Q Can we propagate a special memorial cherry tree by taking cuttings?
Jane Wiltshire, by email
A BOB SAYS I’m sorry but the chances of rooting cuttings from a cherry tree, or indeed from any other stone-fruit relative, are very slight. I have never succeeded and it seems it’s simply not possible by the usual method of hardwood cuttings. You might be able to root a short growing shoot or softwood cutting in summer, with bottom heat in a mist propagator, but again I’m doubtful of success.
Air layering can work with nearly any plant. This involves rooting a shoot in situ by damaging the bark then covering the wound with damp moss and grit, wrapped in plastic. But it takes a lot of patience.
Your best option is to ask a nursery or skilled gardener to graft (or ‘bud’) some of your tree onto new rootstocks. These could be young saplings raised from seeds of the same tree, which would then be even more closely associated.