You can easily grow new conifers from existing plants. All you need is suitable cuttings and compost.
If a hedge of conifers is already thriving in your garden, it is obvious that you are using the coniferous plants to attract youngsters. It's not even complicated because everything you need is already at your fingertips.
All you have to do is look at your conifers and snip off individual branches and you've got the basics laid.
Propagating conifers from cuttings - Here's how
» Demands on branches & optimal time
If you want to grow small offspring from your existing conifers, you need certain branches of the plant.
Particularly suitable branches are:
- still relatively young
- not woody
- not directly in the field of view
It is best to use the winter to form cuttings. The plants are now in a dormant phase and there is no harm in cutting off individual shoots. Use sharp pruning shears or a knife to cut it off. The spot on the shoot where the fresh wood merges with the old wood is a suitable point of intersection.
» Plant and grow cuttings
Conifers are always propagated using cuttings, i.e. young shoots that you plant directly in the ground and care for sufficiently so that roots form. Good growing conditions are important, but not difficult to achieve with conifers.
You only need a rearing tray for the young shoots. For this you can choose old flower pots, a small flower box or other bowls with a depth of at least six centimeters. We also recommend compost, as it has sufficient nutrients. Alternatively, you can use regular potting soil with some softwood fertilizer (such as this one).
Everything important at a glance:
- young, not yet lignified shoots
- Compost or potting soil (with fertilizer)
- Planter
- warm location without drafts
Start propagation in early winter. This gives the individual shoots enough time to form a root system by spring. If the cutting grows well, you canrelease it in a bucket in spring or even plant it directly in the garden.
» Caring for conifer cuttings
❶ Conifer shoots thrive particularly well if you place them in a soil mixture of compost and sand. The sand loosens the soil so that the newly forming roots get air. It is important that the soil never dries out. Conifers are sensitive to drought and young broodstock in particular immediately stop rooting if there is a lack of water.
❷ Choose a bright location for the rearing dish that is relatively warm. The young plants do not tolerate draughts, but direct sunlight is not a problem if they are watered regularly.
❸ In the winter months, mold can form on the potting soil. This is a sure sign that you are overwatering the conifers and that the location is too cool. Now simply remove the mold from the soil and relocate.
❹ Once a strong root has formed, you can place the young plant in the garden in early spring. Since the small trees often disappear between the large specimens, we recommend planting in a bucket or a single location for the first few years.
You don't have to pay much more attention to the propagation of conifers. Just consider that it takes a few years for a small shoot to grow into a large tree. It is therefore of no use to take cuttings if you want to redesign the garden next year. In this case, it is better to choose young plants from a nursery with an existing root ball.