russian olive propagation

[canadianplant]

My aunt said i can steal some russian olive cuttings. Im not sure how to root them.... any ideas?

[ROBRETI]

Hi Canadianplant,

I would wait until next June. (right now the shoots are already ready to be sleeping and are very woody, which makes the rooting slow or not possible at all) Then in June, I would make semiwood cuttings from its shoots (not fully hardened parts, but already showing sings of "woodiness"). Cut the shoots about 1 cm under a node. These cuttings might be as long as 10-15 cm. The next tricks are as folllows:

a./ remove the last three leaves completely amd cut back all the other leaves to their third.
b./ dip the bases of the cuttings into rooting powder from your local garden centre and put them into pots, ideally into sand or perlite (if the soil is rich in organic material, the chance of rotting is higher). PLace them into some bright place and make sure tpo cover the pots with a plastic bag, to keep moisture level high. remve the bag for some time each day, to give the cuttings some fresh air.
c./ keep watering, best is to keep the soil wet, always. This can be difficult, so keep an eye on it. Perlite dries out faster than sand.
d./ don't lose hope and be patient. It will be rewarded by some new growth. You can then plant the cuttings to their final locations.

You'll love the scent of the flowers and the silvery leaves will play in the sunshine so beautifully....

Good luck,
Rob

[canadianplant]

Well I got a good look at the tree ( its small, it got bombarded with water baloons for 3 years ( dont ask) so its small. All of the growth is soft, light green, and super flexible. Im assuming my changes of being successful are better.

Theres maby 6 or 8 branches on it, all growth from this year ( looks like it was cut down a bit last year), Si im going to take the 2 lowest branches ( hopefuly encourage a nice single trunk for her). One is going directly outside, after i get some rooting hormone, and is gonna be under some plastic and multch this winter. The other one is goign to be inside. Under plastic, in an eastern or western window, untill it gets estabolished, then on to a southern window, untill spring. If they both grow, well, some one I know is getting a present LOL

Thanks for the help dude

[lucky1]

Good luck with the propagation.

I had a gorgeous Russian Olive for about 10 years, after which it died suddenly.

Figured out why it died.
The area is overlapped by two irrigation zones, so it got double the water (probably three times more than it needed).

I recently saw a 3-footer russian olive growing in a ditch nearby.
I'm going to go dig it up as soon as I have some time.
Probably a seedling/volunteer from my RIP tree.

Robreti's correct, the scent at blossom time is wonderful.

Let us know how successful rooting them is.

Barb
PS-- Here's a good propagating site: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8702.html

[ROBRETI]

Hi Barb,

That's a great reference site, thanks!!!
Rob

Good luck , Candianplant!
Rob

[canadianplant]

Yes that is a good site thanks barb..... I found a huge gardening tip book fer 10 bucks... took it as a sign, bought it.

Today I bought some rooting hormone, and put them in some seed germinating/cutting soil i bought. Ones in a dixie cup in a baggie, ones outside in shade, and one is stil lin water


Ill keep you posted..

Thanks again to you bnoth