Grafting Varietal Lilac. Preparatory Stage

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Thanks to the work of breeders, the varietal variety of modern variants of lilac has increased significantly. The area of the garden plot is limited to several hundred square meters, on which it is necessary to fit food crops and ornamental plants. How to get more varieties in a small area at the lowest cost?

The reality of life

In early spring, many visiting sellers of green plants appear in the markets of any large and small town. There are unscrupulous people who deceive customers. Bushes are sometimes sold without names or with labels that do not correspond to the variety.

Branded seedlings in stores are expensive. Not every gardener can afford such a purchase. There are many new colors, it is unrealistic to plant all types in a small area.

We have to look for extraordinary ways out of this situation. With the help of the grafting method, you can grow your favorite plants with minimal cost.

Original output

As practice suggests, it is enough to purchase 3-4 cuttings of different colors of lilac to start the collection.

There are several mining options:

• ask friends;

• subscribe by mail from advertisements on the Internet;

• buy in the nearest nursery.

Some large organizations, with a sufficient number of mature plants, offer a wide range of cut twigs from May to mid-June for a small fee. The price is almost purely symbolic 20-50 rubles. You will have to come to the place in person. Nurseries do not send such goods by mail.

Preparation of rootstocks

For the base, two-year seed stocks are used.

Seeds are sown in two ways:

• before winter (with freshly harvested grains);

• in spring (after preliminary 2-3 months of stratification).

Dig up the soil on a specially designated bed. Cut grooves every 20 cm. Sprinkle with water. Seeds are spread out with a distance of 3-4 cm. Sprinkle with earth. Rows are compacted from above by hand. Arcs are put.

In early spring, after the snow melts, they are covered with a foil for a friendly, fast germination. As the substrate dries up, regular watering is performed. Seedlings dive into the "school" after the appearance of 3-4 true leaves, setting distances of 10 by 20 cm.

The beds are chosen in a sunny place. Here, the seedlings quickly grow in thickness at low growth. In the shade, the young reach for the light, forming thin, long shoots. The soil is mulched with humus or sawdust to retain moisture.

During the summer, they feed 3 times with a complex fertilizer "Zdraven" or "Kemira Lux" a tablespoon per bucket (10 liters) of water with an interval of 2-3 weeks. Weeds are removed regularly. When the thickness at the root collar is equal to a pencil, the seedlings are ready for grafting.

If an ordinary lilac grows on the site, giving abundant growth, then there is no need to grow seed stocks. They dig up 1-2 year old shoots in early spring after thawing the soil. Select material with a good root system, the required stem thickness.

All replacement buds that have started to grow are cut off from the underground rhizome in order to remove wild "competitors". Dip the lower part in a clay mash, tightly packed in an individual bag. The operation is performed at home in a comfortable environment.

Structure and preparation of cuttings

A feature of lilac branches is a soft core fabric. It does not tolerate splitting, it crumbles easily. Therefore, a simple copulation method without a tongue is used. Until the moment of grafting, the cuttings are kept in a bag at low temperatures (refrigerator or cellar).

Before the operation, the ends of the branches with flower buds are cut off. In order not to weaken the plant by blooming buds, the last pair is removed at a right angle, covering the wound with garden varnish to prevent the branch from drying out.

The preparatory phase is over. We will consider the vaccination technology in more detail in the next article.