Today was a big day. I finally freed the 260 hardwood blueberry cuttings from the refrigerator. They had been waiting very patiently since the end of December to start a new life in the greenhouse. Here is the story:
160 blueberry canes stored in paper towels and plastic bags
I've read that the cuttings can be stored in either moist paper towels or moist peat moss. I tried both methods and stuffed them all in plastic bags. Both methods seem to have worked just fine, but the cuttings that I stored in paper towels were cleaner. All of the cuttings looked to be just as full of life as they were in December. The leaf buds even stayed supple.
100 blueberry canes stored in peat moss and plastic bags
We used a mix of 50% organic peat moss and 50% sand to root the cuttings.
The propagation beds are about 10" high, and I filled them up to about 8". I watered the mixture well and waited for the peat moss to soak it all up.
I stuck the cuttings into the beds (UP-SIDE-UP!!!, very important*) so that only about 40% of the canes remained above the peat moss and sand. Then, I firmed the mixture around each cane.
I also used my handy-dandy greenhouse bath tub for some of the cuttings.
These baby bluebs will remain in the greenhouse until autumn. They should begin to develop roots in the next few months. This will be a long, slow process, but who can beat free blueberry bushes? Besides saving us money, I think that propagating our bushes from our own cuttings will work well because they are already acclimated to this exact area. I'll keep you post on their development.
No comments:
Post a Comment