Propagating Red Mulberry Trees From Hardwood Cuttings
I acquired some Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) branches from a pruning the other day which I am using to try to start some cuttings!
I am excited to grow some Mulberry trees because they are prolific fruiters and are amazing fodder trees for humans and livestock. Interestingly not only the fruit is edible, but also young shoots and young leaves are as well.
Mulberries cuttings are known to take fairly easily, which is great for me because I have not rooted many hardwood cuttings before. Some other trees which can be relatively easy to start from cuttings include willow, elderberry and fig.
I consulted my book Trees for Gardens, Orchards and Permaculture which says:
hardwood cuttings in winter... in addition some species can be propagated from softwood cuttings in summer. The use of mycorrhizal fungi spores as a cuttings dip is reported to increase the success rate.
And then going to one of my favorite online sources: Plants for a Future database:
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Plant out in spring. A good percentage take, though they sometimes fail to thrive[78, 113]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 25 - 30cm with a heel of 2 year old wood, autumn or early spring in a cold frame or a shady bed outside[78, 113,200]. Bury the cuttings to threequarters of their depth.
This is a bit more detailed which is helpful. I am especially thankful that they suggest early spring is a good time since that is right now.
I am going with the suggestion to use last years growth but also some cuttings of two years growth to see if those root as well.
I looked for the bud scale scar which is a ring around the branch indicating the place where one year's growth stopped and the next began. It can be in the middle of a twig or at the branch. Here is one:
I can count years back from the tip of the branch to previous years.
The next step was cutting the branches into cuttings below the bud scale scar to include some "heel" of the previous year's growth. The bud scale scar is where roots will most likely form.
The best looking and long enough pieces were chosen, then cleaned up by trimming off side branches and trimming long branches to appropriate size.
I soaked the cuttings in water overnight to hydrate them. My friend just gave me a tip that he soaks his cuttings in water with some kelp juice for a boost.. interesting!
The next morning I dipped the cuttings into some honey water. I have read that honey is a useful natural rooting hormone. I would rather use something natural than buying a chemical powder if I have the option. It has worked well for me in the past with softwood cuttings of shrubs but I have not tried it with hardwood tree cuttings before now.
EDIT: I was at a workshop for propagation shortly after making this post and asked about honey as a rooting hormone. Another attendee said that honey is only good for anti-bacterial not rooting hormone. Nevertheless there is info online that it is good for rooting hormone, so I will do some more research on this. If anyone knows the answer please let me know in the comments!
In the meantime I am making some willow water which I will be using to water my cuttings regularly, since willow has a natural rooting hormone that can be extracted. - END EDIT
And finally they are stuck in pots which will be their new home for a while. Hopefully some will root! I will keep you posted.
Who is @sagescrub?
I am a ex-suburbanite turned permaculture homesteader. Follow my journey and I will share what I know and am learning along the way. You can learn more about me in my re-introducing @sagescrub post. Wishing you abundance in your life!
Know that I am likely NOT an expert on the subjects I present. Please do your own research and be your own expert!
I didnt kbow about the youg shoots and leaves being edible! Good to know!
And yes, willow water works wonders! With that I am sure your propogation will do well!!
Peace
It is interesting isn't it? I haven't tried it but would like to soon :) Thank you for your nice message @healthy-home.
Hi @sagescrub, it is nice to see it every day when it growing. I love to watch the new cutting when I plant some thing. good luck my friend
Thank you @el-nailul! What are you propagating by cuttings?
I propagating lemon tree, and plan Deamonorop Sp which is very difficult to grow, because the seed must be taken from the wild, but it start to work well now.
thanks for asking @sagescrub
I had to look up deamonorps Sp because I am not familiar with it. Very interesting and exciting! Than you for sharing :)
Daemonorop is species of rattan @sagescrub
and the seed is this
I go deep into the jungle a lots, sometimes I spend 10-15 days just to do mapping for this species. the most valuable part of this plant is it resin for medicine and cosmetic purpose
That is amazing :) Thanks for the photos. It must be nice to be in the jungle exploring and observing the trees. Will you plant the trees you are propagating or sell them?
Adore mulberries (for breakfast), and used to keep silkworms at my Montessori school, which had a huge (black, I think) mulberry tree in its ample gardens. Your reference to the pfaf database just put one and one together for me! I read how the sap in the leaves may give hallucinations:
So the Caterpillar with the Hookah in Alice and Wonderland had to be a silk moth!
That kelp and honey treatment sounds exciting and credible! Will try it on my next chance to make a bonsai from an interesting cutting (wish I had a mulberry around here!)
Interesting connection that you made there! I did not know that about the mulberry sap. Hmm. Bonsai sounds fun! I was just thinking I'd like to try a walnut or oak bonzai :)
Oak is definitely easy to grow (and I have about 6 different types) but to keep them small and look like a mini-oak is a challenge I'm not succeeding at yet! Would love to try and grow a walnut. Have you any idea how? (Need a fresh walnut? Any organic walnut work? Or would you take a cutting?)
As far as I know you can propagate walnut by seed, grafting or budding. I think cuttings is possible but I don't know how reliable it is. I am currently trying to propagate english walnut and black walnut from seed, which has to go through a cold stratification period before it will sprout. You also don't want it to dry out after it has fallen from the tree, so store bought walnuts probably won't have as much chance for success as one that was kept moist and cold through the winter. Interesting how challenging it is to keep a tree small in bonzai form! What is the trick.. do you just keep pruning all the vigorous growth down?
You begin by encouraging vigorous growth in the first couple of years! Pretend you are growing a normal tree. You want a fat stem for a miniature trunk. Most of the pruning is done in the root system, but without causing too much trauma, that's the trick. There even comes a stage when you have to snip off every single leaf in the summer (but not the stalk!) to encourage miniature growth. Yep, it's complicated and then the artistic choices have to be made - which branch to bend, which to "damage", etc. Some of those artificial procedures go too far for me personally (although I admire the craft of proper Bonsai growers) but at one stage it felt like cutting off ears and tails of a dog, which is not-done by my doggy heart. I once found a useful (not too complicated) website with basic guidelines and shall go in search of it again.
Thanks for all that info.. It makes a lot more sense... but one thing I still don't quite understand is how you would keep the main stem from getting taller than you want without pruning it?
It grows tall to a couple of feet (depending on the tree) quite naturally in a year or two, then you have to carefully and as elegantly as possible top it. Often a side branch is trained into a new top (so that you don't have a stumpy end.
OH ok I see! Very clever :) Thanks for explaining that. I'll have to try it one of these days!
Good luck! I didn't know that about honey, very cool - will file that away in my brain for later use. 😊
Excited to see how these do. Mulberries really are a fantastic tree crop, hope you get success here.
We planted 50 this year with 50 more to go, we are 100% behind mulberries.
Thanks for the specifics on rooting them, I may take some cuttings from a neoghbors tree thanks to this post ;)
P.s. Water with soaked Willow twigs and/or eggshells is reported to contain rooting hormones too.
Wow that is so great @mountainjewel! I am land envious right now, I would love to be doing mass plantings like you both.. but time will come :) So what kind of mulberries did you plant?
I mentioned to another commenter above you can also bury mulberry hardwood cuttings in the ground 2/3 the length in the fall and they should root by the following spring, just like you did with your elderberries! I also just learned you can do this with grape which blew my mind.
Thanks for reminding me about the willow! I did know about the willow and am making some willow water as of this weekend! The eggshells I did not know and will definitely be reading up on that!
Exciting!! I learned last year we have a mature native red mulberry here. Figured it out luckily during fruiting stage. Hope your cuttings take!
I'm working on cuttings this year for the first time. As with most things, haphazardly lol. Learned a lot of info here in your post.
I've got elderberries from my aunt's they rooted for us. I cut black raspberries, blueberry, soon to be blackberries, and finally granny Smith apples from when it was heavily pruned. About to pot them up. Half the buds have opened into leaves already!! Don't see any roots yet, tho. I totally did not do any of the things you did. Haha! I can't stick them outside yet as it's still too cold. If they flower inside I'll just have to hand pollinate. They're soaking in liquid rooting solution in water. Fingers crossed a couple take for you and me.
Hi @phedizzle, thanks! we are all learning together :) I don't know a ton about cuttings, am also still learning. I know enough to be dangerous haha!
So awesome that you are experimenting with rooting all those different plants! I'd love to hear which ones are successful for you :) The roots can take time... patience is key! Also you may consider putting a plastic bag over your cuttings and misting them to keep them moist... that is recommended for some less than easy to root cuttings. Good luck to us both!
Kelp and honey water - So interesting! I do hope they make it and begin to grow. I have some small scale propagation experiments going on inside with a few plants including goji berries. Exciting to see when life finally emerges.
Wow nice! I haven't grown goji yet but I would like to... good luck with your propagation!!
Very nice! I looove mulberries!!! When I was a kid I used to play under a HUGE mulberry tree. It had a unique growing habit Ive never seen on a mulberry, because it was SOOO old, its branches hung down around almost like a weeping willow. It was magical...
That sounds very beautiful! Thanks for sharing that touching memory :) I wonder if that tree is still there? I haven't had much time with mulberry trees in my life so I am excited to start a new relationship with them.
I am rooting for them! :D
LOL!!!!
PERFECT timing! WE are moving house this coming week and I have neglected to take cuttings from our endlessly fruiting and prolific mulberry tree. AM ON IT! Most things grow like a weed here so am hopeful. Thanks for the detailed post and pro tips. Am very much enjoying learning from you, esp about propagation.
That's great!! You can also take cuttings of hardwood in the late fall/early winter and stick them in the ground 2/3 buried before the ground freezes and they should root by the next spring. Maybe try both approaches :) You can store cuttings in the fridge in a ziploc with a few drops of water to keep moist for 2-5 months fyi. Good luck! Take a bunch of cuttings in case some don't root !
The fridge tip is useful - yes, good idea! We don't have winter or spring here in tropical Thailand, and mulberries grow like weeds. I am putting in about 20 hardwood cuttings today. :)
Woohoo!! Good luck! I hope most/all of them take for you :)