I am personally interested in propagating trees the old fashion way, from seeds. I want to collect my own seeds (nut, seeds, pods, whatever) and plant them for my own use. I fully understand that most trees do not grow "true." When "tree people" say a tree doesn't grow true from seed they mean the offspring from seed might be very different than the tree the seed came from. A seed from a vibrantly red Red Maple might produce a rather bland Red Maple tree. Seeds from a super delicious apple tree might produce a sour or flavorless apple. For things like fruit trees, cloning by propagating cuttings or grafting might be the better answer. But for feeding wildlife and livestock, these will do just fine. Someday I will get into cuttings and grafting too.
Not every nut or seed you stick in the ground is going to grow. So if you want to plant 100 walnut trees you might plant 100 seeds in 100 one-gallon pots only to have 80 or 60 or less germinate. You also have to find a way to protect those 100 pots from squirrels and other rodents who will just love the buffet you have set out for them. An air pruning bed allows you to plant 100 walnut trees in about four square feet of soil. When they have grown for a season thto transplant as bare root trees.
This is an okay article on air pruning beds. It recommends not more that 25 trees per square foot. So one every 5ish inches. Its worth reading. LINK
The pictures give good ideas about different designs/looks LINK
This is a pretty good walkthrough of air pruning beds their construction (but I don't think the shade clothe is needed). LINK
This is a pretty good review of the beds they use. There is a link to another video on their construction that might be helpful too. But it is not a complex system. LINK
Harvest the nuts in late September or early October. Spray for Pecan Weevils with something like Bug Buster II from Mid August through Mid September. You should also have two varieties of pecans, cleverly named Type 1 and Type 2. Also, "Paper Shell Pecans" produce a larger, easier to crack nut. It would be worth it. Pecan trees have a very deep tap root so planting them in 10-12" deep pots is a good idea.
They have a very helpful worksheet on planting, grafting, and transplanting pecan trees. It includes the best dates to plant and stratification methods. LINK
More good information and offers ideas on wet germination and dry germination. Check out the link.
The guy isn't a dazzling personality,, but he does seem to know his stuff. LINK
Some basic Pecan growing info
You can buy seeds here or on Sheffields Seeds
It's nothing special but I think it is solid. LINK
I'm not sure why I am excited about a Pawpaw tree but I am.
Gives the low down on planting Pawpaw seeds. It recommends 70-100 days of cold stratification followed by 24 hours in warm water. Seems solid. LINK
Lots of good information, lots and lots. Great section on propagation at about 21 minutes. He is not an exciting, engaging, enthralling, dynamic speaker, but he makes up to that in solid and comprehensive content. LINK
Add a description about this item
Heartnuts are similar to walnuts but less bitter and much easier to crack.
Solid article on growing Heartnut trees. "Many heartnut seedlings 'revert back to wild-type' – that is, their nuts will resemble the thick-shelled hard –to-crack wild Japanese walnuts. Some heartnut parent trees produce as much as 70% of offspring that grow into wild-type trees. On the other hand, the best heartnut parents will produce up to 90% heartnut offspring." They recommend planting twice as many as you need, raising them to nut bearing stage, and culling the ones you don't like. LINK
It almost reads like it was AI generated, so if it runs contrary to other articles, I would trust the others more. But from what I can tell this is pretty accurate. LINK
This Canadian says they can start producing the second year. LINK
This guy says it starts in the seventh year. But it deer and disease resistant, so it’s got that going for it. I think he means that they start producing enough to make harvesting the nuts profitable. From what i can tell they generally have a few nuts in 2-3 years, but reach full production in 7 years. LINK
Apparently the trees produce thousands of nuts a year. The people that have them seem to love them. They are great for squirrels, turkey, deer, and woodpeckers. All rodents seem to like them. The are only about 12 feet tall but produce a lot of nuts. Likes a moist soil environment. So planting near pounds, streams, and marshy areas seems like a good idea.
A University of Minnesota presentation on how to propagate your own hazelnuts. It is probably worth the read. LINK
This is a pretty good video on how he prepares the seeds for cold stratification. He says he planted about 250 seeds and got about 160 trees. That's about 2/3 germination rate. He also talks about different varieties of Hazelnuts. That is worth looking into. LINK
All things considered, living in Virginia, it might be cost effective to just buy the bareroot seedlings from the Virginia Department of Forestry. That have great prices. You can get 50 seedlings for $110 or 100 seedlings for $165. Money well spent for a one year old tree. LINK
I just recently learned of this little gem. It is a plum but the fruit is much smaller, about the size of a ping-pong ball, and very firm. It has a little bit of a crunch to it. Like most fruit trees, you can't assume that the seeds will produce trees like the mother.
Gives the low down on planting seeds, grafting, and growing from cuttings. Obviously growing from cuttings and grafting will produce trees identical to the mother. I suppose you could grow from seed for the scions and then graft onto them. LINK
After a good deal of searching I couldn't find any seedlings that were grafted. But I have purchased the fruit from stores and I can buy seeds from sites like Sheffield's Seeds So maybe getting 250 seeds for $30 and find the ones that produce the kind of fruit I want (which can take 3-6 years) is the best bet. Then I can graft branches from that tee onto the rootstock of the ones I don't like. Apparently they grow best with an Asian Pear tree pollinator nearby.
It's pretty barebones and I can only hope it is accurate but I have a feeling it is advice that comes from experience. It covers growing from seeds, cuttings, and grafting. Again, I think planting 100 seeds and selecting the trees that produce the best fruit is the way to go. Then graft onto those rootstocks. LINK
Plums are delicious but they are best if grafted
Again, there is no guarantee that what you plant will produce the delicious plums you want. So it is a numbers game. But this is what you need to know. LINK
Self-Sufficient Me is a great You Tube Channel. This is a video on the basics of growing plums. LINK
For general plum trees for wildlife, it might be easiest to just buy seedlings from the Virginia Department of Forestry for $130 for 100 seedlings. Then hand-select the best ones and graft those onto rootstock where they are part of a planned orchard. The rest can feed wildlife. But There are two kinds of plum trees at this site. LINK
Add a description about this It is short and to the point. It covers the basics. LINK
info
Gives the low down
Gives the low down
Add a description about this item
Add a description about this item
Add a footnote if this applies to your business
Copyright © 2024 Donkey Barn Milling - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy Website Builder