Sea buckthorn fell in love with many gardeners for its medicinal properties. Many novice gardeners grow sea buckthorn from purchased seedlings. As a rule, it is quite difficult to find quality planting material.
Sea buckthorn is a dioecious plant, this means that it is capable of being a male or female plant, therefore, the trees must be planted together to obtain a quality harvest.
Breeding methods for sea buckthorn
The useful sea buckthorn is loved by many gardeners. Presently many different varieties have been bred.
To increase the number of trees, it is not at all necessary to purchase a seedling in a nursery, since there are many ways to reproduce sea buckthorn.
There are several ways to breed sea buckthorn:
- undergrowth;
- layering;
- seeds;
- woody and green cuttings.
Every gardener shaves the best option for yourself. Let's take a closer look at each of these methods.
Undergrowth
For those gardeners who want quickly propagate sea buckthorn bushesthe overgrowth method should be taken into account.
The planting material is shoots, get it by traumatizing the sea buckthorn roots with a shovel... Damage can also happen unintentionally, as the sea buckthorn roots cover long distances.
Then dilute the mound (next spring), you need to do this carefully, with your hands, then separate the offspring from the root with a horizontal movement of the knife, by that time it will have acquired its own roots.
After which it must be transplanted (the place is prepared in the fall). In the future, it is necessary to regularly feed the plant and water it systematically.
Lignified cuttings
The preparation of lignified cuttings is carried out in November, having chosen suitable cuttings at least 5 mm thick, they must be hidden in the snow. At the onset of spring, the cuttings are cut, the main length of the cuttings after cutting is 20 cm.
Then they must be soaked in water.... Cuttings can be left in water for two weeks, during which time the buds have time to bloom, small rudiments of roots appear.
Preparation of the site for planting is carried out in advance. During the autumn digging, up to 9 kg of humus per 1 m is introduced into the soil. In the spring, a second dig is carried out and the place for planting is carefully leveled.
The bed must be at least 1 meter wide, it should not be too high, some even trample paths on the sides so that the ridge protrudes slightly above the territory.
When the soil temperature reaches 5 degrees, planting cuttings... Leaving several buds on the surface, the cuttings are plentifully watered, after which the soil is mulched with fertilizer.
After the cuttings are planted, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the soil, its moisture, watering long cuttings is carried out at intervals of 1 time in 4 days, short - every day.
Some seedlings reach standard sizes by the end of the season, and already next year in the spring, you can transplant to a permanent place.
Saplings whose roots have reached 20 cm, the height of the aboveground part is 50 cm, and the neck diameter is 8 mm, are ready for transplantation.
The advantages of this method:
- the method does not require special skills and is suitable for amateur gardeners;
- the result in the form of a clone of the mother plant can also be considered an advantage.
Disadvantages: cuttings take root poorly at low air humidity.
Green cuttings
This type of reproduction of sea buckthorn carried out from June to July... First of all, cuttings are cut (10 cm), for this you need a sharp knife. Then make the bottom cut and the top.
For good rooting, cuttings must be treated with growth substance, you can use heteroauxin proportions: 1 tablet per 1 liter of water.
After 16 hours, the cuttings must be rinsed and planted in the soil, and then covered with foil or a jar. It is best if the soil is light, the most suitable type of soil is peat... Cuttings must be buried 4 cm.
Watering is carried out using a fine sieve. It is necessary to control the condition of the soil under the cuttings and leaves - it must always be moistened.
To protect cuttings from a disease called black leg, it is necessary to water them with a solution containing potassium permanganate.
The film or can is removed from the cuttings after they have taken root... The cuttings are transferred to a permanent place a year after they have taken root.
Benefits: one hundred percent survival rate.
Disadvantages: quite a laborious process, more suitable for experienced gardeners.
How to propagate by dividing the bush
To this kind of reproduction usually resorted to when transplanting a plant from one place to another.
Favorable time for the procedure - early spring or late autumn, but before the frost hits.
The bushes are dug up, all old branches are cut off, leaving only healthy ones. Shaking excess pieces of soil from the roots, divide the bush into parts using a garden pruner.
When dividing the bush, it is necessary to check the presence of a healthy root system in each part of the bush. The seedling must have developed roots, old rhizomes are removed, everything else needs to be trimmed.
Layers
This method is loved by many beginners. in horticulture as it is effective in growing quality seedlings.
Reproduction by layering is carried out as follows: take the lowest branch of the sea buckthorn and press it tightly and stick it to the ground, leaving the tip of the branch on the surface. Then it is abundantly sprinkled with humus and maintains moisture during the summer.
By the fall, each stem produces several shoots. With the onset of spring, the strongest specimens are selected and planted in a permanent place.
Benefits such a method are as follows:
- all biological characteristics of the shrub are transferred;
- good rooting.
Of the shortcomings the following can be distinguished: a few annual shoots, the trunk of a fruiting tree is bare.
Seeds
Seed propagation is the easiest way. With this type of reproduction, the properties of the variety do not pass to the seedlings, in addition, more than half of the seedlings are male.
Seed propagation in stages:
- Seed collection from high quality and healthy sea buckthorn bushes. The seeds are obtained by the following method: the fruits are crushed, the juice, pulp are separated and washed several times with water through a calico, after which they are left to dry in the shade. After drying, the seeds are separated from the pulp and skin.
- After harvesting, it is necessary to provide the seeds safe storage... Seeds placed in a paper bag should be kept in a dry and warm room.
- Sowing... Under suitable conditions, sea buckthorn seeds are able to retain their properties for 3 years. You can sow seeds in the spring, as well as in the fall. From many tree species, sea buckthorn seeds are cast by the fact that they do not have a dormant period, they sprout after harvest and when stored dry. Seeds of sea buckthorn are sown before frost, in early November. It is not recommended to sow earlier, as the seeds germinate very quickly, which can lead to freezing of the seedlings. When sowing in spring, the seeds are usually stratified.
Late autumn sowing differs from spring sowing in that it ensures the germination of all seeds at the same time. Seedlings fall in April, before the onset of heat, the root system has time to form.
Best time to plant: fall or spring?
Sea buckthorn is difficult to tolerate cold winters, the growing season can begin very early.
Planting or transplanting is best done in early spring.... For seedlings with an open root systemic, this is extremely important, since during the transplanting process, the plant loses part of the roots.
In the case when the seedling is in the container for a long time (more than 1 year), the transplanting task is simplified. You can transplant a plant from a container at any time of the year.
It is still worth focusing on summer and spring, since in this case the seedling will have time to build up a good root system before winter, which will make it easier to endure frosts.
Each method has its own characteristics and advantages. Some methods cannot be implemented without certain experience and equipment.
Beginners should focus on simpler methods reproduction of sea buckthorn, and with the acquisition of the skill to move to a more complex level and then the result in the form of beautiful, fruiting trees will not keep you waiting.
Agrotechnics of sea buckthorn: