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Peachy propagation?

Carla Burke

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posted 3 years ago

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I'm about to prune my peach tree, as it's long overdue. I got to thinking about propagating it from cuttings, and know many fruit trees can be done this way, but I've some questions about it, because propagating from my pruned cuttings is new territory, for me. I've always just composted them.
1 - does the diameter of the cutting matter (or just bud placement/existing)?
2 - do I actually need a rooting product?
3 - if a rooting compound is needed, can I simply use slow bark powder or willowbark tea?
4 - Does it even work, or does the peach need to be grafted?(cuz, I'm not dealing with that!)
5 - which works better for fruit trees - water or soil based rooting?
6 - how do I know (assuming I'm not just sticking them directly into the ground) when to transplant them?

The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance.~Ben Franklin

Lauren Ritz

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posted 3 years ago

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Carla Burke wrote:
1 - does the diameter of the cutting matter (or just bud placement/existing)?
2 - do I actually need a rooting product?
3 - if a rooting compound is needed, can I simply use slow bark powder or willowbark tea?
4 - Does it even work, or does the peach need to be grafted?(cuz, I'm not dealing with that!)
5 - which works better for fruit trees - water or soil based rooting?
6 - how do I know (assuming I'm not just sticking them directly into the ground) when to transplant them?

My Experience:

1) Prunings should be from this year's wood. Last year's wood will work for winter cuttings, but not as well for spring.
2) No, but it won't hurt.
3) I should think so. The chemical is identical to what you get in rooting hormone, just not as concentrated.
4) Yes, it works. Germination might be low--test things out, experiment.
5) For peach trees it's going to be soil, hands down. I have never had one root in water. They tend to rot.
6) Transplant spring or fall, after the tree is fully established. It could very easily be a year or two old before it's ready. If you can, probably better to put them in the ground at first, but it's harder to control the environment when you do that.

Best if the tree is still dormant. Layering is possible (in which you lay a bunch of sticks down in a trench with the tips sticking out and cover them with dirt).

Be patient.

New location. Zone 6b, acid soil, 30+ inches of water per year.
https://growingmodernlandraces.thinkific.com/?ref=b1de16
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Carla Burke

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posted 3 years ago

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Thank you, Lauren!
Now, I have another one, lol. This year's wood? What about suckers? How do I know this years, from the (ridiculous number of) suckers?

The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance.~Ben Franklin

Lauren Ritz

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posted 3 years ago

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Go out and look at your tree. I think you'll see the difference.

The trunk and old wood have bark. Last year's wood will be darker, possibly barked, but this year's wood is going to be red or orange, sometimes a vibrant brown or green, smooth and soft and very flexible. You'll be able to see exactly the split between old and new wood. It's very visible. The new wood is what you will be trimming with standard pruning--take off 1/3 to 2/3s of it.

I've attached a picture I grabbed off the internet that shows the difference.

Suckers are another issue. It depends on whether your tree is grafted or not. If the suckers are coming up below the graft they are part of the rootstock and won't give you the same fruit. If the suckers are coming out above the rootstock (or if it was a seed grown peach) then anything grown from them will essentially be a clone of the parent tree and provide the same fruit.

If you have a lot of suckers coming out below the graft your tree may be sick. All or the majority of the growth should come above the graft on a healthy tree.

Untitled.jpg

New location. Zone 6b, acid soil, 30+ inches of water per year.
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Carla Burke

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posted 3 years ago

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Thanks, Lauren! I can't remember of the top of my head, if it's grafted, but the suckers are all over the place - many are from the last couple years, because it's my first time pruning this one. This will only be our 3rd spring, and pruning was kinda low on the 'must do NOW' list. It's supposed to be nice, Monday, so I'll try to get out there, then.

The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance.~Ben Franklin

Lauren Ritz

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posted 3 years ago

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If you bought it, chances of it being anything other than a grafted tree are slim.

New location. Zone 6b, acid soil, 30+ inches of water per year.
https://growingmodernlandraces.thinkific.com/?ref=b1de16
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Carla Burke

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posted 3 years ago

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No, we bought our place in Oct of '18, and the tree was already mature and fruiting. It's incredibly prolific, yet we've never managed to taste a single peach from it, because I can't get a net over it, too protect it from the squirrels, who grab a still unripe peach, run and jump to the closest oak, take a bite, and throw it to the ground, then go back to the peach for another one - ALL. DAY. LONG. So, since it needs pruning anyway, I'm going to trim it a bit further back, too make it more manageable, and hopefully gain quality over quantity - and keep the lil' effers from stealing every stinking peach, before they're even half ripe.

The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance.~Ben Franklin

Lauren Ritz

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posted 3 years ago

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Hm. Could be either, then. First I'd get rid of the suckers around the base and see if you can find a clear graft line. If not, not a big deal. Leave one base sucker that's large enough to bloom and leave it till next spring so you can see if they have different flowers.

For the squirrels--get powdered hot peppers and dust the peaches when you see the squirrels starting to raid the tree. Put a handful toward the center in plastic bags (so you'll have some) and dust the whole tree. I don't know if it would work for squirrels, but it's supposed to work for mice, rats, and other mammals. I used horseradish for the gophers and it took them just a couple applications to clear out.

Actually, bagging them all might be an option. I don't know whether the squirrels would even bother with bagged fruit.

New location. Zone 6b, acid soil, 30+ inches of water per year.
https://growingmodernlandraces.thinkific.com/?ref=b1de16
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Carla Burke

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posted 3 years ago

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Thank you! I'll keep all of that in mind! 😁😁

The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance.~Ben Franklin

Megan Palmer

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posted 11 months ago

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Carla Burke wrote:Thank you! I'll keep all of that in mind! 😁😁

Hello Carla

Did your peach cuttings take?

I just pruned our white peach and tbudded about 7 grafts onto another tree at the community garden.

Have you considered grafting your prunings onto another tree?

Carla Burke

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posted 11 months ago

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Megan Palmer wrote:

Carla Burke wrote:Thank you! I'll keep all of that in mind! 😁😁

Hello Carla

Did your peach cuttings take?

I just pruned our white peach and tbudded about 7 grafts onto another tree at the community garden.

Have you considered grafting your prunings onto another tree?

They never got planted. I was injured shortly after I wrote about it, and my very unhappy patoot (on the recliner) was the only thing planted.

Maybe I'll try again, this spring!

The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance.~Ben Franklin

Megan Palmer

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Location: Zone 9A, 45S 168E, 329m Queenstown, NZ

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posted 11 months ago

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So sorry to learn about your injury, hope that you are fully recovered now and that you at least managed to taste some of your peaches having gone to the effort of pruning the tree.

I second Lauren's recommendation to bag the fruit, I do that on my stone planted trees to ensure that I get to taste the fruit or else light fingered visitors to the gardens and/or the birds, possums and other wildlife always beat me to it.

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Carla Burke

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posted 11 months ago

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Oh! We did finally get to taste some of the fruit, last year! They were some of the best peaches we've had, in years. We had a freeze, shortly after the tree blossomed, and it didn't look like any had set. Then in August, a bit of color in the tree caught my eye, so I looked closer - FRUIT!!! There were about 15 peaches that the freeze hadn't killed and the squirrels hadn't noticed. I was so excited... So, I started watching them, checking daily, for ripeness. One morning, I went out, and a bunch were gone, so I picked the rest, stepping on a couple that mysteriously had been nibbled down to just nubs. Apparently, the squirrels had never tasted ripe ones until then, because before, they'd never taken more than one bite out of each one. They still needed to sit on the counter for a few days, to finish ripening, but this year I'm going to bag those peaches, as soon as they set!

The only thing...more expensive than education is ignorance.~Ben Franklin

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