Dogwood grafting in spring. Vaccination and re-grafting of dogwood and persimmon

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Part 1. Copulation

Graft- perhaps one of the most interesting and mysterious technological methods in gardening. After all, grafting allows you to grow a plant you like in a short time from a small cutting (copulation) or even one kidney (budding), and in the presence of a stock.

But, for some reason, there was an opinion that successful vaccination is the lot of the elite. Of course, one should not treat vaccination thoughtlessly, but if you study the basics of biology and classification of plants, prepare the necessary tools and materials, master the technological methods of grafting, be diligent and persistent, then there is no doubt that you will succeed.

And we hope that the article will help you with this.

In this article, we will tell you about cutting grafting (copulation) and bud grafting (budding).

Before proceeding with vaccination, one should acquire certain knowledge and skills, acquire the necessary materials.

1. What do you need to know about the biology and classification of plants?

• No matter how long it takes graft,cutting(scion) must have buds that have not started to develop. To do this, they should be harvested in November - March and stored in a refrigerator or basement at a temperature not higher than + 2-4 degrees before vaccination
• As a rule, vaccination should begin when the sap flow begins in plants. At an earlier date, stone fruit and ornamental plants should be grafted, and then pome plants. Stone fruits can be grafted before the start of sap flow (end of February - March-April). Pome fruits can be grafted until the end of flowering.

  

• Basically, cultivars are grafted onto "wild", natural corresponding species, or species close in biological characteristics, namely:

  a) pome - apple and pear- cultivars apple trees- on specific apple trees (apple forest) or vegetative (clonal) rootstocks - medium-sized, semi-dwarf, dwarf (M3, M4, MM106 - medium-sized; M7, M26 - semi-dwarf; M8, M9, M27, Budagovsky's paradiska (PB-9) - dwarf ). When regrafting adult trees, you can graft cuttings of varietal apple trees onto adult varietal apple trees that for some reason do not suit you. - pear - species pears(forest pear, loholist pear). In addition, to obtain low-growing trees of cultivars of pear, common quince and its clones are used as a rootstock.

  b) stone fruits - plum, cherry plum, cherry, cherry, apricot, peach, dogwood
  - plum, cherry plum- on wild species plums and cherry plums. That is, a plum can be grafted on both a plum and a cherry plum and vice versa. The same applies to the following species of cherries and sweet cherries.
  - cherry, sweet cherry- for wild species sweet cherry, cherry and antipka.
  - peach- for wild species peach and bitter almond.
  - apricot- for wild species apricots (strings).
  - dogwood- on a wild-growing species dogwood male.
  For all of the above species, also when re-grafting mature trees, it is possible to graft onto cultivars of the corresponding species.

  b) ornamental trees and shrubs - weeping, pyramidal, spherical and other forms for the corresponding types of natural (wild) flora. So, weeping forms of mulberry, elm, ash, beech, mountain ash can be grafted onto, respectively, black mulberry, common elm (elm), common or green ash, forest beech, common mountain ash.

  2. How to prepare for the vaccination

• Before starting vaccination, you need to prepare tool and materials. For vaccination, you must have: - copulation (budding) knife;
  - secateurs;
  - garden saw;
  - polyethylene (polyvinylchloride) film, or insulating tape;
  - a bar for sharpening and straightening the copulation knife;
  - garden pitch;
  - transparent bags made of dense polyethylene;
  It is especially necessary to pay attention to the preparation of the copulation knife - its blade must be very sharp and clean. The blade of the copulation knife should be sharpened to such an extent that when pressed lightly, without effort, it cuts 3-4 sheets of paper.

  

• Preparation of cuttings. Shoots for cutting cuttings are best harvested in December before the onset of severe frosts and stored until grafting in the refrigerator, basement or trenches. Although in frost-resistant species, shoots can be harvested until the start of sap flow, that is, until the buds swell. For cuttings, well-ripened annual shoots without flower buds are suitable, except for "tops" and "wen". It is desirable to take shoots from the south side of the crown. Shoots of the same variety, tied in packs, must have a label with the name of the variety. In well-preserved shoots, the bark should be smooth, the wood on the cut should be light in color, and the buds should be healthy (not darkened).
• If there is no previous experience of grafting, it is necessary to practice on shoots, which, after pruning the garden, are always in abundance.

  3. Methods of grafting with cuttings (copulation):
  There are a lot of vaccination methods, but the most common and fairly simple to perform are the following:
  - butt (simple copulation);
  - improved copulation(with "tongue");
  - under the bark;
  - in a split.

  The first three methods are used when the diameter of the rootstock and scion are the same. When the diameter of the branch of the plant on which it is grafted (rootstock) is greater than the diameter of the grafted cutting (rootstock), then grafting is used "under the bark" or "split" (see diagrams). Other ways - side grafting into the cut, lateral butt vaccination, saddle grafting, etc. require some skills to carry them out.

  4. Technology of grafting with a cutting.

  A) Vaccination in the butt or simple copulation - is a combination of cuts of the stock and scion, followed by their tight strapping. First, we prepare the stock - we select a smooth place on the trunk or branch (without growths, wrinkled bark, and preferably without buds), with a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the cutting. With one movement of the copulating knife "towards you" we make an oblique smooth cut, 3-5 times longer than the diameter of the scion, which usually corresponds to 25 - 40 mm. From the shoots of the grafted variety, we select a shoot with a thickness corresponding to the diameter of the rootstock, and cut a cutting from its middle part. The bottom cut must absolutely match the cut on the rootstock. To do this, retreating about 10 mm from the selected lower kidney, on the reverse side, make the same oblique cut as on the rootstock. The upper cut on the handle is made above the 2nd or 3rd (4th) bud at an angle of 45 degrees slightly higher (1-2 mm) from the base of the bud. Then the sections of the rootstock and scion are combined. In this case, do not touch the surface of the cuts with your hands. If the cuts are made correctly, then they must be aligned over the entire surface and the cambial layers of the rootstock and scion must necessarily be combined. After that, carefully, starting from the bottom, the grafting site is tightly tied with a narrow, 5-8 mm polyethylene tape, or insulating tape (non-adhesive side to the bark). A well-tied stalk of the scion, even with effort, should not be pulled out of the binding. The upper cut is smeared with garden pitch. In case of early vaccination, a transparent plastic bag can be put on the grafting site, tying it with string below the grafting site, while the top of the bag should not touch the grafted cutting. A label should be attached to the stock with the name of the grafted variety or form (for ornamental plants).

  b) improved copulation- differs from a simple one in that so-called "tongues" are made on oblique sections of the stock and scion. To do this, on the cut of the stock, stepping back a third from the upper end, a shallow longitudinal incision is made 10-15 mm long. The same incision is made at the scion, also retreating a third from the end of the oblique cut, while the knife blade is led at the same angle at which the tongue leaves the stock. The scion is connected to the rootstock so that the tongue of one goes behind the tongue of the other. If the stock is slightly thicker than the scion stalk, then the stalk is shifted to one edge to ensure good compatibility of the cambium layers. Further, everything is similar to the above method. Improved copulation has a number of advantages over a simple one, namely, with this method, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bjoining the rootstock and scion is larger, which contributes to their best fusion. It is much easier with this method to tie up the grafting site, since the scion is more firmly fixed on the stock and does not move.

  V) bark grafting"- used when the diameter of the rootstock is greater than the diameter of the scion cutting. Usually, grafting in this way is carried out after the start of sap flow (the bark at the rootstock is well separated). But with simple devices (a special wedge), it is possible to vaccinate in this way even before the start of sap flow. First, they also prepare a stock - choose a place vaccinations, wipe off dirt and dust with a damp cloth, cut off the upper part with a garden saw, carefully clean the cut with a sharp knife (the cut should be without roughness). Then, depending on the diameter, from 1 to 4 longitudinal cuts of the bark 25-35 mm long are made. Shoots for harvesting cuttings are taken with a diameter of 4-6 mm. An oblique cut 25-35 mm long is made in the same way as with the above-described grafting methods, but at the same time, the bark is slightly peeled off at the end of the cut, which ensures better fusion of the graft. But if the cuttings are thicker than 6 mm, then a stepped cut is made (a cutting with a saddle) - first, the cutting is cut to half the thickness perpendicular to the axis of the cutting, and then an oblique cut of the appropriate length is made. Carefully separating the bark into the rootstock, completely insert the cutting under the bark - the upper part of the cut of the cutting should go under the bark of the stock. After all the cuttings are inserted in the same way, the graft is tightly wrapped with a strapping tape (polyethylene, PVC or insulating). All open sections of the rootstock and scion (the upper part of the cutting) should be carefully smeared with garden pitch. For better fusion of the grafting components, you can also put on a plastic bag. To prevent breakage of the graft by birds, it is advisable to make a protective arc over the graft. It is better to use willow branches or young shoots of hazel for this.

  V) split grafting- can be used both with the same diameters of the rootstock and scion, as well as with different ones. Most often, however, it is used when the diameter of the rootstock is larger than the diameter of the scion. But in this case, the method of grafting "under the bark" should be preferred, as more effective. The advantage of this method of grafting is the possibility of grafting during the dormant period of plants, which is especially important for stone fruits, which it is desirable to graft before the start of sap flow. The stock is shortened by a transverse cut, after which it is split in the center and a wedge - expander is inserted into the split. Cuttings for grafting into a split take the same length as for grafting under the bark, with 2-4 buds, but the lower cut is cut with a double-sided wedge. The cuttings prepared in this way are inserted to the entire depth of the cut of the cutting into the gap formed during splitting on both sides of the cut so that the cambial layers of the rootstock and scion coincide. Since the bark of the rootstock, with a large thickness of the trunk or re-grafted branch, is much thicker than the bark of the cutting, then for the correct alignment of the cambial layers, the cutting must be slightly pushed into the stump. After the cuttings are established, a wedge-expander is taken out of the split and the inserted cuttings in it are clamped by the re-grafted branch. Further, as in the case of grafting "under the bark" - tight strapping, thorough smearing of the cuts with garden pitch and covering the grafting site with a plastic bag.

  Further vaccination care is as follows:
  - the strapping is removed in a timely manner so that it does not crash into the branches; for this, it is cut and removed with a budding knife. This is usually done when the components vaccinations they will grow together and new growths will appear on the cutting of the scion;
  - the plastic bag is removed when the first leaves appear on the scion;
  - promptly remove all shoots that appear below the vaccination site;
  - with a significant increase in the scion, as is usually the case with cherry plums, plums, cherries, you can pinch the growths. This operation is carried out in the first half of summer (end of June - until mid-July). At the same time, the upper non-lignified part of the shoot is removed. After that, the shoots branch well, overwinter better and enter the fruiting period earlier.

Figure 1. Methods of grafting: a) by the bark; b) split

Figure 2. Grafting methods: a) simple copulation; b) improved copulation

(To be continued. Read about the methods of budding in the next article on this topic)

People often ask, is growing dogwood difficult? Landing and care is not the most difficult. The main difficulty is to plant seedlings so that they take root. And then the dogwood grows as if by itself. Dogwood is a delicious berry that many people associate with the south, holidays in the Crimea or on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Yes, indeed, wild dogwood grows in the southern regions of our country. But today, gardeners not only from the south, but also from regions located much further north are engaged in its cultivation. Cultivated varieties are grown on personal plots, the berries of which are much larger than wild ones. They are brighter in color and tastier. Of course, the taste still depends on the variety, on the ripening period.

dogwood features

Dogwood is a frost-resistant plant, easily tolerates temperatures down to minus 32-35 degrees, therefore it is suitable for growing in central Russia. An unfavorable effect on its fruiting is exerted by strong fogs, prolonged rains, which fetter the actions of insects. But dogwood, by the will of God, blooms for a whole month, so it develops normally. Bears fruit annually.

The yield of one plant depends on age: it ranges from 8 to 250 kg. The fruits are red, black, orange, yellow, purple, in shape - cylindrical, elliptical, pear-shaped, round, fruit weight - 2-6 g, (pear-shaped up to 12 g).

Dogwood refers to cross-pollinated plants. Some consider it self-pollinating, but giving reduced yields. But self-pollination is considered a reserve act, an adaptation of the dogwood to adverse environmental conditions.

When planting a varietal dogwood, make sure that there is either wild or another variety nearby. That is, for cultivation and good yields, you must have at least two or three plants on your site or with a neighbor nearby. It is very important! Dogwood, if he is comfortable, has how many flowers, the same number of fruits.

Many gardeners make a big mistake by planting one plant. You can wait for many years, provide the dogwood with proper care, but you can’t wait for a good harvest. Of course, there will be fruits, but they will be single fruits, there will be few of them. It is unlikely that this will suit you.

This is a shade-tolerant and light-loving breed at the same time. It should be borne in mind that in illuminated areas, dogwood blooms earlier. Although he stoically endures shading. The best option is when the dogwood is slightly shaded, as in open areas it feels depressed from the intense summer heat.

We must have time to collect the dogwood on time. Ripe berries will fall to the ground and then it will become more difficult to harvest.

dogwood breeding

Dogwood is propagated by seeds and vegetatively. The seed method does not ensure the consolidation of all valuable traits of the variety in the offspring. Moreover, with this method, plants begin to bear fruit in the fifth or sixth year, and vegetatively propagated - in the second or third year.

For breeding purposes, seed propagation is used (the best forms for selecting the most interesting for certain given characteristics). But for seed germination, a long stratification is required - 20-28 months.

There are interesting facts: if the seeds of ripe fruits germinate in 1.5-2 years, then unripe ones - in 6-7 months. Freshly harvested fruits (without drying the seeds), immediately sown, had a germination rate in April of the following year up to 47%.

Agronomist Svetlana Nikolaevna Litvinenko proposed an affordable accelerated method for growing dogwood seedlings from seeds. The collected seeds were treated with a 2% solution of sulfuric acid for three days, then placed in a box with wet sand, put it in a greenhouse. The sand in the boxes was kept moist. Three months later, the seeds began to peck, and in the spring (after 5-6 months) they gave a germination rate of up to 78%.

Vegetative methods of dogwood propagation: layering, grafting (budding), cuttings. All of these growing methods are very effective. But vaccines are very difficult to take root.

Reproduction by green cuttings is carried out in June, when young shoots stop growing. For better rooting of cuttings, all conditions for green cuttings are necessary. This is the use of growth stimulants, regulation of temperature, lighting, humidity.

A very affordable, easy way to propagate is budding in July-early August or grafting with a cutting in March. Dogwood from seeds is used as a stock material - one-two-year-old seedlings. Many experts consider budding to be the only reliable method of reproduction. The survival rate of the eyes is up to 70%. By the end of the growing season, the occulants reach 80 cm. The reliability of survival during propagation by grafting is very low - no more than 10-20%.

In the first year, the occulants form 3-5 lateral shoots. By the fall, they are planted in a permanent place, and in the second or third year, the dogwood begins to bear fruit - instead of 6-8 years when propagated by seeds.

If you know that varietal dogwood seedlings do not survive in your area, then you need to sow seeds from varietal dogwood - you will get a semi-cultivated plant that is more adapted to your climatic conditions. By sowing several seeds, you will get plants with different properties - some will have larger berries, while others will have smaller ones, the taste, color, shape of the berries may also differ. Even the timing of fruiting can be different. As a result of a lot of work, keep the plant that will satisfy you in the best way. And it will be a dogwood of your own selection (at an amateur level), which has super resistance, super productivity for your climatic zone. You will even be able to propagate your own variety.

Planting dogwood

Dogwood grows on any soil, but prefers limy soils with sufficient manganese content (42 mg/kg of soil). Although it is a drought tolerant plant, it still prefers moderately moist soils. With a prolonged drought, the leaves begin to curl, flower buds may not form, and the length of growth shoots decreases.

Dogwood seedlings do not need to be planted in full sun. It grows well in partial shade of other, taller plants. This is a very good feature of it.

Planting pits for dogwood are made with a diameter of 80 cm, a depth of 60-80 cm. When planted in a permanent place, seedlings are formed with a bole height of 30-50 cm, with five to seven skeletal branches. Usually pruning of branches is not carried out. Only shoots are removed below the planned stem height. The crown must be thinned out.

Planting depth of dogwood seedlings: when planting, the root collar should be at the level of the soil. If you deepen the seedling when planting, then over time there will be a lot of overgrowth around the trunk. And if the root neck is above the soil level, then the seedling will take root very badly and for a long time.

Seedlings of different varieties are planted from each other at a distance of at least 3-4 meters. But if you have little space in the garden, you can do this. Saplings of 2-3 years of different varieties are planted in one planting hole. Immediately intertwine (braid) the trunks of both around each other and over the years you will get one plant with flowers that can pollinate each other. That is, visually it will be one plant. Its trunk will look like a dense spiral.

A variation of such a planting of two seedlings in one planting hole will be the twisting of the trunks not around itself, but around a column (preferably metal), which is placed between the seedlings. The column stays there forever.

Dogwood can be formed in the form of a tree or in the form of a bush. Everything will depend on you - how you form the plant. If you do not remove the lower shoots, then a bush will grow over time. If, during the first 3-4 years, extra branches are trimmed from the trunk, then a tree will form.

Dogwood is a long-liver. It can give a wonderful harvest in a hundred years! So, if you plant a dogwood on your site, then it will delight more than one generation with its tasty, beautiful, healthy fruits.

Many interesting cultivated large-fruited dogwood varieties have appeared, of which the most interesting for gardeners are Pear-shaped, Droplet, Harvest, Evgenia Seedling, Number Two, Firstborn and others.

There are several ways to propagate dogwood: by seeds, layering, dividing the bush, root offspring, and grafting. Subject to all the rules and a clear sequence of actions, any method will bring an excellent result. To begin with, it is worth studying the details of each method and choosing a more acceptable option for yourself.

How to propagate dogwood cuttings

This method involves the propagation of dogwood using green cuttings. Produced in the summer after the cessation of growth of annual shoots. You should choose a healthy adult shrub that is at least five years old for cutting cuttings.

The escape department is made in the morning. From the branch you like, the upper part of the shoot is cut off with a length of 10-15 cm. Using a sharp knife, we make an oblique cut 1 cm below the last bud. Then the secateurs will need to remove all the leaves, except for the top 2-3.

The finished cutting should be placed for several hours in a pre-prepared solution, which is a growth stimulator. After the time has passed, rinse the workpiece with cold water and land in a greenhouse.

If a lot of cuttings sit down, then they are arranged densely. Approximately every 3-4 cm. It is necessary to water the soil well. After planting, sprinkle the soil with pre-washed coarse sand. Its layer should be about 10 cm.

At the end of the work, everything must be covered with a film. From the tops of the cuttings to the ceiling of the greenhouse, a distance of approximately 20 cm must be left. Greenhouse conditions require the maintenance of a humid climate with a temperature of about 25 ° C. Do not forget in the future about mandatory ventilation and periodic watering.

The root will form in two months. It is possible to reduce the rooting period with the use of certain types of stimulants.

The formed root system signals the arrival of the time for hardening seedlings. It is worth starting with a short-term removal of the film in the greenhouse, gradually increasing the time every day. It is necessary to calculate the period in such a way that on the tenth, perhaps the twelfth day, completely remove the mini-greenhouse.

Later, young dogwood seedlings can be planted. When adaptation takes place in a new place, it is advisable to feed with organic and. A year later, a transplant is made to a permanent place of shrub growth. For such work, both spring and autumn are suitable.

This method is characterized by a low growth rate of seedlings. But it is quite suitable if it suits the gardener or there is no need for a large production volume of cultivation.

Propagation of dogwood seeds

This method is no less time-consuming, time-consuming and painstaking. For breeding dogwood from the stone, the fruits are harvested in the fall, removing the pulp from the grain. Then, for a whole year, the seeds are placed in a humid environment with moss or sawdust. Of course, you need to regularly water the substrate, protecting it from drying out. This is how stratification occurs, which is necessary for the speedy growth and hardening of seeds.

Another method of this growing method involves planting freshly harvested seeds in the fall directly in open ground. By the same principle, chrysanthemum seeds are propagated. Germination of dogwood will also occur in a year. But in this case, germination can be much worse due to the unpredictability of natural conditions.

Bones that are collected from unripe fruits have the best germination.

Dogwood seeds go deep into the ground by 3-5 cm. When the first shoots appear, they should be fed and watered as needed. It is also necessary to protect the sprouts from exposure to direct sunlight in order to avoid leaf burns and rapid drying of the soil.

In autumn, in a year, the seedlings will be up to 15 cm high. They can already be transplanted to a new place of growth.

The first fruits will appear only after 7-10 years.

Dogwood grafting with cuttings

This method is called budding. It is most preferred among gardeners in the propagation of dogwood and other types of trees. A big plus of vaccination is that it can be done both in the spring during the movement of juices, and from the middle of summer, when the bark is well peeled.

Dogwood grafting by cuttings is carried out mainly on its wild species due to their greater adaptation to various natural factors and survival in the natural environment.

A suitable height for grafting on wild-growing dogwood is 10-15 cm. If standard forms are used, 75-80 cm.

The stock, that is, the place where the vaccine will be inserted, is cut off evenly. A recess is formed in the middle part. The graft is the top cutting. It should have a total length of about 15 cm.

Prepared like this:

1. The future upper part is cut off above the kidney with an oblique cut. It must be treated with garden pitch.
2. The lower part should have a wedge-shaped cut 4 cm long. This is done using two oblique sections with a sharp decontaminated object.

For dogwood grafting, two-year-old seedlings are used.

During the grafting process, the grafting wedge is carefully inserted into the recess in such a way that part of the cut remains outside. The junction is wrapped with a transparent material to support the structure. The bush itself is sprinkled with a mixture of sand to the place of vaccination.

After such a procedure, the dogwood should be placed in greenhouse conditions, where the fusion of the two parts will occur faster. This requires an elevated temperature. Successful fusion can be determined by the appearance of new tissue at the grafting site - callus. This means that the time has come to transplant the dogwood into open ground and remove the winding.

Reproduction by layering

The easiest way to get a new plant is vegetative propagation. This method involves sprinkling the earth with individual branches from the selected bush. After such a procedure, the shoots take root and new dogwood seedlings will appear from them.

In autumn or early spring, one-year-old shoots or branches that are two years old should be selected on a shrub. Having tilted and pressed them a little to the previously dug up earth, fix them with studs near the surface of the soil. It is necessary to sprinkle with earth the entire part of the shoot, except for the top. It must be pinned and, slightly raised, fixed on a vertical support. Regular watering is required.

Pre-fertilizing the soil will ensure the early emergence of buds and new shoots. Already in the spring of the next year, young dogwood seedlings are separated from the old bush and transplanted to a new place.

The division of the bush

This fast propagation method is used if a large mature plant needs to be transplanted to another place. One bush is divided into many new seedlings.

Reproduction by division can be carried out twice a year:

• until the buds ripen in early spring;
• late autumn.

Taking the plant out of the ground, it is cleaned of dry branches. The earth is carefully removed from the rhizome and the bush is divided into several parts. Each new specimen ready for planting must have a stem and a root. Having trimmed the rhizome, each part of the dogwood shrub is transplanted to its separate, specially prepared place.

Any of the described methods is available and is not difficult to perform. The main thing is to follow the rules while observing the temperature regime, watering and choosing the right place for planting a new bush. Then, after a certain time, you can get an excellent harvest of very healthy dogwood berries.

Interesting about dogwood and its cultivation - video

In the last days of March, when winter still persistently holds its positions: blizzards rage with heavy snowfalls, especially at night; the thermometer shows minus temperatures, and here the dogwood blossoms - the first honey plant and pollen plant.

The earth is not completely free of snow yet, night frosts are frequent, sometimes it snows, and on sunny warm days, bees with abundant light yellow fronds and full goiters of nectar rush to the hives.

Freed from the load, they quickly fly out of it. Bee families during this period are sharply activated. Bees and other pollinators visit flowering dogwood bushes very actively for 8–12 days.

Growing dogwood

Dogwood, deren - Cornus mas L. - a shrub, less often a tree, reaching 3–8 m in height, from the dogwood family.

It usually grows along the edges of forests and in forests, forming its undergrowth, as well as in river valleys. It is especially abundant on the limestones of the steep slopes of the Dniester, which indicates its drought resistance and undemanding to soils. Dogwood is exceptionally good for. In the wild, dogwood is common in the Caucasus, in the Crimea, in the south-west of Ukraine.

Dogwood flowers are small, pale yellow, collected in sessile umbrellas, up to 30 pieces each. The leaves are opposite, elliptical, wide. The fruits are juicy drupes; mature - dark red, cherry, raspberry flowers. There are both white and yellow-fruited cultivars. Fruits are 2–3 cm long and 1–1.5 cm across. The fruits ripen slowly. They have a pleasant sour-astringent taste. Cultivars contain up to 9% sugar, 1.7–2.9% malic acid, vitamins, minerals and tannins. The latter are found in leaves and bark. The fruits are used for jam, liqueurs, compotes, etc.

Looking at a dogwood bush in autumn, one can clearly imagine the next year's harvest, since the flowers have already been laid and formed, but have not blossomed. In the spring, without noticeable swelling in the first warm days, long before the leaves bloom, the dogwood begins to bloom.

Place and soil for growing dogwood

It is desirable that the soil in which the dogwood will grow be fertile and loose with a soil acidity level of pH 6.0-7.0. Choose a site for the plant well lit, but not with direct sunlight.

Planting dogwood

The landing pit is prepared in advance, for the autumn planting the pit is prepared in the summer, and for the spring planting in the fall:

• The distance between the pits is 5-6 m. It is better to maintain the same distance in relation to other plants and trees.
• To create a dogwood hedge, keep a distance of 3-4 m.
• Planting pits for dogwood 70-80 cm deep, 80-100 cm wide.
• The dogwood sapling is placed in the center, the root system is straightened and sprinkled with earth.
• After planting, the plant is watered (2-3 buckets) and mulched with sawdust.

dogwood care

Dogwood is a moisture-loving plant; in dry weather, this feature should be given increased attention. But it does not tolerate waterlogging and waterlogging. Sprinkler irrigation or circular furrow irrigation.

Caring for dogwood will not do without weeding, but be very careful up to 10-15 cm deep, since the root system of the plant is located in the upper soil layer, at a depth of only 40 cm.

Fertilize: in spring, nitrogen-phosphorus, and in autumn - potash fertilizer (wood ash). Moreover, determine the number of dressings yourself, for a plant with rich green leaves and with a healthy appearance, fewer dressings are required.

Mulch with sawdust, mowed grass or peat. Lime is added due to the high calcium content.

If you want to have a dogwood tree, and not a bush, then in the first years of his life, take care of the formation of the trunk. Its height is 50-70 cm, all shoots appearing below are removed.

Cornel pruning is carried out as needed, with thickening or for rejuvenation in February-March. Non-fruiting branches are also pruned before the start of the growing season.

Depending on the variety and planting density, the ripening time of the fruit is different. Harvesting of ripe fruits begins at the end of August and continues throughout September and even at the beginning of October. With the collection of dogwood, do not delay, as the berries quickly begin to fall off, or birds peck. Ripening can take place during storage without losing taste. Fresh fruits are stored for up to 12 days in a plastic bag with holes in the refrigerator.

Dogwood is propagated by seeds, cuttings, layering, offspring and grafting.

Propagation of dogwood seeds

This process is very long and laborious, since fruiting occurs only after 7-10 years. For seed propagation of dogwood in July, seeds are selected from green fruits and planted immediately in a permanent place. Next, monitor the condition of the soil, preventing it from drying out. Next spring you will see dogwood sprouts.

If the seeds are taken from ripe fruits, then they need to go through the process: put the fruits in barrels and wait until they begin to ferment, then grind them, rinse, mix with sawdust and leave them in them for 1.6 years (until spring). Plant in the ground.

Propagation of dogwood cuttings

Dogwood propagation by green cuttings: in June-July, green cuttings are taken from the middle of annual shoots and soaked for 5-6 hours in the root formation stimulator Heteroauxin. Dogwood cuttings are planted in the garden in loose soil in partial shade under plastic wrap, so that there is no contact with the cutting.

Dogwood propagation by lignified cuttings: in autumn, cut cuttings in the southern regions are planted in a permanent place before winter, but in the northern regions they are stored in the refrigerator until spring. Before planting, soak for 24 hours in any root formation stimulator. After planting, monitor soil moisture, avoiding drying out.

Dogwood propagation by layering

The easiest way to vegetative propagation. In autumn, 1-2 summer shoots are bent to the ground and pinned, the earth is poured on top with a layer of 10 cm, watered regularly. The following year, separate from the mother bush and plant in a permanent place.

Dogwood propagation by grafting

The wild-growing dogwood is propagated by the method of budding. To do this, you will need well-developed rootstock seedlings in order to carry out budding in August-September. Cut off the rootstock bud with the leaf petiole, insert it into the T-shaped incision on the rootstock, wrap it with plastic tape so that the bud is visible. After 2-3 weeks, with a successful combination of circumstances, the petiole of the leaf falls off. In October, the winding is removed. With further growth of the kidney, the emerging shoots of the stock above it are cut off.

Dogwood, in general, it is desirable to propagate in a vegetative way: cuttings, cuttings, vodka and grafting (budding). At the same time, the economic signs of the resulting plants are preserved, and they begin to bear fruit already in the 2-3rd year. You can also grow dogwood plants from seeds (bone-check). However, they begin to bear fruit only in the 6-8th year.

In addition, economic signs are not fixed, that is, fruits of poor quality grow. Rootstocks. And yet, if you decide to start varietal dogwood trees in your garden, you need to grow rootstock seedlings from seeds for grafting onto them by budding with the desired varieties. But it is not easy to get seedlings from dogwood seeds - they germinate difficultly, and their stratification is needed within 20-23 months (consider 2 years!). Sowing with freshly harvested seeds gives good results.

The main obstacle to seed germination is not the seeds, but the seed coats (near the fruit, that is, the edible part of the dogwood). Therefore, in August - September, you need to clean the fruits from the pulp and put them in a box, overlaying with wet moss or loose humus. Close the boxes with foil and place them in pits 40-50 cm deep. After 5-6 days, mix the seeds and moisten the moss.

For the winter, they can be left in a pit, and at the end of March - April, they can be sown in carefully prepared soil in a well-lit area. Graft. Reproduction of dogwood by grafting (oculation) is the simplest and most effective way.

Budding is carried out from the end of July to mid-August, when the bark of the rootstock is well behind. In warm and humid weather, it can be carried out from the end of August to mid-September. The budding technique is usual. It is necessary to prepare rootstocks that can be grown in the described way in the same way as when grafting other tree species.

And as a scion, take one-year-old cuttings from trees with fruits you like. With proper budding and good care, occulants (shoots developing on a rootstock from a bud) can reach a height of 70-80 cm by the end of the growing season, and in the second year they can be used for planting in a permanent place. Dogwood grafting can also be carried out in early spring, in March - early April, before the growing season. Method - improved copulation or butt with a tongue.

For grafting, a well-developed one-year-old shoot with two pairs of buds is used. Improved copulation is used when the rootstock and scion have the same diameter of 6-8 mm, and grafting in the butt - when the thickness of the scion is 2-3 times less than the thickness of the stock. For the regrafting of adult plants, other methods of grafting are used - with a cutting in a split and behind the bark.

Persimmon is a heat-loving plant cultivated mainly in the subtropics. Although Simferopol is located in the Crimea, it is in the steppe, and winters there are often no less severe than in other regions of Ukraine. I happened to serve in the army in this city.

And in the winter of 1954-1955. while on guard duty, we were equipped with sheepskin coats (during the Great Patriotic War) and felt boots. The authors of the question about persimmon grafting did not indicate how they manage to protect persimmon from frost. Therefore, we briefly describe how to graft these plants. Seedlings in areas with severe winters are obtained by grafting cuttings or budding with a dormant or germinating eye on seedlings of a local persimmon species - Caucasian or Virginian. To obtain them, stratified seeds are sown in early spring.

Seedlings are grafted in the first year in the fall, but most often in the spring of the following year. The most accessible way of propagating persimmons are: budding with a shield, butt, improved copulation, grafting on the bark. Grafting technology is similar to other fruit-bearing trees. A successful way for her is copulation with a tongue. It is usually carried out in March - April with the same thickness of the stock and scion.

One way to cultivate many varieties of persimmon is regrafting. When regrafting, one or two skeletal branches in the crown are cut down. 2-4 cuttings are inserted into each stump. Then it is tightly tied with a film and the slices are coated with garden pitch. Next, a sealed plastic bag is put on the stump with cuttings and tied with twine.

A month after the start of bud break, the plastic bag is removed for grafting. The shoots that appear on the rootstock after grafting must be broken out in order to enhance the growth of scion shoots. To tie the vaccinations, you can use electrical tape, a plastic film 1-1.5 cm wide. 1.5 months after the graft has grown together with the stock, the strapping material must be carefully removed.

Planting persimmon seedlings in a permanent place can be done both in spring and autumn.