Planting seed of propagation
The aspect of gardening when mastrered can save you a fortune
Whenever a batch of seeds germinate, or cuttings show signs of rooting, there is an undeniable sense of achievement for even the most experienced of gardeners. Add stems of Salix (pussy willow) to a vase of daffodils for effect and see how quickly they form roots. Unwittingly you have entered the green-fingered world of plant propagation, an aspect of gardening which once mastered, can lead to saving a fortune.
Successful seed sowing along with the rooting of stem, leaf and petiole cuttings can fire the desire to try further skills such as budding and grafting. Many woody perennials of an ornamental and fruit-bearing nature are produced in this way commercially.
The apples, pears, cherries and plums we buy are the result of grafting, the nature of their rootstocks determining the eventual height and health of the plant. Grafting your own saves on cost and offers a far wider choice of varieties than that found in gardening outlets.
This fellow once professionally budded roses and grafted fruit trees, with the aid of a sharp knife, raffia and wax, even demonstrated the technique. However, time and changes in approach brought a yearning to update on skill and technique, and a recent local masterclass event proved too good to miss.
Friends of the Bullfield Community Orchard, Alnwick, sponsored by The Town Council, advertised two x three- hour sessions of a grafting workshop in a large polytunnel at The Alnwick Garden. This was led by Alistair Robinson of Honest Graft (www.honestgraft. org), a skilled communicator, whose positive approach gave confidence to the group.
He demonstrated whip and tongue bench grafting, with a choice of rootstocks from dwarf M27 to the vigorous MM106, and a generous collection of apple varieties, dessert and culinary, relevant to our northern climate were there for choosing.
Selecting an MM106 rootstock and a scion (short stem) of the apple cultivar ‘Peasgood Non-Such,’ I matched them up for size, pared off equal amounts of bark from both to bring the all-important cambium layers together, and cut a connecting groove in each to hold them temporarily. Binding the joint tightly with stretchy ‘Parafilm’ completed the grafting. All that remained was to pot up, water and label the precious item and keep it free from frost for a few weeks.