WV Farm Bureau Magazine February 2013 | Page 13

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