bellevuebully
27th May 2010, 08:24 AM
Just a little info to share....thought some might be interested.
Last week I bought a raspberry vine for about 8 bucks at the local nursery. I would like to have a nice raspberry hedge in a few years but there is no way I am willing to pay 8 bucks a pop for a bunch of plants to create a hedge, so my intention was to try to take cuttings and clone a bunch of starters.
Using traditional cloning methods (soil-less medium) did not work. Within on day the cuttings were dead. Thinking that the leaves had too big a surface area, I attempted to trim off about 80% of the leaf surface and tried rooting in a glass of water. Strike two.
So I turned to the internet and found a technique called layering. There are several forms of layering (tip layering, air layering, mound layering, etc). The method I will try this weekend will be air layering.
In a nutshell, here is what you do.....
Pick a branch. About an inch away from the joint to the main stalk and using a sharp, thin blade, cut a wound about a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch long, to a depth of about one third the thickness of the member. Use a toothpick or something similar to hold the wound open to prevent it from healing up. Apply rooting compound to the wound and then surround it with some form of wet medium (moss, peat, etc) and then wrap the wound/wet medium with foil or plastic wrap. Once roots appear at the wound, the branch can be severed leaving the roots with the cut portion. This rooted cutting can then be transplanted.
Another method was tip layering. Basically the same thing, but you wound the growing tip, apply rooting compound and then bury the tip until it roots. Then you severe the tip, leaving the rooted tip in the ground.
Sounds like a good experiment. I figure with one $8 plant, and some dedication of time and effort over the summer months, a nice long hedge can be created.
I'll keep the board updated with progress.
Has anyone ever tried this before? If so, please provide any tips you might have that could increase success....tia.
Last week I bought a raspberry vine for about 8 bucks at the local nursery. I would like to have a nice raspberry hedge in a few years but there is no way I am willing to pay 8 bucks a pop for a bunch of plants to create a hedge, so my intention was to try to take cuttings and clone a bunch of starters.
Using traditional cloning methods (soil-less medium) did not work. Within on day the cuttings were dead. Thinking that the leaves had too big a surface area, I attempted to trim off about 80% of the leaf surface and tried rooting in a glass of water. Strike two.
So I turned to the internet and found a technique called layering. There are several forms of layering (tip layering, air layering, mound layering, etc). The method I will try this weekend will be air layering.
In a nutshell, here is what you do.....
Pick a branch. About an inch away from the joint to the main stalk and using a sharp, thin blade, cut a wound about a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch long, to a depth of about one third the thickness of the member. Use a toothpick or something similar to hold the wound open to prevent it from healing up. Apply rooting compound to the wound and then surround it with some form of wet medium (moss, peat, etc) and then wrap the wound/wet medium with foil or plastic wrap. Once roots appear at the wound, the branch can be severed leaving the roots with the cut portion. This rooted cutting can then be transplanted.
Another method was tip layering. Basically the same thing, but you wound the growing tip, apply rooting compound and then bury the tip until it roots. Then you severe the tip, leaving the rooted tip in the ground.
Sounds like a good experiment. I figure with one $8 plant, and some dedication of time and effort over the summer months, a nice long hedge can be created.
I'll keep the board updated with progress.
Has anyone ever tried this before? If so, please provide any tips you might have that could increase success....tia.