Content
Rosehip is one of the most popular long-lived shrubs that grows in most areas. Its fruits are used to prepare a tonic drink rich in vitamins; the plant serves as a rootstock for grafting roses. To get new bushes, you should know how to propagate rose hips from cuttings, determine the timing of the procedure and become familiar with the rules for further care.
Is it possible to take cuttings and grow rose hips from a twig?
To propagate rose hips, several methods are used - by seeds, layering, dividing the bush or cuttings. The first requires a lot of time and does not guarantee the preservation of varietal qualities. There are not many cuttings, which limits the number of new plants. Dividing a bush is a labor-intensive process and does not always end with the rooting of seedlings.
Vegetative propagation produces seedlings that are more hardened and frost-resistant
The easiest way to grow rose hips from a branch is by preparing cuttings.The method allows you to preserve varietal characteristics and obtain a large number of seedlings without harming the mother plant.
When is it better to propagate rose hips from cuttings (timing)
Most often, rose hips are planted from cuttings in spring or summer. During this period, the daylight hours are long, the soil and air temperatures are comfortable, and the weather is favorable. The advantages of such reproduction include:
- Minimal injury to the mother plant at the time of cutting the shoots, since sap flow is suspended.
- Fast rooting.
- Having sufficient time to adapt to the open ground and prepare for the winter.
- Lack of root shoots in seedlings.
- Preservation of varietal characteristics.
If appropriate planting material is available, propagation by cuttings is possible for both ordinary and double rosehip varieties.
The optimal time for cutting green shoots is the end of May, semi-woody shoots - June. Woody ones can be harvested in August and September.
How to propagate rose hips by cuttings in spring, summer and autumn
Seedlings can be obtained from shoots of three types. The technology for harvesting them is approximately the same, the difference is in the cutting time and the choice of planting material. To propagate rose hips, shoots of the current year are cut with green cuttings at the end of spring. Semi-lignified ones are harvested in the summer. To do this, take part of the side branches from last year's shoots. Woody ones are cut from the stems of the current year after they are fully ripened, in September or early October.
Seedlings obtained by propagation by cuttings often get sick on acidic soils and grow slowly
How to properly cut rose hips
When preparing material for propagation, it is necessary to perform a simple technology.Its algorithm is as follows:
- Select a shoot fragment 10-15 cm long with three or four buds from the middle part of the branch.
- The upper cut is made horizontal, the lower cut oblique.
- A couple of leaves located at the very bottom are removed, the rest are shortened by half.
When preparing material for propagation, they use bushes that are at least four years old. When cutting rose hips in the summer, in July, young shoots are chosen because they take root better.
The preparation of planting material for propagation is carried out early in the morning, during the period of maximum air humidity. Healthy, well-groomed plants, without signs of infection with fungal diseases, are used as mother bushes. Tools (secateurs or knife) must be sharp and treated with an antiseptic. The cuttings are planted, and if it is impossible to do this immediately, they are placed in a glass of water or wrapped in a damp cloth.
When propagated by part of the shoots, the maximum survival rate is in two-year-old seedlings with a developed root system
How to root rosehip cuttings
To obtain full-fledged seedlings, after harvesting the planting material, they begin to root the rosehip cuttings. To speed up the process, growth stimulants are used - “Heteroauxin”, “Kornevin”. The preparations are diluted in water according to the instructions and the planting material is dipped into the solution for a day.
You can root rosehip cuttings in water or soil.
In the first case, they are placed in a transparent glass or plastic container, immersed in 6 cm of water. The container is transferred to a slightly shaded place, and the water is periodically renewed.
When rooting in the ground, prepare a container with drainage holes and fill it with a substrate consisting of three parts sand and one peat. The soil mixture is watered abundantly and the rosehip cuttings are planted according to a pattern of 4 cm by 12 cm, deepening each one above the first bud. The top is covered with plastic film to create a microclimate. They are periodically watered and sprayed. The first roots appear after a month and a half.
Judging by the video, it is not difficult to propagate rose hips from cuttings in the summer; this is done in the same way as other ornamental shrubs:
How to plant rosehip cuttings
Rosehip cuttings are planted in open ground until thread-like roots form at the cut site. After propagation, new plants are placed in a well-lit place in October or November, after digging up the area and removing weeds. The soil should be slightly acidic. High groundwater levels are not suitable for the plant, since the root system extends to a depth of 5 m.
In low-lying areas, ridges up to 70 cm high are made for seedlings obtained by propagation by cuttings.
When creating single plantings, pits for seedlings are distributed at a distance of 1.5 m, and for hedges the gap between them is reduced to 80 cm.
Planting is carried out according to plan:
- Dig holes 60 cm wide and deep.
- Make a drainage layer of broken brick 10 cm thick.
- Fill the hole with a mixture of fertile soil, compost, sand and leaf humus.
- Add 2 tbsp. l. superphosphate, 1 tbsp. l.potassium sulfate and three glasses of wood ash.
- Place the seedling together with a lump of earth in the center and cover it with soil.
- Water generously.
- Mulch the surface with sawdust or straw.
Growing rose hips from cuttings at home is not difficult. Most often, their survival rate when propagated using this method is 100%.
Aftercare
Rosehip is an unpretentious plant, but for the first time after planting it requires minimal care. It comes down to timely watering, fertilizing and pruning.
Watering
The soil near the seedling should be moist, without stagnant water and swampiness. Watering is carried out as needed, but not less than once a week. For adult bushes, this operation is reduced to three times per season.
Top dressing
In the first year of the seedling's life, it is fed with chicken droppings diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 50. In adulthood, it is enough to apply fertilizer to the bush once every three years.
Trimming
When propagating rose hips from cuttings, the plant develops quickly, gives good annual growth and already in the third year needs pruning. In the spring, broken or frozen branches are removed, a crown is formed, in the summer only shoots affected by pests or diseases are cut out, and in the fall - twisted or improperly growing ones.
Vegetative parts cannot be used for propagation during the flowering period.
Recommendations
If you propagate rose hips with cuttings, after a few years a shrub will grow on the site, serving as a decoration for landscape design, an impressive hedge and a source of useful fruits. In order for the plant to be healthy, bloom beautifully and produce a good harvest, it is necessary not only to follow the rules of planting and care, but also to take into account the recommendations of experienced gardeners when propagating it:
- For pollination, rose hips need to be planted next to at least two plants of other varieties.
- Before applying fertilizer to the bush, the soil under it is abundantly moistened.
- After you have cut the planting material, you should take care of the mother plant - water it and treat it with Epin solution.
- If the root system of the seedling is well developed, it should be shortened to 25 cm before planting.
- When creating a standard form of rosehip, reliable support and tying are required.
- Insecticides are used to control pests, and for prevention purposes, fallen leaves are removed and tree trunks are dug up.
The vegetative propagation method is accessible even to novice gardeners
Conclusion
One of the simplest ways to obtain new plants while preserving the varietal characteristics of the mother bush is to propagate rose hips by cuttings. With proper preparation of the seedling and planting in compliance with all agrotechnical rules, a year later a beautiful flowering shrub is obtained that produces a rich harvest of vitamin-rich fruits.
