Last year my plum tree was the victim of a savage deer rubbing attack. The bark was stripped all the way around the trunk leaving no possibility of water passing toward the top of the tree through the cambium layer. It was frustrating to say the least. Two varieties of plum trees are necessary for good cross pollination to produce fruit and one of mine was doomed…or so I thought. I took a chance and cut the plum tree down then took cuttings from the top of the plum that had not yet had time to dry out. Here’s how I propagated plum trees from cuttings.
Propagating Plum Trees from Cuttings
The plum tree cuttings were about 6 to 8 inches long. I treated the cuttings with rooting hormone then stuck them in pots of soil. Then I put about 9 cuttings each in small 6 inch square nursery pots. I was in a hurry and just used whatever soil I had around at the time.
(The best time to take hardwood cuttings is when plants are dormant.)
I Had Low Expectations for these Cuttings
I didn’t expect much but figured it was worth a shot to save my tree. I put the cuttings over the winter in my greenhouse (which is unheated) and let the dormant cuttings rest over the winter.
See how these cuttings did in the video below!
I Left the Cuttings alone for a While
I didn’t pay much attention to them until this spring. As I planted and watered my other greenhouse plants I watered the plum tree cuttings. Some of the plum branches began to sprout leaves which indicated they still had a chance but didn’t necessarily mean that there were roots yet.
I checked a few periodically but they were not ready. Those that I did check eventually died because I disturbed them (impatience will often work against you in plant propagation). In retrospect I recommend only checking your cuttings when you see actual roots emerging from the underside of the pot. See the picture below.
This morning I took a peek at the underside of the pots and found roots coming out! Of the cuttings I took I have about 7-8 cuttings that may have rooted. I won’t pull them out until I am ready to transplant them all into pots so my exact success rate is still up in the air.
(Since I cut the top off my plum tree I left the root system in the ground which has since regrown quite a bit of foliage. I’ll trim down the sprouting foliage to one strong main leader and let it grow.)
The hardwood plant propagation method is best done in the late fall after dormancy. You can do this method with all kind of trees and shrubs.
More Plant Propagation Information Here: Plant Propagation from Growing The Home Garden.
When you prune your trees in the fall take a few pencil thick sized branches of first year growth, treat them with rooting hormone (may or may not be necessary depending on the plant), and overwinter them in a location where they will have some humidity. Tenting cuttings or covering with a plastic container will help to maintain enough humidity so they do not dry out.
Below is an example of the type of cutting your should take from your plum trees. The video shows callusing on the cutting when is part way through rooting. The callus is where the cutting has healed with scar tissue over the would. The new roots will form from that callus area. Watch the video to see what that looks like.
You don’t have to have a greenhouse to grow cuttings! You can get a clear plastic tote and place it in the shade and use it as a plant propagation chamber. Once spring growth begins don’t let the cuttings dry out.
Important Plant Propagation Notes
If you are taking cuttings of fruit trees keep in mind that it will generate its own roots. Which means if it was grafted on a different root stock before to create a dwarf or semi-dwarf variety it will grow to a full sized tree.
It also may not have the same vigor as the previous plant did since grafted root stock is typically chosen for improved growth and disease resistance which it imparts to the grafted variety.
Plum Tree Propagation From Hardwood Cuttings
Here is a summary of the method I used to propagate hardwood cuttings of plums.
- Take pencil size cuttings of hardwood plum trees about 6 to 8 inches in length with clean pruning shears.
- Apply rooting hormone to the cut ends.
- Stick the cuttings in a good rooting medium. I’ve used sand in the past but in this case I used potting soil and had success. The important thing is that it is a disease free medium.
- Keep the medium moist (not soggy) throughout the winter. Bottom watering by using a tray can help with this so you aren’t having to water too frequently.
- When leaves emerge consider covering the cuttings with a humidity covering of some kind. A tent made from a plastic bag or a clear plastic bottle can act as a cloche.
- Wait for roots to appear. This can take some time so be patient. Check the bottom of the pots for visible signs of roots.
- When it appears that you have a nice quantity of roots go ahead and pot the plants individually. It may take some time before they are ready to plant in the ground, maybe as much as a year but hopefully by fall.
