Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Willow water is a traditional method to extract the rooting hormone indolebutyric acid from willow (Salix) trees, which is believed to be present in sufficient quantities to stimulate root growth. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Root cuttings (pieces of root cut off and induced to grow a new trunk) are also not used to propagate fruit trees, although this method is successful with some herbaceous plants. A refinement on rooting is layering. This is rooting a piece of a wood that is still attached to its parent and continues to receive nourishment from it.
Stem cuttings of young wood should be taken in spring from the upper branches, while cuttings of hardened wood should be taken in winter from the lower branches. Common bounds on the length of stem cuttings are between 5–15 centimetres (2.0–5.9 in) for soft wood and between 20–25 centimetres (7.9–9.8 in) for hard wood.
Almost all willows take root very readily from cuttings or where broken branches lie on the ground (an exception is the peachleaf willow (Salix amygdaloides)). One famous example of such growth from cuttings involves the poet Alexander Pope , who begged a twig from a parcel tied with twigs sent from Spain to Lady Suffolk .
When they are mature enough, they drop off and root in any suitable soil beneath. Vegetative reproduction from a stem cutting less than a week old. Some species are more conducive to this means of propagation than others. A bulb of Muscari has reproduced vegetatively underground to make two bulbs, each of which produces a flower stem.
In some areas, dried leafy branches are stored as winter fodder for stock. Depending on the use of the cut material, the length of time between cutting will vary from one year for tree hay or withies, to five years or more for larger timber. Sometimes, only some of the regrown stems may be cut in a season – this is thought to reduce the ...
Two trees may grow to their mature size adjacent to each other and seemingly grow together or conjoin, demonstrating inosculation. These may be of the same species or even of different genera or families, depending on whether the two trees have become truly grafted together (once the cambium of two trees touches, they self-graft and grow together).
Plants can also be grown from greenwood cuttings, which make attractive creeping mounds. Hardwood cuttings are often difficult to root. Both tannin and salicin can be extracted from goat willow bark. The tree is not considered a good source of timber, as its wood is both brittle and known to crackle violently if burned.