germination inhibition cannot be broken and breeding fails. You can grow a new deciduous tree faster (and easier) than with seeds using cuttings. To do this, proceed as follows:
- Tear off 10 to 15 centimeter long, half-ripe shoots.
- These must have a small bark tongue from the main shoot.
- Place the shoot pieces in a glass of water and position it in front of a window.
- Wait for the cuttings to form roots.
- Now you can put them into a loose mixture of sand and compost.
Deciduous trees can also be propagated using planters and cuttings.
Propagation of fruit trees
Although apples, pears, cherries and plums are also deciduous trees, you will not get true fruit trees from seed propagation. For a bountiful harvest of tasty fruits, you need to cut shoots for use as scions. Ultimately, fruit trees are only grown according to variety through grafting or another form of grafting. You place the noble variety on a seedling of a suitable wild fruit, as this is often more robust and vigorous than the desired variety itself. Only peaches and nectarines are often authentic, i.e. H. They can also be propagated by cuttings or sowing.
Propagate coniferous trees
Growing a conifer from seeds is a tedious process. It is easier to grow it from cuttings. And this is how it works:
- Tear off soft shoot tips in late spring to about mid-summer.
- These should no longer be completely soft, but not yet woody either.
- This shoot tip, which is approximately 10 to 15 centimeters long, should have a bark tongue.
- Now remove the side shoots and needles in the lower area.
- Place this shoot end in a rooting powder (€8.00 on Amazon).
- Plant it in a pot with a sand-compost mixture.
- Put a cut PET bottle over it, foil or glass.
- Water and ventilate regularly.
- The cuttings should have formed roots by autumn.
Tip
If you take cuttings from a deciduous tree, it should have a maximum of four leaves. If these are very large, cut them in half with the knife and in this way reduce evaporation and thus the loss of valuable water.
