Mulberry Propagation

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

The simultaneous purchase of a large number of mulberry seedlings is expensive. You can try to multiply the mulberry tree on your own. I offer several ways to solve this problem

Breeding options

Initially, planting material is purchased in nurseries or from amateur gardeners. In the future, mulberries can be propagated in the following ways:

• seeds;

• layering;

• cuttings;

• root shoots;

• vaccination.

Seedlings grown from seeds are highly adaptable to local growing conditions. First of all, this concerns the better frost resistance of new plants. Therefore, new varieties are successfully "moving" to the North, conquering new habitats.

Seed method

To accelerate germination, seeds are soaked in water for 48 hours. At the beginning of March, separate 200-300 ml cups are filled with a mixture of humus, garden soil and sand in a ratio of 1: 3: 1. Sprinkle with water, make a small depression. Prepared seeds are sown. Lightly sprinkle them with soil, compact the top layer with your hand. Place 2 seeds in each glass. Cover with foil. After a week, the first seedlings appear. Excess specimens are removed, leaving 1 plant per pot.

Gradually, the plants are accustomed to the conditions of the room, opening the film for several hours. Then it is completely removed.

Water as needed. 2 times a month they are fed with a complex fertilizer for fruit crops. At the end of May, when the threat of frost has passed, they are planted for growing in a garden bed. The next year, the plants are ready to be transplanted to a permanent place. If possible, then plant the mulberry immediately in the place designated for it.

Vegetative way

Weeping forms of mulberry multiply by dropping layers. In the spring, young branches are bent to the ground. On the lower side, the integrity of the bark is violated. Processed with root root. Dig a hole. A wire pin is inserted. They moisturize the earth well. Form a mound. During the season, they monitor the moisture content of the soil, preventing it from drying out.

A year later, the seedling is separated from the mother plant with pruning shears. They plant it in a permanent place.

Some varieties give a sufficient amount of root growth. After 2 years, the seedlings are carefully dug out, trying not to damage the roots of the main tree. Transplanted to another site.

For all other forms, the cuttings method is suitable. Young branches are cut off from an adult plant in mid-June. They are kept in a root formation stimulator for 24 hours. They are planted in a greenhouse with a distance between plants of 10-15 cm, between rows of 30-40 cm at an angle of 45 degrees.

The earth is kept in a loose, moist state. After rooting, they are fed 2-3 times with complex fertilizers. Closer to autumn, cuttings are harvested for growing in open ground. After a year, the plants are ready to be transplanted to a permanent place.

Grafting seed specimens with a bud accelerates the onset of fruiting by several years. It is held in mid-July. In this case, the bark on the stock should be well separated, the buds are taken ripe, large in adult trees from the lignified shoots of the current year.

The leaf plates on the cuttings are removed, leaving the petioles. They serve as an additional indicator of survival rate. With a rounding knife, cut off the "eye" with a part of the bark, grabbing the wood. The same area is cut on the rootstock, leaving the "tongue". The scion is slipped under the left bark. Connect both slices so that all layers match. The vaccination site is wrapped with the reverse side of electrical tape or foil.

After 3 weeks, the leaf petiole will fall off without having time to dry. The vaccination was successful. If it turns black, it is difficult to separate from the kidney, the stalk is dead.

With a positive result, a sprout appears next spring. After this, the rootstock shoot is cut off above the graft. At the end of July, the winding is removed.

Which of the breeding methods to choose, decide for yourself. It all depends on the skills and abilities acquired. The above listed techniques will help to provide quality planting material not only to your site, but also to good friends and neighbors. They will allow you to create your own small nursery at home.