Apple & Plum tree cuttings

Steve_xx

I've taken a couple of cuttings off my friends James Grieve apple & Victoria plum trees. I know that these are usually grafted onto dwarfing or other rootstocks but I wonder what will happen if I simply root them as is?

Will they root? Will they bear fruit the same as their parent?

radiohelen

Everything is telling me it's the wrong time of year to do this. I think your plum will be OK if it roots because they spread true to type through suckers. The apple is a different kettle of fish, I've seen video of a bloke taking hardwood cuttings from old apple trees and heeling them in over the winter, not sure how it will go. I think they will root true to type if they take hold. Good luck with it!

Mojisola

If you can get them to root, they will be true to type for fruit but the size of tree could be anything. Many varieties will grow to very big trees - that's why they are grafted onto dwarfing rootstocks. They could also take a long time to reach fruiting maturity.

If you want to have a go, you need hardwood cuttings taken in the autumn and will need base heat to have any chance.

Have a read through this - https://www.orangepippin.com/resources/general/own-roots

Mojisola

As you've taken the cuttings, don't waste them. It's always worth having a go. I've done plenty of gardening things at the "wrong" time and in the "wrong" way and been successful so, don't expect success, but don't throw the cuttings away.

Use some rooting hormone to give the cuttings the best chance and a gritty compost would probably be better than water.

Steve_xx

Thanks for the advice folks. I'll give it a go and see how they do.

demystified

Don't bother, fruit trees are grown on rootstocks to control the size of teh eventual tree, grown on their own roots they could reach a considerable size before they'll even think about fruiting.

If you're talking about rooted suckers from around the base they come from the rootstock and are worthless you'll only end up with some kind of wild plum or crab apple tree and nothing like the variety you're expecting.

Mojisola

demystified wrote: »

Don't bother, fruit trees are grown on rootstocks to control the size of teh eventual tree, grown on their own roots they could reach a considerable size before they'll even think about fruiting.

If you're talking about rooted suckers from around the base they come from the rootstock and are worthless you'll only end up with some kind of wild plum or crab apple tree and nothing like the variety you're expecting.

If you want a crop of the same variety in a reasonable time, spot on advice.

If you want to experiment and see what happens, regardless of the results, carry on.