starting apple tree from cuttings

18 years ago

Could anyone give me instructions as to how to start an apple tree from cuttings. I took cuttings from the old apple tree and dipped them in rooting hormone and put them in a homemade bog I had made out of spagnum moss, peat moss, soil, sand and manure. Do you think I have a chance? I cut some on the diagnal and some cut off some of the bark about one inch high and about 1/4 way around. Am I supposed to cut through the cambium? I would appreciate any advice. Hope you don't tell me that it is a lost cause. Still working with that 100 year old, blown down apple tree. It made it through the summer and still looks pretty good and has lots of apples on it, although they do look a bit smaller than usual.

I had tryed airlayering. When I went back two of the branches had died and two were still alive so there is hope there. Am thinking of trying to send some off to a nursery when the right time is here to have some grafted.

Also, could a person buy small apple trees at a nursery, plant and graft to them?

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Comments (6)

frank_getchell
18 years ago
Trailer gal, You might be interested in my experience with rooting a variety on it's own roots. A few years ago I buried a young apple tree so that it's grafted rootstock was below ground level. Then I heaped dirt around the young trunk and kept it well watered. It developed roots. I don't remember how long it took but it happened. I wonder if it would do any good to ring the bark. I never had any luck rooting cuttings. Frank
baci
18 years ago
As you know, apple cuttings ideally need to be grafted. I have rooted just the apple cuttings without grafting, but in doing so I had many cuttings fail. The problems I had were the cutting I received were not ideal in the first place Â they had some powdery mildew on them and some of them were small in size. Another problem I had was excess moisture due to last yearÂs rains, which contributed to cutting failure. If you are going to try cuttings without grafting, get good size healthy ones. I rooted mine in peat. If you are in an area of high humidity, you might add some Perlite for drainage.
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I've found about 10 of the varieties of apples I have will root from cuttings if taken early enough in the dormant season. Anything cut after the middle of January will usually break dormancy before the roots start to grow. Grafting is really the only viable option you have now. If you really want to root a cutting then you'll have to wait until this coming winter. In mid to late December take pieces of the water sprouts that the tree will be covered with. I use the middle of the water sprout cut into 8 to 10 inch pieces buried 2/3 of the way in 1 part good potting mix and 1 part compost. Gallon pots are best but larger will work up to 2 gallons. Make sure only 2 or 3 buds are above ground. Leave the pots out all winter on the south side of your house so the sun can heat the soil on warm days. The roots will grow before the top breaks dormancy. The tree will be a full size tree and not something most people want these days unless you have plenty of room and like climbing ladders to harvest apples. You can transplant your new tree the following fall or late winter.
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They should go into your fridge, not freezer. The reason February is a good time is because the tree should be fully dormant and that's about the latest you can count on that. Too early and they spend more time in storage during which they can mold or dry out. With good storage conditions though both are manageable. You want relatively straight new growth that is hardened off and dormant. Maybe pencil diameter in lengths perhaps 6-12" long. Store them in a ziplock bag wrapped in a barely damp paper towel. Put them in the fridge. Every month or so, check and verify that there is still some moisture in the bag and they aren't molding. In the early spring graft them onto another tree or rootstock. Or just buy another King apple tree. It will be the same effect.
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Try the url below. Click Alabama, your county, etc. to find the phone number of the Auburn Cooperative Extension Services in your county. Give them a call. I would bet ACES can put you in touch with someone who can help you graft the apple you now have. You can probably buy a cheap apple tree, one of those wrapped in paper, at a local store and get it started as rootstock this year in a large pot. Then next year you can get someone to help you do the graft. Also, look at the propagation forum for ideas. You may be able to rot a cutting, especially if you start now. Here is a link that might be useful: Auburn Cooperative Extension Agent
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I'm betting you meant to post on a different forum :) I'll ship you TONS of sour cherry seeds if you want! Just about every cherry that falls to the ground becomes a seedlings the following spring...pretty obnoxious! However, you should know that the seeds from your Apple and Cherry will not come true to the parent trees as almost ALL fruit trees are grafted hybrids.
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Millie_36
18 years ago
If it's laying on the ground, maybe you could pile some wood shavings or sawdust over some small limbs and let it root while attached to the tree. Keep it moist. May need to wound the limbs and dust on some rooting hormone. I know that to make rootstock people will plant seedlings and heap sawdust around the base to cause "stooling"...when rooted those suckers are severed from the parent tree and bench grafted to make new trees for orchard plantings. If I were you, and knew anyone who could graft, I would get them to graft some on an existing apple tree to prevent the loss of this old variety.
loranjenner_hotmail_com
13 years ago
I would love to know if this really works. I am very tempted to do this because my first challenge was to grow an apple tree ,cross growing when seeds had grown so high into the tree stem and then put another variety of apple with this by bonding the stems together with hormone powder and grow on from there.
edandkaren1_aol_com
12 years ago
Hi,

We have a fairly young apple tree, maybe 4 years old now. I have fed and sprayed and we have about 50 apples on a 10-12 foot tree. Is it possible to dig up the smaller trees or "suckers" as my Husband calls them and start new trees? If so, could you please tell me how to accomplish that. Many Thanks from an apple lover in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont!
Donal.Lorimal
12 years ago
I've found that propagation from cuttings is harder than grafting. You have to keep the space around the leaves moist while maintain only a slightly moist media around the leaf node. Until the stem sends out roots (several months) the only moisture the stem will get is from the moisture absorbed through the leaves. Plan on grafting several scions in the early spring using a dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstock. You'll have some nice fruit-bearing trees in about 5 years versus the standard that you'll get from the slipped cutting.

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starting apple tree from cuttings

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frank_getchell

baci

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Millie_36

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