Rootstocks and Seedlings: Spring Field Notes

here I'm transplanting some small larch plugs into larger plugs, if you don't know larch are this conifer that have the unusual feature where they drop their needles in the fall and just grow new ones first thing in the spring. these broke dormancy a few weeks ago even while bundled up like this and look nice and healthy, but they're super slow growing when small like spruce and pine, unless you have ideal conditions expect about a 2" tree at the end of the first year, and plant them into small pots or large plug trays for the second year to get up to a size that can handle being planted out. or leave them in a garden bed for 2-3 years kind of back burner and then in the spring you can put them into pots or transplant to a field or yard location. spruce in particular, they can grow maybe six inches per year for the first five-ten years, then once established take off and grow much faster.

plum orchard year three on chokecherry rootstocks with interstems. first time there's been a bloom with some wild plums mixed in, should be fruit.

giant hyssop. the seeds are tiny so starting them in a clump, then gently pull it apart and plant small clusters into plugs. same process for most of the perennial flower seeds.

I keep trays over the seeds as defense against squirrels and sometimes my cat likes to walk on them. also a bit of shade is good when it's hot, it's time now to take them off, manchurian apricot and siberian stone pine in these two. ready to transplant into plugs.

narrow leaved echinacea, a native species. I divided these small trays of starts and transplanted into large plug trays, will see how they do. echinacea is a perennial wildflower, so I'm thinking they'll be trimmed and offered as dormant plug in the fall or next spring. just getting into more herbaceous perennials and sorting out the best way to grow them and send out to people.

z graft everything. I find that most field grafts, unless the scion size and body position is just right for whip and tongue, the z graft is now my goto. when I bench graft, sure whip and tongue. my recent run of sixty different apple scions onto seedlings, unless you stand over them, z graft all the way. we'll see what the take it like next month.

stinging nettle seeds coming up. planted april 1st, it's just warm enough now staying above freezing at night for them to germinate. these will get divided up into plugs, they're perennial and the fresh shoots in the spring are popular.

packing up berry bushes like these polar jewel haskap grown in lalge plugs and stuffed into a small pot, shrink wrapped bundles of plugs, and other assorted. a couple days off while it was below freezing and we're back at it, hoping another 2 weeks to finish with help from the whole family in our spring packing rush

trying something out. 2x4 beds fit neatly under 3 bulb crates. why? because the shade reduced stress for transplants, they're happy to be in 50% shade for a week, keeps up humidity and helps prevent them from wilting over in the sun. the uncovered bed has 3 drills of siberian crabapple, they won't get up to grafting size this year but it gets them growing, and I'll plant them out with more space next year.

apricots from the root cellar, super ready to plant.

potting up wild american hazelnuts. I kept them in some damp peat moss in a fridge all winter, and they've been just in a bin in the shade in the greenhouse for about a month. these guys will get some squirrel cage protection, the attached nuts will get excavated even after the seedlings are growing by ninja squirrels.

time to pot up these seedlings. you can direct sow into trays and pots, or info a garden bed but I like to use community pots to get things started. saves on greenhouse space, easy to keep watered.

a few seedlings coming up. i have quite a few of these to prick out into plug trays or pots. should add them to our seed shop, proof that they do germinate

seedling plums coming up. these are from pembina seeds. I've been keeping trays over top just add some shade and frost protection, greenhouse can get hot and cold. about to take them off.

rhubarb about a month old from seed

western sandcherry from some tasty ones I found last summer. about one month old. we're growing these out to plant in the landscape and also for dwarfing apricot rootstocks.

few seedlings growing in the greenhouse. so far 45 trays each one something different. no idea if it’s too much or not enough ;)

manchurian apricot softwood can root, here’s westcot apricot on it’s own roots from last fall. with enough stock material for cuttings in early june, this could be a way to propagate apricot rootstocks. maybe.

thinking about giving these old plug trays a go this year. I gave up on them in 2015-16 after winter kill took out 90% of the confiers, I had thousands healthy in the fall, covered with snow and just stone dead in the spring. I’m fine it’s ok, some of those pine trees are 6 ft tall around my yard now. but this year I have some cold storage for the winter, and suspect I could surely keep plugs alive. still trying to understand how to use them, these can ship all summer right? probably only suitable for bushes or small perennials or trees with a slower growing root system? imagining an oak or willow would get root bound fast.. or am I wrong?

first set loaded, thinking I’ll just plant some of everything in these for variety. they’re a 50 cell 200ml/cc 2x5” plug tray.

red leafed choke cherry seedling emerging

royalty crabapple (red) next to our rootstocks

sometimes you forget to plant a hundred apple trees. ask anyone and you should not transplant a tree that’s flush with new growth and on a hot day.. so that’s that I did this morning. Bare root and zip tied in bundles, heeled in to some pots they were dormant 2-3 weeks ago. I expect some wilt and shock and maybe they’ll stop growing for a month, but hopefully they won’t defoliate. Like most of my transplanted trees this year, when you have hundreds they’re ok with high density and I plant them in small groups in each hole, like a buddy system. some rain and clouds in the forecast. these need to size up a bit for next year’s rootstocks. I have a weird problem where last year several beds of Siberian crabapple barely grew, and now they’re taking off and I have way more than I need. these are ideal full sized rootstocks for zone 3/2 apples. #plantingtrees

bench grafts right before they went in the ground. the first half are on b118 from our new stoolbed, second half are root grafts on M. baccata .. I have a variety of rootstocks and types of grafts this year so it will be interesting to compare how well they grow. #grafting

malus baccata or Siberian crabapple seedlings getting potted up. sometimes is convenient to grow them in a community pot for a week or two and move them as they germinate. these will be some of next spring’s rootstocks #seedlings #appleseeds

Seedlings (in order) Boxelder, Silver Buffalo Berry, Pear, Mountain Ash

Planting spruce around our aspen forest. I like to use the dibble for this it’s quick and the hole fits a decent root mass. planted on the north side of a stump covered with old bark to keep it sheltered #treeplanting

Siberian crabapple at 12 weeks ready to plant out. Most of these went into nursery beds to grow on for next year’s rootstocks, and some were planted out around our orchard #appletree #appletrees #treeplanting

Ohio buckeye is an uncommon tree around here but seems fully winter hardy in zone 3. The big compound leaves are so cool. Trying a seedbed of them this summer. Sourcing tree seeds from a similar climate is very challenging, for example my buckeye seeds are from a thousand miles south of here. Will they survive -45? will need to keep them in the seedbed over winter vs heeling them into to find out, i need to see wood above the snow line survive to know.

Nursery area this spring, about to build some seedbeds for more stratified tree seeds

planting spruce today. one thing I’ve learned when planting around a wood lot is to use stakes, because you need to find them through the first year to water them. by June without stakes they’re very hard to find. another good tip is to plant on the north side of a log or stump and pile around bark for best survival. #silviculture #treeplanting

Siberian crabapple seedlings at 8 weeks indoors. #malus #appleseedling

One corner of our nursery, raised beds full of small trees and bushes #backyardnursery #garden

today the ground was finally thawed enough to dig up our heeled in trees from the fall, grown in our raised beds. Last year was a good start, a few hundred seedling rootstocks about to get grafted and some assorted trees we’ll plant out around our property. All the cool stuff is coming up this fall. #treenursery #rootstock

river birch seedlings at 5 weeks. these are a native species grown from seed collected in the fall. just trying them out inside to test germination, should have a whole bed of them come up this summer #riverbirch #indoorgarden

at one month these crab apple seedlings are ready to pot up. gown under led light in 200 cell trays the moved up to a large 50 cell for the next 8 weeks. most of these I just started direct in seedbeds but I like to have something growing inside, and if transplant shock can be avoided these rootstocks could maybe be large enough to bud this fall. #rootstock #crabapple #wintergarden

Siberian crabapples at 4 weeks under led lights #appletree #malusbaccata #rootstock

two weeks after germination Malus baccata var mandsuria #appletree #seedling

planting white spruce along a forest path today #silviculture #forest #treeplanting

filling a new nursery bed with #compost and #biochar .. there’s a gradient in the soil from pure garden soil with a substantial mineral content to pure aged compost in the top inches. As time goes by we amend by adding compost only to the top layer. #fruittreenursery #fruittrees #backyardnursery

Malus Baccata #rootstock planted out under shade cloth in a raised bed of #compost, garden soil, #biochar. These guys are all experimental batches grown in different conditions in our winter garden. The range from 6 months to 5 weeks old. . #fruittreenursery #fruittrees #backyardnursery

planting out some baby #mugopine these are 3 months old and about 2” tall. Transplanting from the grow room into a shady nursery bed full of #compost and #mulch. . #fruittreenursery #fruittrees #backyardnursery

it’s all #woodchips and #compost at the nursery as we fill our raised beds by the greenhouse . #fruittreenursery #fruittrees #backyardnursery

Malus Baccata rootstocks at 18 weeks indoors. Our winter garden proved a success this year with various seed sources to kick off the outdoor nursery with some larger seedlings. #appletrees #rootstock #malus