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Fife and Kinross
Members Centre
Tree Group
PROPAGATING NATIVE TREES IN FIFE AND KINROSS
These notes are an amalgam of advice from various
sources and trial-and-error experience in our own back gardens. There
are plenty of other native trees, of course; these are just the ones we
find in our area and have habitually cultivated in the nursery.
When collecting seed, there are a few precepts to
follow if possible. First, as our trees are all to be planted out in
Fife and Kinross, seed should be collected locally. Forestry Commission
guidelines do define 'our' area as stretching very roughly from
Stonehaven down to Callander, then south-east down to Biggar, and then
north-east to Dunbar; so if you found a fine stand of oaks at
Friockheim or luscious guelder roses at Broxburn, we could legitimately
use the seed.
But let's look round our own neck of the
hoped-for wood first! Relative rareties, of course, such as hazel, may
well have to come from further afield in the area. Second, don't be
tempted to gather all the seed from one outstanding specimen. We
certainly shouldn't use seed from diseased trees, but it's much better
for genetic variability and representativeness to gather five fruits
from 20-30 individuals of every shape and size than a hundred from just
one (even if that one is nice and easy to get at).
If collecting from a whole stand of trees or a
hedgerow, try not to take seed from neighbouring individuals, which may
well be parent and offspring. And once the seed is gathered, mix it up
well. Third, although this is not the be-all and end-all for our
operation, we should try to collect native seed where possible.
Defining 'native' is notoriously difficult; but
if, say, there is evidence of coppicing, absence of organised planting
patterns, or wide age-distribution, or if the trees are in a steep
gorge (and therefore unlikely to have been plantation material), there
is a good chance that the trees have at least been there for a very
long time and are consequently well-adapted for the area.
Another way of increasing stock is of course to
save self-sown seedlings, if you're reasonably sure what their origin
is. Thus, a variegated holly that's appeared in your garden is no use
to us; but if there's a hawthorn hedge nearby, and hawthorns keep
popping up, do keep them and transfer them to the nursery when they're
big enough.
NOTES ON PROPAGATING INDIVIDUAL SPECIES
Alder
Alder (not Italian Alder) Collect 'cones' in Nov./Dec. Put
dry cones in a box or plastic bag and shake vigorously to extract
seeds. Store in airtight container. Sow on the surface of wet soil or
seed compost in a seed tray and cover with glass or polythene. Shade
from direct sunshine. Make sure the soil remains moist. Germination
takes 2-4 weeks. Remove the cover after germination, but keep the soil
moist at all times. Prick out seedlings into soil or compost in seed
trays or small pots, 5 cm apart. Keep moist, if necessary (e.g. when
you're away) by standing the containers in shallow water - it doesn't
matter if they get waterlogged for a few weeks. If you do this, though,
make sure the blackbirds don't wreck the lot by taking the mud
(complete with seedling) to line their nests! Line out plants 30 cm
apart in the autumn or early spring: if the latter, protect the plants
over winter by sinking the containers in the ground.
Ash
Collect seeds in autumn and store in pots in a mixture of
sand and soil. Store outside in a shady place for 18 months; protect
from birds and mice with e.g. chicken wire folded double to make the
mesh small enough. Keep moist in prolonged drought. In mid-February in
the second winter, sow the seeds thinly; the plants can be lined out
the following autumn or the autumn after that, depending on growth. NB
If there are ash trees near you, they'll certainly seed themselves.
It's easier to bring on self-sown seedlings than to collect seed and
stratify it.
Beech
Beech only produces viable seed every few years. Collect
viable seed when it falls and sow immediately in rows; protect from
mice if necessary, as for ash. Should germinate the following spring.
Plant out in nursery rows in autumn or early spring, 30 cm apart.
Birch
These notes apply to both downy and silver birch. But note
that in our area, we can usually get unwanted downy birch seedlings
from Bankhead Moss. Germinates everywhere but where you actually want
it to! Small self-sown seedlings, when 2 or 3 rough leaves show, easily
transplant, 15 cm apart. To propagate, collect ripe catkins in late
summer, break them up to release the seed and store it in an airtight
container. You can put this in the fridge (not the freezer compartment)
if you want. Sow broadcast, fairly thickly, on seed compost or a 50/50
soil-sand mix and keep moist. Germination is often very low. Plant out
in nursery rows either the following autumn or a year after that,
depending on size.
Blackthorn
Blackthorn (sloe) is eccentric. In principle, germinates
the spring after ripening, but often waits 18 months. The safest method
is to collect the fruit when it has ripened, remove the stones and put
these thickly in soil or seed compost in large pots. Store outside.
Protect from mice as for ash. If the seeds don't germinate, just put
the pots in a mostly shady place, keep moist in drought, and wait till
the following February. Sow the seeds in rows in the first half of
February (any later, and they may have started to germinate, in which
case the shoots will be destroyed in handling). Plant out in the
nursery in the autumn, about 30 cm apart. If the seeds do germinate in
their pots, plant them out when they're big enough to handle, about 15
cm apart. Then plant them out in the nursery in the autumn.
Dogrose
Dogrose (wild rose). Takes about 18 months to germinate. Gather hips
when ripe, break them open and extract the seeds. Store these outside
in a shady place, in sand or a sand-soil mix, until late in the second
winter, protecting against mice as for ash. Keep moist in drought. In
the first half of February, sow in rows. Thin to 5 cm apart if they're
very dense. Plant out in nursery rows in the autumn, 30 cm apart.
Elder
Propagation is easy from hardwood cuttings with a heel
taken in October and November. These can usually be planted out the
following winter. For more genetic variability, collect berries when
ripe, keep in a plastic bag till soft, then wash out the seeds. Store
outside in soil in pots and sow thickly in the first half of February.
Thin to about 10 cm apart when 5 cm tall. Plant out in nursery rows in
the first winter.
Elm
Elm, wych. If grown in hedges and kept cut, wych elm seems
to stand a chance of avoiding Dutch elm disease. So it's worth
propagating it. Collect the fruit from the tree as soon as it's ripe,
in early June, and sow immediately in drills or boxes. Many seeds are
sterile, but there should be some germination within a fortnight or
three weeks. Thin to about 10 cm apart when 5 cm high. Plant out 30 cm
apart in nursery rows in the autumn.
Gean
Another eccentric, like blackthorn. Gather the cherries as
soon as they'r ripe and remove the flesh straight away. Then proceed as
for blackthorn, but space the plants 40 cm apart when planting out in
the nursery rows.
Guelder Rose
Collect berries as soon as ripe and store in pots in a
50/50 sand-soil mixture. Bruisethe berries first, to speed up the
rotting away of pulp and skin. Don't let the berries dry before doing
this, or germination probably won't happen for 18 months. (Germination
is in any case very erratic.) Sow in February or early March in drills
outside. Plant out in nursery rows the following spring, about 30 cm
apart.
Hawthorn
Takes about 18 months to germinate. Gather berries in
October and keep them in a plastic bag for a week or so to soften the
flesh. Then extract the seeds and mix them with sand or soil in pots.
Protect from mice as for ash, and store outside in a cool place until
late in the second winter. Sow in the first half of February in
rows,and plant out in nursery rows the following winter, 30 cm apart.
Hazel
Pick or gather nuts as soon as they're ripe in September
and sow about 5 cm apart in rows. Protect from mice and squirrels as
for ash. A fair percentage of nuts are infertile, but the viable ones
will germinate in the first spring. The plants can be planted out in
nursery rows in the autumn, 30 cm apart.
Holly
Collect berries in Jan./Dec., and proceed as for hawthorn. Note,
however, that we have a prolific supply of seedlings for our nursery
from SWT members in Monimail, so that there's no real need to collect
and propagate holly.
Hornbeam
Collect seeds as they fall in autumn. Sow immediately in
rows, about 15 cm apart, and protect from mice as for ash. Germination
is often very low. Plant out one year later in nursery rows, 15 cm
apart.
Oak
Oak (pedunculate and sessile) Collect ripe acorns as soon
as they fall. Oak can germinate very soon. So, to prevent frost damage
to early shoots and to protect against mice etc., sow immediately in a
square bed, 5 cm apart and 5 cm deep. Then cover the bed with a layer
of sand or sawdust to mark the original soil level, and then cover with
a 10 cm layer of soil. In late April remove the top layer as far as the
sand/sawdust, and the shoots will emerge naturally. Plant out in
nursery rows the following autumn, 30 cm apart. Remove the tap roots
when doing this, or the following autumn; otherwise, when the trees are
finally planted out in the wild, they will suffer a severe check to
growth.
Rowan
Yet another eccentric (cf. blackthorn and gean). If the
seeds are removed from the berries, it really should germinate at the
end of the first winter, but it still sometimes waits 18 months or just
doesn't do anything. Anyway, pick the berries from the trees, and store
in damp sand. Don't pick blackened berries, as they'll be suffering
insect predation. It may help if the sand-seed mix is kept in an
airtight container in the fridge (not the freezer compartment).
Otherwise, store it outside, protected as for ash. Sow in rows in the
first half of February, and plant out in nursery rows after one or two
seasons, 50 cm apart.
Scots Pine
Collect closed cones from the tree or the ground (not very small ones
though) in Jan.-Mar. Spread them out in a warm dry place to open. Shake
them vigorously in a closed box to get the seeds out. Moisten the
inside of a polythene bag, put the seeds inside and seal the bag. Put
it in the fridge (not freezer compartment) for a fortnight. Then sow
the seed thinly in rows about 3 mm deep. Germination is patchy, and the
seedlings can be confused with grass, so keep a careful watch and weed
carefully. Oddly, Scots pine seedlings don't like shade. The little
trees are generally best left where they are for two summers, and then
planted out in the nursery 30 cm apart. (Note, though, that the sooner
they're planted in their permanent sites, the sooner they establish
themselves and the faster they grow.)
Sloe
For Sloe - see blackthorn.
Whitebeam
Whitebeam (common and Swedish) We prefer the native common whitebeam.
Proceed as for rowan. Germination won't be prolific.
Willow
Willow (crack and goat) Goat willow is more in demand than crack. Take
15-30 cm cuttings in early spring from last year's growth, cutting 5 mm
off the tip. Plant three-quarters down in open ground. Can usually be
planted out in the wild the following winter.
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