How to propagate rhododendron: cuttings, in the country
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Rhododendron has a wide variety of varieties that can be grown in any region, despite the plant's low winter hardiness. At the same time, for breeding, it is not necessary to purchase ready-made seedlings in a special nursery - it is enough to know how to propagate rhododendron in order to expand your collection of these plants on the site. Immediately, we note that the rhododendron allows you to organize reproduction by cuttings in water, layering, grafting and dividing the bush. All methods will be described in detail below.
Step-by-step instructions for propagation by cuttings
Cutting rhododendrons is one of the most productive ways of its reproduction. The process is quite complicated and time-consuming, but the result will delight the owner.
Rhododendron in the nursery
It is worth cutting off the branches for the subsequent reproduction of trees after their flowering ends. Thus, it is required to start harvesting deciduous species at the end of May, but if we are talking about evergreen species, then cuttings of rhododendrons take place in the summer, until the 10th of July.
Green shoots in the indicated periods begin to be covered with a thin crust, and by mid-July lignification reaches the middle of the shoots.
It is required to cut off 5-8 cm from the shoots so that on this segment there are at least 4 sheets with a couple of nodes between them. Shoots prepared in this way should be placed in a container with a previously filled nutrient substrate, which is used as sand and peat in equal proportions. It is recommended to make a soil layer of at least 7 cm with the same level of drainage under it. In this case, the drainage should be separated from the soil by 2 cm of coarse sand.
In the fall, the cuttings will take root, so they should be transplanted into boxes filled with an acidic substrate, which is made according to one of the recipes:
- 2 parts of sour peat for 1 part of pine needles;
- 1 part of sand and needles for 2 parts of sour peat and leafy soil.
The cuttings are seated at a distance of 10 cm between them. The tops of the seedlings need to be pinched. Containers with plants need to be moved to a colder room, which is a basement or cellar. The temperature there should always be around 5 degrees Celsius. A deviation of 2-3 degrees is available.
Propagation of rhododendron stem cuttings
With the onset of winter, the seedlings need to be moved to a bright place, with an air temperature of about 10 degrees Celsius. At room temperature, they will be uncomfortable, therefore, you should carefully approach the creation of favorable conditions for growth.
In the spring, it is worth planting plants in the ground: you can dig in both in containers and directly into the ground. In this case, the soil should be with the same composition as during rooting. It is necessary to find a good place so that the rays of the midday sun do not hit the plant. After that, it is worth regularly watering and spraying the plant.
How to propagate rhododendron with leaf cuttings
The period of lignification of cuttings can be easily missed. If such a situation has occurred, do not be upset, since the plant can be propagated in other ways. How to cut rhododendron with leaves? To do this, by the end of July, cut off a leaf from the branch, which has a couple of centimeters of bark and a bud.
Flowering rhododendron
The cut should be treated with a preparation that stimulates root growth. The substrate is prepared in the same way as for propagation by cuttings. It is required to deepen the stalk with the bud at a distance of 2 cm into the ground. With this method of reproduction of rhododendron, rooting occurs within 4 months. Initial signs can be seen within the first two months.
Reproduction of rhododendrons by layering
The method of layering is different for other shrubs, so you need to know exactly how rhododendron reproduces in this way. Rooting other plants by layering is simple: you need to bend and secure the branch. For a given plant, the method becomes more complicated. Reproduction is carried out in the spring.
In rhododendron, it is required to select the extreme shoots to make it easier to lay. It is worth choosing the branches closest to the ground. You should not use several branches at once, it is recommended to make up to 5 layers at a time on a bush.
Reproduction of rhododendron by layering
In the place where the branch will touch the ground, you need to make a cut along the branch. You can avoid closing the incision by inserting a match into it. It is not necessary to do this, but such a technique can speed up the growth of the plant. In the ground itself, you need to dig a small hole 15 cm in diameter and in depth.
Having bent the branch to the ground, it must be fixed with a bracket or a hairpin. From above, you need to dig in the shoot with an acidic substrate made according to the same recipe as for cuttings. The top of the shoot should be directed upwards, for this it is worth securing it with a peg. In order for rooting to occur faster and better, it is required to organize regular watering so that the soil is stably moist.
Reproduction of rhododendrons by seeds
Seeds are not the most effective and easy way to propagate rhododendron by cuttings faster. Such a plant will begin to bloom in 5-10 years. Sowing should be done in late February or spring. Seeds are sown in containers that have drainage holes. The sowing substrate is used the same as in other methods of breeding rhododendron at home. The soil also needs to be pre-disinfected.
Rhododendron seeds
After the end of the preparatory stages, sowing should begin:
- It is required to pour the prepared substrate into a container, carefully level the ground, but not tamp it.
- Scatter seeds over the surface rarely enough, so that later thinning and picking seedlings less often.
- Depending on the size of the container, you need to water either through a drip tray or with a fine mesh watering can. Excess moisture should drain freely. Water the seeds with acidified or soft water.
- The container should be covered with foil or glass.
It is worth placing the containers in a place with an average room temperature. Seedlings should appear in about a month, it is required to maintain high humidity of the air and substrate.It is required to remove glass or film from young seedlings and move them to a colder room with a temperature of about 10 degrees. Plants are picked in June.
It is possible to transfer seedlings to the soil only in the third year after planting. This is done in the spring. But it is worth planting rhododendrons in a permanent place not earlier than the fifth year of their receipt from seeds.
Dividing the bush
Vegetative reproduction is the receipt of a new organism from a part of the mother. In nature, there are many ways of such reproduction, the simplest is division.
Division of the rhododendron bush
How does the street rhododendron reproduce in this case? Simply, when transplanting a plant, it is required to divide the mother specimen into 2-4 daughter shrubs.
The disadvantage of this breeding method is the small number of copies that can be obtained, but this is enough for a small summer cottage.
Vaccination in greenhouse conditions
Evergreen rhododendrons are most often propagated by grafting. This is usually done by professionals, but even in greenhouse conditions, you can master a similar skill. There are two methods of vaccination - budding and copulation. The first involves grafting with a bud or stem of the rootstock onto a branch. Second - the scion stalk is fixed on another plant.
Rhododendron grafting
A graft shoot with a scion needs to be combined so that they form a single organism. Within a few years, the stalk should form its roots. In a similar way, more cold-resistant or fast-growing plants are bred.
Vaccination is required at the end of winter or spring. In winter, plants are grafted in greenhouses. The stock should be prepared in the fall, before the frost comes. It should be dug up and transplanted into a pot, watered abundantly and kept at a temperature of 5 degrees Celsius. A couple of weeks before the procedure, the stock should be watered abundantly, kept in water at the same temperature regime.
It is worth inoculating closer to the roots of the rootstock, the place of contact should be covered with plasticine or garden varnish to avoid drying out, and also well tied with a plaster or electrical tape. The grafted plants should not be sprayed for two weeks; they must be kept at a temperature of 22 degrees.
Seedling care before rooting
In order to minimize the rooting time of the rhododendron, it is necessary to stimulate the plants.
Rhododendron seedlings
This is achieved in the following steps:
- It is worth removing the lower leaves so that 2 cm at the bottom of the cutting are exposed to the cambium.
- The cut should be soaked in a special solution that stimulates rooting. They can be succinic acid, IAA, Heteroauxin.
The shoots should be transplanted so that the distance between them is at least 5 cm. After planting, it is necessary to water the plant abundantly from a watering can with a fine mesh, and then create greenhouse conditions by covering the container with cuttings with film or glass. It is not recommended to leave plants in direct sunlight. It is recommended to ventilate the seedlings and lightly spray in the morning and evening. It is worth observing the temperature for rooting plants: the optimal one can be considered from 15 to 20 degrees.
In addition to decorative, rhododendron has a lot of useful properties: medicinal, tanning, soil protection. A large number of people want to have him on their site, but not everyone wants to show courage and patience during the reproduction and cultivation of these plants.
