WVU Update
Published as a Special Insert for Farm Bureau News
Winter 2013
Create more desirable plants for your garden
I
f you want to grow more plants in your garden this year, you might
try propagating offspring from plants having such desirable traits
as high yield, quality, and flavor. Cutting, grafting, and layering
are ways of propagating new plants.
Cutting
After cutting a part of a leaf, root, or
stem, insert the cut portion with some
buds into the propagation medium to
develop a new plant having the same
desirable traits as the original plant.
Softwood cuttings are taken from
new growth or actively growing plants.
Hardwood cuttings are taken from
dormant plants.
From a disease-free plant, take a
portion of the stem having three or
four nodes. A node is the area on the
stem from which a leaf originates;
it also contains a bud. The cut end
or basal portion of the cutting can be
coated with or dipped into a rooting
hormone to promote formation of new
roots. Insert the cutting containing one
or two nodes beneath the medium for
root formation. The rooting medium
can be peat moss placed in a flower
pot or small container.
If you make the cutting during the
growing season, place it in a shaded
area. Put a plastic bag or dome over
the pot to increase humidity, which
is important for new root formation.
Make sure the rooting medium remains
moist in order for the new plant to
develop roots. Fruit trees, blueberries,
shrubs, and most house plants are
often propagated from cuttings.
Grafting
Grafting can be
done by home
gardeners but
they may need
some skill to
obtain maximum
success. Apple
trees can be
easily propagated Multiply your
own garden plants
by grafting.
through propagation.
“Whip and
tongue” grafting (www.flickr.com/photos/
mmmavocado/
can be done with 4254544242/)
dormant apple
buds in February in West Virginia.
A rootstock variety must be chosen.
Rootstocks can be purchased from
nurseries or grown as individual stock
plants in the garden. One-yearold plant tissue or stems are best
for rootstocks.
Make a diagonal cut on the stem
approximately 1 inch long. The scion
is the plant that will be grafted onto
the rootstock. Choose the scion
wood from a desirable apple tree
and make a matching diagonal cut.
Cut partially into the stem, making
a tongue section of the stem that can
be placed together with the rootstock.
Grafting tape or freezer tape can be
used to bind the two stems together.
Petroleum jelly can be used to prevent
moisture loss from the cut surfaces.
Place the grafted stems in a plastic
bag and store them at room
temperature until the graft union
heals. When the buds on the grafted
plant begin to swell, the new plant
can be planted in a shaded area of
the garden or in a nursery pot. The
following spring, transplant the plants
in the garden or farm area where you
want the apple trees.
Layering
Some plants develop roots from stems
and can be propagated by layering.
– continued on page iii –
Insert Provided by WVU Extension Service and Davis College of Ag., Natural Resources, and Design
Winter 2013
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 13