I have a lot of apple scions in the fridge and not nearly enough rootstock to put them on, so I’d like to try rooting some of the cuttings just for fun. Does anyone have any tips on rooting apple scions? My plan was to scrape a little bark off the bottom of each scion and apply rooting hormone, then put them in potting soil in my greenhouse (for the extra humidity there).
I know they’ll eventually be full sized trees, and likely won’t produce as well without being on a rootstock, this is really just an experiment and a way to not waste perfectly good scions.
Last fall voles ate all the roots of a small apple tree. I took 6 cuttings from it and just pushed them into the ground in a shady spot. One of the cuttings is now growing.
I’m not sure of variety. There were two trees and one was multi-grafted. My best guess is Trailman crabapple. The cutting has roots and I’ve transplanted it.
From reserves in the wood, and moisture from the soil.
Scions sometimes grow up to maybe an inch, without taking. If this was a larger limb, and kept moist, I could imagine it growing a shoot without roots. Although that looks pretty long and healthy.
I’ve got a failed graft of a russet apple and I’m going to give it a go. will parafilm and use some rooting hormone and soil I think, see how it goes. might try with one of the avocado scion that failed too, that still has some green on it.
it’ll be wasted otherwise so may as well try it. cup has soil with optisorb layer on top. used rooting hormone on the cut end. saw green when I cut, so it may work. threw in my sad plum graft that a bird broke off.
