Various varieties of rock pears now have their permanent place in the tree nursery range again. However, if there are mother plants in your own garden or in the neighbors', you can also grow new rock pears yourself.
How can I propagate a serviceberry?
Rock pears can be propagated by seeds, cuttings or sinkers. Seeds need a cold period to germinate. Cuttings should be cut in spring and placed in potting soil. Lowering plants are rooted directly on the ground and later separated from the mother plant.
Growing the serviceberry from seeds
You need a little patience to grow the serviceberry from seeds, as the seedlings initially grow relatively slowly. With regard to seeds, it is important to realize that the seeds of a serviceberry are only able to germinate after a period of cold. Even seeds collected for cultivation on the windowsill or in pots must first be stratified in the freezer or outdoors in winter outside temperatures. The seeds are then sown in normal sowing soil and kept evenly moist.
Let serviceberry cuttings root
While some plants can only be grown from woody cuttings, things are a little different with rock pears. Their cuttings should be as short as possible and cut from fresh shoots in spring. It would be optimal to cut the cuttings in May, but this can of course be combined with a topiary cut that is already planned. Immediately after cutting, the approximately 5 to 15 cm long cuttings are placed in potting soil and kept evenly moist in a shady to semi-shady location. Since serviceberry cuttings are not that easy to root successfully, the use of special rooting hormones (€14.00 on Amazon) might be appropriate under certain circumstances.
Form rock pear sinkers
An alternative to propagating cuttings for rock pears is to form sinkers. It is best to follow the following steps:
- choose a branch close to the ground with sufficient length
- Carefully bend the shoot towards the ground and rub it with a stone or something similar. complain
- pile up some soil over the branch where it touches the ground
Once roots have formed, the sinker can be separated from the mother plant using sharp secateurs.
Tip
It is not uncommon for rock pears to form several small stems sticking out of the ground close together. Sometimes it is possible to carefully cut off one of these stems with a sharp garden spade and replant it. Please note that the young plants grown from the plant material of grafted serviceberry do not necessarily have the same characteristics as the mother plant. The grafting of certain varieties of serviceberry is partly carried out on rowanberry seedlings, which are used as rootstock.