The Pfaffenhütchen is an attractive native tree with great benefits for biodiversity in your own garden. Propagation is possible using various methods.
How can I multiply Pfaffenhütchen?
Pfaffenhütchen can be propagated by seeds, cuttings or saplings. Seeds should be collected before the fruit bursts and sown directly outdoors. Cuttings can be cut in spring and placed in potting soil or water. Saplings are young shoots that are separated from the main root and planted in the desired location.
This is how you can multiply Pfaffenhütchen:
- Seeds
- Cuttings
- Saplings
Flowers and fruits
The Pfaffenhütchen develops inconspicuous flowers from May to June, the petals of which are greenish to white in color. The eye-catching fruits ripen between September and October. They are purple-pink to carmine-red capsule fruits that consist of four lobes.
When ripe, the fruits burst open so that the seeds hang out on long orange threads. They are attractive to robins, thrushes and magpies. This earned the plant the nickname “robin bread”.
Seeds
If you want to propagate the Pfaffenhütchen from seeds, you should collect and dry the capsule fruits before they open. Store the fruit in an open container in a dry place. As soon as the capsules open, free the seeds from the fleshy coat and sow them directly outdoors.
If immediate sowing is not possible, you can store the seeds in a freezer bag filled with sand in the refrigerator. They retain their ability to germinate and can be sown next spring. It may take a few months for the cotyledons to appear.
Cuttings
This method is more promising than propagation from seeds. In spring, cut shoots ten to 15 centimeters long. If there are flowers or fruit sets on the shoot, they are removed. Cut the leaves in half to reduce evaporation.
You can place the cuttings in a glass of water or stick them directly into potting soil and keep them constantly moist. After three months you can observe fresh shoots. They indicate successful root formation. If you plant the young plants directly outside, you should ensure good winter protection in the first winter.
Saplings
Pfaffenhütchen reproduce themselves via root runners. Look around the shrub for young shoots poking through the soil. These can be dug up and separated from the main root. Then plant the shoots in the desired location and water them sufficiently.
