Content
Sooner or later, every gardener thinks about how to rejuvenate the planting of fruit trees. After all, if this is not done in a timely manner, then in the end the quality and quantity of the harvest will noticeably decrease. Therefore, it is worth studying in advance the main ways to propagate an apple tree in order to choose the most optimal option based on your capabilities and experience. This will avoid serious mistakes that can cause the death of young seedlings.
Apple tree propagation is a labor-intensive process
Apple tree propagation methods
There are several main ways to propagate an apple tree. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, experienced gardeners recommend using several methods of apple tree propagation simultaneously. This is a guarantee that at least one of them will give a positive result and thus it will be possible to preserve the variety you like.
Seeds
This method of reproduction requires endurance and patience. However, its advantage is that it allows you to obtain a lot of planting material at the same time.
But there is also a significant drawback to this method of propagation, namely, apple trees grown from seeds do not retain varietal properties. Therefore, the resulting seedlings are mainly used as a rootstock for grafting cuttings or buds of the required type onto them.
For propagation, it is necessary to plant seeds in the fall in rows to a depth of 2 cm. After this, they need to be sprinkled with earth and watered abundantly. In the spring, when seedlings appear, it is necessary to thin out the crops and leave only strong seedlings. Young apple trees should be transplanted to a new location every three years until they grow enough. After this, they need to be planted in a permanent place.
Seedlings begin to bear fruit in the seventh year
By cuttings
This vegetative method of propagating apple trees is the most popular among gardeners, as it is quite easy to use. It is recommended to cut cuttings in summer and autumn from young, non-lignified branches. They must be harvested in the morning, when the maximum amount of moisture is concentrated in the shoots. The cuttings should be 15-20 cm long with several internodes.
Before planting, it is necessary to clear the lower part of the shoots from leaves and place them in Kornevin’s solution for a day. Meanwhile, in a slightly shaded place in the garden, dig up an area, add sand and humus to the top layer of soil at the rate of 5 kg per square meter. m. The next day, it is recommended to plant the cuttings, burying them 2 cm into the soil, and water them abundantly. For better rooting, you need to install a mini-greenhouse on top.
The greenhouse should be ventilated daily and the cuttings should be watered as necessary. Under favorable conditions, seedlings take root after 30-40 days.
Active growth of cuttings is observed at a temperature of +23-25 ° C
Root suckers
This is another way to propagate an apple tree without grafting. It involves the separation from the mother plant of a part of the root system with dormant buds, from which the tree will subsequently develop. However, the method only works for propagating apple trees no more than seven years old.
When transplanting a seedling in the fall, you need to separate the root shoots with a diameter of no more than 1 cm, marking the ends that were located closer to the trunk. They must be cut into pieces 10-15 cm long, and then placed in a box with damp sand and thus stored in the basement until spring. In March, the cuttings should be brought into the house and kept in a warm place for about three weeks, spraying periodically so that the buds swell and begin to grow. When the pagons reach a length of 10 cm, it is recommended to plant the root shoots in open ground.
Reproduction by root suckers significantly weakens the apple tree
Breeding by layering
Using this method, you can obtain new seedlings of any fruit tree and shrub. In this case, propagation of the apple tree occurs by digging in branches growing in the lower part of the crown. However, this can only be done if the tree is young and flexible.
To propagate, you will need to bend the branch to the ground, secure it with a bracket and sprinkle it with earth, leaving the top. In the future, you will need to regularly water the apple tree cuttings and, if necessary, add soil.It is best to use the propagation method by layering in the spring, which allows the young seedling to take root and grow stronger during the season.
It is recommended to separate a young apple tree from the mother plant only after a year. When using this propagation method, the new seedling fully retains its varietal properties.
Propagation by a broken branch
When using this method, it is recommended to bury a broken apple tree branch for propagation. It is recommended to be used when it is impossible to preserve planting material until spring.
Procedure:
- In November, select a woody branch with a diameter of no more than 1 cm from the southern side of the crown of the apple tree.
- It must be broken at a distance of 20-30 cm from the top, but without disturbing the integrity of the bark.
- Wrap the damaged area with electrical tape and fix it in a half-bent state.
- In the last ten days of April, cut off the broken branch of the apple tree.
- Place it in a glass, at the bottom of which there should be a sponge 1.5 cm thick.
- Pour water and dissolve two tablets of activated carbon in it.
- Keep the cutting in liquid until roots appear.
Immature shoots are not suitable for rooting
Cloning apple trees
This method of propagation is innovative, and therefore has not yet become widespread among gardeners. However, if desired, you can quickly master it. Its use is especially relevant when it is impossible to obtain apple tree seedlings by layering, since the branches are difficult to bend to the ground.
Cloning must begin by separating the root shoots from the apple tree and planting them in a new location.The further stage of propagation can be carried out when the young seedlings adapt and grow a crown. In this case, it is necessary to prepare tall pots with a volume of at least 5 liters, fill them with earth and place them near the apple tree. Then you need to bend the lower branches, bury them in containers, securing them with a bracket, but before that, scratch the bark in places of contact with the substrate, sprinkle with soil, and water.
In the future, for the successful development of the cloned apple tree shoot, it is necessary to keep the substrate in the containers always slightly moist. When the resulting seedling has taken root well and begins to grow, it needs to be disconnected from the mother plant.
It is possible to plant a young cloned tree in a permanent place only after a year. The advantage of this unconventional method of propagating apple trees is that it allows you to grow a seedling when all previous methods have failed. However, when choosing it, you need to be patient, since cloning takes a long time.
Air layering
This variant of apple tree propagation gives a very high survival rate of new seedlings. At the same time, it allows you to grow seedlings that fully correspond to the selected variety.
Before proceeding directly to the reproduction process, you need to prepare a 1.5 liter plastic bottle, electrical tape, a 40 cm long polyethylene sleeve, and a sharp knife. You will also need to prepare a nutritious loose substrate. To do this, you need to mix peat, humus, sand, turf in equal quantities and add a pinch of vermiculite and sphagnum moss.
Layers should be selected from the south side of the crown
Procedure:
- At the beginning of spring, put a plastic sleeve on the lower young branch of the apple tree and secure its ends with electrical tape.
- In May, when the bark softens, remove the greenhouse and determine the boundary between young and aged bark.
- From the point of contact, retreat 10 cm towards the trunk and make an incision in the bark along a ring 1 cm wide.
- On both sides of it at a short distance you need to make similar damage.
- Remove all buds located between the cuts.
- Place a plastic sleeve over the damaged area of the bark and secure it at the bottom with electrical tape.
- Cut off the bottom of a plastic bottle.
- Place it over the sleeve with the neck down so that the damaged areas of the branch are at the beginning of the container.
- Pour Kornevin's solution inside the sleeve and leave for two days.
- After the time has passed, drain the liquid.
- Pour nutrient substrate into the sleeve so that it fills the volume of the bottle by ½ part.
- Secure the upper end of the sleeve with electrical tape.
- Shade the structure with newspapers or paper.
Periodically, the substrate inside the sleeve needs to be moistened. At the end of August, it is recommended to shorten the cuttings by half. A week after this, the rooted seedling can be cut from the apple tree and transplanted to a permanent place with a nutritious lump of earth.
Apple tree propagation time
In order for the propagation of the apple tree variety you like to be effective, it is necessary to follow the recommended deadlines, depending on the chosen method.
Successful seed germination requires exposure to low temperatures. Therefore, they need to be planted before winter to ensure natural stratification.
When using cuttings and layering, it is recommended to propagate the apple tree from late May to mid-summer. In the case of using root suckers and cloning, it is recommended to start the procedure in early spring. And when propagating an apple tree with a broken branch, you can start the procedure in late autumn.
Possible mistakes
Sometimes novice gardeners make mistakes that lead to the death of young seedlings. To avoid this, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with them in advance.
Common problems:
- Incorrect watering. For young apple trees, both drying out and waterlogging of the roots is detrimental. Therefore, you need to water them often, but in doses.
- Lack of light. To strengthen vitality, seedlings must be well lit. But it is important to slightly shade them from the scorching rays of the sun.
- Wrong choice of method. If you lack experience, you should not use the most difficult propagation methods. Initially, you need to practice on simpler ones.
How do apple trees reproduce in nature?
Fruit trees growing in nature are wild. Therefore, such apple trees reproduce by seeds and root shoots. However, their fruits are not large in size or sweet in taste. But they are excellent as a rootstock for varietal species.
Wild animals have increased natural immunity
Conclusion
Knowing how to propagate an apple tree, getting a new seedling will not be particularly difficult. At the same time, you need to be prepared for the fact that the desired result cannot always be achieved the first time. But this should not be a reason to stop trying.
