How can I multiply an apple tree?

There are a number of obligatory skills that a gardener and a gardener should have, since in addition to standard agrotechnical measures there may be a question, for example, about plant reproduction. As for such a fruit crop as an apple tree, there are several options that allow the tree to leave offspring at home.

Fruits, and, in particular, apples, are a rather popular delicacy, in the light of which such fruit crops are successfully cultivated in many countries and, of course, in Russia. In order to grow as many fruit crops as possible in a private garden, in addition to the annual purchase of seedlings, it is possible to increase the number of plants in the area using other methods that bypass spending money from the family budget.

Also, there are often situations when an apple tree, so beloved, has already reached the age at which it lost the ability to bear fruit well, or the tree struck a serious illness. Then proven methods of renewing the apple orchard will come to the rescue, and the advice of experienced gardeners, described below, will help to avoid mistakes during the reproduction of the fruit crop.

It should be noted a number of basic options to propagate an apple tree:

• fruit crops can be grafted;
• to grow a new tree will turn out with the help of branches;
• using seeds;
• using cuttings;
• by budding method.

Preferring the method without vaccination, or, conversely, stopping at one of these options, you need to choose the right time for work. As practice shows, the work is most accurately postponed in the spring or autumn months, although variants of apple reproduction in summer are not excluded, for example, in June. Seasonality of work is determined solely by the choice of the method of obtaining a new plant.

Before you choose one of the methods of reproduction, you should become familiar with the technology of each individual process, since there are often cases where work, including the preparatory stage, will take several months.

Each of the available methods of breeding fruit culture has inherent positive and negative aspects, specific nuances and individual requirements. Most often, such work is performed in the conditions of specialized nurseries, but this does not mean that the planting material cannot be obtained in a private garden. When choosing a culture for breeding, it is necessary to give preference to a plant with a winter-hard stock. Among the trees that meet these requirements, it is worth noting varieties "Antonovka", "Grushovka Moskovskaya", "Anis".

Such a fruit crop as an apple tree is perfectly amenable to grafting. Usually the material for planting is prepared in advance. The best results concerning rooting are shown by cuttings obtained at the beginning of summer, since they have not yet completed the woodiness phase. It is a good idea to take material from the lower tier of apple tree branches. Cutting is carried out on cuttings with a maximum length of 20 centimeters, it is best to perform work in the morning, since during this period the maximum moisture content is concentrated in them.

After cutting, the material at the cut point is treated with “Kornevin” and immersed in a container with water. On average, after 21 days, the first roots already appear on the branch.As soon as their length is about 8 centimeters, the young seedling can already be prepared for rooting in the garden.

The addition of planting material is performed by the trench method by several cuttings at once. The soil must be pre-fertilized. Mass planting gives a greater likelihood that some of the crops eventually take root in the garden.

Care after planting cuttings is abundant watering and loosening the soil in the trench. Pristvolny circle will need to additionally cover with a layer of mulch, which will allow to retain moisture in the soil. If the planting was done in the spring, then with the arrival of autumn, full-fledged seedlings will form from the planting material, which can already be transplanted to a permanent place in the garden, completing the crop shelter for wintering in the open ground.

This method has advantages and disadvantages. Among the strengths of grafting should be noted:

• the ability to perform reproduction without being tied to the time of year;
• for the mother plant, grafting will contribute to the renewal of productive development;
• planting material can be obtained from the tree in any quantities.

Disadvantages of the method:

• sometimes cuttings cut in the summer months do not form the root system.

One of the most effective options for reproduction of fruit crops is considered the procedure for obtaining air bends. The process is based on a specific feature of the development of the cambial tissue of the fruit culture, the essence of which is reduced to the buildup of layers between the bark of the plant and the wood.

The air outlet is a part of a healthy branch of a plant that can produce a crop. This segment is additionally stimulated to obtain roots. Effective means in this case are special substrates, plant shelter with plastic or polyethylene.

In the case of an apple tree, the usual pattern of rooting the supply is not suitable, therefore, for a segment of culture, the soil is specially raised to the required level. The best time for breeding air taps is early spring. Work must be completed before the green mass formation phase begins.

For reproduction, you need a container with a volume of 1.5 liters, a sleeve of film and soil mixture. Soil for removal may include compost or manure mixed with soil. Good results are demonstrated by the substrate consisting of garden soil and vermiculite. The last ingredient copes with maintaining the optimum level of soil moisture, in addition, it contains a large number of important trace elements that contribute to the development of the plant.

Some gardeners prefer to use moss as a nutritional soil, which is moistened as needed. If it is not possible to make a soil mix by yourself, you can use ready-made elements of mineral wool for hydroponics. Using this reusable cultivation material, It is necessary to monitor the level of moisture content.

The branch is wrapped in polyethylene and left in this state until the beginning of June. The bark on the shoot during this time will be pliable, and it will be possible to make the necessary cuts. The area between the fresh growth and the shoot is selected, where the annular incision is made. Indented in different directions from the main incision, two more are performed. Such a layout will contribute to the active formation of the root system. In order for the removal to start forming the root system, he will need a nourishing soil.

For reproduction is selected plastic packaging, which is put on the outlet on top of the plastic wrap. The edges are fixed with tape.Formed mini-greenhouse should be located vertically. A plastic container is filled with a growth stimulator, for example, “Korneynom”, in such a state the discharge should be within 2-3 days.

After this time, it is necessary to make holes in the plastic for the accumulated liquid to escape, after which the container is filled with a moist and nutritious substrate.

The plant should develop in shaded conditions. To create such conditions, the container is wrapped in a newspaper. It is necessary to control substrate moisture at least once a week. In the heat to moisten the soil more often - best in a day.

At the end of August, the retraction should be cut, removing half of its length. Seven days later, planting material is separated from the apple tree. Release the polyethylene cover immediately before boarding. For rooting the seedling, it is necessary to prepare the planting hole in advance, and fertilizer should be lowered to the bottom of the planting pit. Before planting, the polyethylene from the seedling must be removed. Culture can bear fruit no earlier than 3-4 years.

The method has some positive aspects:

• the method allows you to get a young plant with a root system within one year;
• The new culture will be endowed with all the properties inherent in the maternal.

Disadvantages are expressed in the following points:

• the method of reproduction by air layouts will require considerable time and cost for the gardener, as well as the obligatory availability of certain materials;
• there is a certain risk that instead of roots, only their rudiments form on the branches.

Since the efficiency of reproduction of fruit crops with green cuttings is rather small, experienced gardeners increasingly resort to using the method of N. Fursov. The basis of this method is a kind of stimulation of the culture to the formation of roots. The essence of the work lies in cracking a one-year or two-year escape in the winter. Carry out this task with caution so as not to break the bark. In this state, the shoot is fixed using tape, and in the spring it is removed.

The tip of the shoot is cut off from the parent branch at the fracture site. 3-4 lateral buds are left below, then a cut is made for the apical bud.

Next, planting material is placed in a container with melt water and activated carbon dissolved in it. After 21 days, the callus rush should form on the handle, after which the formation of the root system will begin. When the roots reach a length of 6 centimeters, the seedling can be rooted in open ground.

The strength of this method is a high probability of survival of planting material, in comparison with the other variants of grafting methods of reproduction of fruit culture. In addition, the cutting adapts perfectly after planting in open ground.

The disadvantage of technology is laboriousness and a rather extended period of work, as well as the need for the most accurate way to break the branch on a tree.

Despite the existing opinion that it is impossible to propagate an apple tree with seeds, gardeners still demonstrate the effectiveness of this method in practice. The method is quite complicated, so it is not very popular. However, experience in gardening when growing apples from seeds is mandatory.

The essence of the method is to preserve the seeds from the fruit in the autumn, they are washed and dried. For planting form grooves, and deepen the seeds a couple of centimeters into the ground at a distance from each other in 20 centimeters.

Next, the seed material is filled with soil and lined with a layer of mulch, leaving the seeds to hibernate in this form.

You can stratify the planting material at home, for this, the seeds are rooted in wet sand and sent to the refrigerator for 7-14 days. In the spring, planting with such material is carried out according to a similar scheme described above.

Then it is necessary to provide care for young cultures, remove weak plants. A year later, the seedlings can be transplanted to a permanent place in the garden. When planting a plant, pinch the central root so that it is not too high and as early as possible entered the fruiting phase.

The advantages of the method include the long life of fruit crops cultivated in this way. The disadvantages of seed reproduction need to add a rather lengthy process of obtaining culture, the need for horticultural experience for work. In addition, seed propagation does not allow to obtain a culture that will have all the characteristics of the parent plant.

This method, with minimal gardener's experience, can provoke a variety of contaminants and microorganisms in the wound of a plant. Therefore, technology requires strict compliance with all requirements. The method includes the following activities:

• an incision is made on a quality and healthy stock;
• the ends of the bark are unbent, a cutting with a bud is inserted into the hole formed;
• after that, the material is tightly fixed to the culture with a wet bast, avoiding the growth buds wrapping;
• a week later, a control inspection of the vaccination site is carried out.

Among the positive features of the apple multiplication method described above, it is worth noting the possibility of forming several crowns on one mother trunk, where the fruits will have their individual varietal qualities.

The disadvantages should be attributed binding work to weather conditions and the season - the reproduction of the eyes will not work when working in the heat or, conversely, in a rainy season. In addition, the positive dynamics is not seen when vaccinations are performed on an old apple tree in spring.

Gardeners-practitioners point out a lot of advantages of independent work on the reproduction of apple trees, first of all it concerns the possibility of self-selection of planting material. That is why it is recommended to perform such work on your site, avoiding additional expenses related to the purchase of seedlings.

For successful reproduction of apple seeds, work should be carried out in the autumn, which will provide the young culture with the most natural conditions for growth and formation. Wild plant grows well in greenhouses, but the winter-hardy varieties are best picked from the fruit in the autumn.

The cutting in spring contributes to the fact that the culture will give all its strength to growth, while the root system will begin to develop incompletely. Therefore, the work must be clearly coordinated in terms of, based on the specific growth of the young plant in specific months.

How to propagate an apple tree, see the next video.