what are the easiest trees to propigate?

Discussion in 'Plant Propagation' started by sir grow a lot, Apr 15, 2009.

  1. sir grow a lot

    sir grow a lot Member

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    Hello,

    I'm looking to be able to mass produce any types of trees. I want to start a project around my neighborhood and plant as many trees as possible to help counter global warming. I have never rooted a tree though, and I was just wondering what are the easiest trees to root? and out of those trees what would be the best environmentally?

    Thank you!
     
  2. Francis Eric

    Francis Eric Member

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    I would at leat let you know that anything not invasive,
    It would be better to kill off invasive plants they crowd out native ones,
    like a forest full of buckthorn, (\
    or a bunch of honey suckle bushes or garlic mustard plants

    Also growing the same species all over can be harmful,
    things like banana trees get dieases(at least I believe) becauase people grow One vareity in a orchard.
    here is a link I found quickly of natives
    scrub oak, and sumac these grow easy around here
    (Im not sure of the others, but sumac berry juice By soaking the berrie s in water taste leminade ish)

    http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/codes/nativeplant/eslo.asp#trees

    if any braches are low you can also set a brick on it it should grow into the ground. to cut off intot a new tree (layering)
     
  3. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Personally, I would not worry about global warming, in the expanses of history, global warming has occurred hundreds and hundreds of times. Trying to root trees, for a person that seemingly has never rooted them before, your success rate will be low to none, and will take a years before the trees will be ready to put in the ground. For any type of success you will need to get an automatically timed misting system, that also provides bottom heat. Lastly, how do you know that your neighbors would let you plant on their property, or even want the type of trees that you would root? If I was your neighbor I certainly would not let you, or anyone else, plant on my property. I do not wish to seem negivite, but you should put some real thought into your plans, if you want to be successful. - Millet (1,374-)
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2009
  4. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    You would if you lived somewhere like Florida or Louisiana! Actually, you should be seriously worried wherever you are. Yes, global warming has occurred hundreds of times in the earth's prehistory, but never at the same rate as currently. The last really major spike in temperatures, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, saw a temperature rise of about 6° in 20,000 years; human climate change is going to make about the same rise on a couple of hundred years, maybe less - about a hundred times faster. Nothing that fast has ever occurred in the earth's history. That fast a change doesn't give much opportunity for life (including man) to adapt. And even the PETM caused quite a spike in extinctions, particularly among marine life.

    To answer the original question, the easiest trees to propagate by cuttings are willows, but they are not very long-lived, so any carbon capture would be lost as they die off and decay. Pines might be a better choice in Arizona, as they grow well in the (current) climate there; they are also fairly easy to grow from seed (though not from cuttings).
     
  5. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Michael, thank you for your reply. Actually the world temperature has been going down for the last 10 years, even though the CO2 level has risen. No influence on global warming, comes any where near as close as the natural influence caused by the sun, and man can do nothing about the sun. I absolutely, in no way believe in "man caused" global warming, as far as I'm concerned that's a fools errand. Anyway, at this point, lets just agree to disagree, I do not wish to continue a global warming discussion. By the way, because the polar bear population has risen to unmanageable large numbers, earlier this year hunting incenses for polar bears are again being issued. Take care, and the best to you. - Millet (1,374-)
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2009
  6. greengarden bev

    greengarden bev Active Member

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    Kudos to you, Sir Growalot!

    My former neighbourhood was in a very old part of the city where the trees were dying of old age and, since it was a less-affluent area, the city was neglecting us in favour of the newer, richer suburbs that also needed trees. So instead of fighting City Hall and its byzantine formula for deciding where the trees go, our neighbourhood association decided to start a tree nursery. We scouted around for unused private land that we could borrow or rent for a few dollars, allowing the landowner to claim the full value of the land as a charitable donation on the municipal taxes. When the city planning dept got wind of our idea, they found, cleared and groomed a little plot of public land for us, right in the neighbourhood. Letting us use it saved them having to mow and keep it clean. It was win-win.

    Our first batch of seedlings we received for free from the local conservation authority-- leftovers from a big charity tree-planting event. We got other (free) seedlings from local tree nurseries and conservation authorities in adjacent watershed areas. We'd take whatever they gave us, but if given a choice we'd ask for tough, pollution-tolerant, drought-tolerant, native species. Tiny seedlings are very cheap to buy, and if you have a place to grow them on for a few years, it can make sense to do some fundraising to buy them.

    I moved away before our trees were old enough to leave the nursery, so I can't say for sure how it's happening. The original idea was to "adopt out" the trees once they were sapling size. We'd give one or two to anyone who lived within the boundaries of the neighbourhood association, along with an "adoption certificate" that had the name of the species and detailed care instructions. People were free to plant them anywhere on their property. We were going to keep a database of all the adopters, and follow up each year to see how the tree was doing and if it, or the homeowner, needed help in taking care of it.

    These are ideas you can adapt to your own situation and neighbourhood. To help you with a source of rooted tree cuttings you might want to contact your local agricultural college that has an course on silviculture or arborist training. They might be able to donate some class projects or otherwise contribute. Or they might be able to teach your volunteers so you can propagate trees yourselves.

    Global warming or not, trees have great inherent value to the planet's ecosystems and the species they support. I wish you and your project every success.

    - Bev
     
  7. kaspian

    kaspian Active Member 10 Years

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    I'm sorry, but this is simply not true, no matter how many right-wing bloggers and talk show hosts in the U.S. repeat it, and no matter how red in the face they become. Millet is apparently sincere in repeating this utter fallacy -- the truth is that something like seven of the hottest years on record have occurred in the last ten -- but this just illustrates how pernicious these anti-science talking points can be. Especially when they are cloaked in "scientistic" language, with references to "the expanses of history" and so forth. Here is a fairly comprehensive guide to resources online to research this matter in depth, prepared by the New York Times (scroll down to find a "Global Warming Navigator" with links to major scientific sites, etc., around the world).

    As to the original topic ... are there any native oaks in your area?

    I find it immensely satisfying to grow oaks from acorns. It could not be easier. And because the acorn stores up so much food, the initial growth is rapid. Oaks typically live for a very long time, and the shade they cast when mature is usually airy and dappled, not dense and dark (as with, for example, many maples). They also tend to be deep-rooted, so they do not compete with other plantings for water and nutrients.

    The one drawback to growing oaks is that they can be tough to transplant once their roots get established. For this reason, they should be grown in little pots (the deeper the better) and placed while still small into their permanent locations.
     
  8. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    If you already have a group that is doing this sort of work, can I suggest you join it to learn the ropes. It is probably also advisable that native trees are used they are more likley to survive. That certainly is the trend here. If a bush area is revegitated all non natives are weeded out and replaced with native trees shrubs and grasses.

    Once trees are planted they need looking after for the first few years such as watering. Hopefully you would get enough rain that this is not a problem.?????

    You have a good idea and motives but I feel you may need to think it through a bit more. See if there is a friends group of some sort to get you started. I have been working on my own 5 acres for about 20 years and have managed to save remnant bush and grasses as well as have some exotics plus grass for my animals. It has given the bird life (parrots, honey eaters) a good source of food.
    Good luck in your endevours. Below are some sites I found on your area maybe there is something there

    http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/arizona/press/press2141.html
    http://www.azdot.gov/highways/NResources/Current_Phoenix_Projects.asp
    http://ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/library/ref-plnt.htm

    Liz
     
  9. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    I do not wish to respond to any more global warming threads, as the subject is dreadfully boring to myself, and to many members of this forum. In any event, man made global warming is a fool's errand. Concerning planting trees, the idea of starting oaks with acorns should freely work, as it is an easy method of propagating trees. We plant 200 - 300 hundred Gamble Oak acorns each year. They are picked from the trees just as soon as the acorns turn brown, and planted in the greenhouse into four inch containers having Air Root Pruning (ARP) technology. The new seedling trees are planted out into our fields the following spring. We dye and preserve branch cutting from these trees year after year, which are then sold to the florist industry. One concern with oaks is that they are rather slow growing, but eventually develop into strong beautiful specimens. - Millet (1,372-)
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2009
  10. bob 2

    bob 2 Active Member

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    I agree with you Millet.
    There is too much talk here about global warming etc et al.
    I wonder if you could give us your technique for propigating acorns in a bit more detail.
    I am curious and hope to learn the technique in the future.

    I have had some succes with cutting scions ( black poplars) and rooting them in water.


    Bob
     
  11. Millet

    Millet Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Most acorns, especially from the White Oak group, insist on germinating as soon as they fall from the tree. The only practical procedure is to collect and plant as SOON as possible. We place one or two layers of newspaper, no more, in the bottom of open mesh flats, and add 1 to 1.5 inches of good soilless mix. Then place the acorns in a single layer approximately 1-inch apart in the row, with each row 2-inches apart. Be sure there are no acorns on top of others. Add just enough additional mix to PARTLY cover the acorns about about 1/2 to 3/4 of the seed, so that the top half of the acorn is above the medium. Water as needed. When the acorns germinate you can easily see the radical (primary root) emerge from the pointed end of the acorn, and turn down into the mix. As soon as the acorn germinate, transplant one viable acorn into a 3 or 4 inch container. This procedure does take time, but the payoff is that you have each container, or cell, with a seedling at the same stage of development, thus a more uniform crop. On the other hand, if you plant each acorn directly into their separate containers, some germinate sooner, others later and some not at all and you have many more culls at time of transplanting. Do not procrastinate with oak acorns, as soon as the primary root is out and has turned down, even only 1/4 to 1/2 inch, it is time to transplant. Be sure not to completely cover the acorn, because then you cannot see the primary root emerge. Using this technique you avoid having any containers with blanks. It takes approximately 5 to 10 days for germination. NOTE: After germination the acorns will leaf out. Do not be alarmed when a couple months later they naturally discard their leaves. When spring arrives the seedling again leaf out, just as they normally do outside. - Millet (1,372-)
     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2009
  12. bob 2

    bob 2 Active Member

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    Excellent Millet

    Thank you very much.

    Bob
     

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