Fruit Trees Grown From Cuttings
- Plum trees can grow from cuttings under the right conditions.plum-tree flowers image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
Fruit trees can be beautiful, valuable additions to a home orchard, but are somewhat picky about their growth. Most fruit trees are grafted, which means the fruit tree's trunk was put on a hardier tree's roots for more successful growth. For that reason, most fruit trees grow only from seed or nursery seedlings. Only a couple of fruit trees grow successfully from cuttings and these require special handling and timing. - Peach trees grow successfully from peach pits and grafted trees but also grow from cuttings if the conditions are right. Take cuttings in the fall when the peach tree is going dormant. Cut six- to 12-inch pieces of new growth from the tree. Make sure the cutting has several growing nodes for new shoots. Dip the root end of the cutting in a rooting hormone and plant it in a six-inch pot with quick-draining soil and compost. Place the pot in the sun and water the seedling with an inch of water a week. Look for rooting and growth in spring.
- Although avocados are not always recognized as fruit, their makeup actually qualifies them as such, and these trees can be quite successful from both seed and cutting. Take avocado cuttings in the spring, from young trees. Keep your cuttings at least three inches long, nick the cutting's root end to open up the bark and dip it in a rooting hormone to encourage sprouting. Plant avocado cuttings in their preferred base of quick-draining soil and put them in the sun. Avocados are extremely cold sensitive, so never expose seedlings to temperatures under 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Propagate plum trees from stem or sucker cuttings for good success. Trim 10 to 12 inches of shoot or sucker from the tree in early June, dip your cutting in a rooting hormone and plant it in a pot, in quick-draining soil. Keep plum seedlings indoors through the summer to protect them from the heat and look for growth in the fall.
