[Kevin G]

Can the regular run-of-the-mill Hawthorns be propagated from cuttings or slips? I'd like to grow a "natural fence" through a field even if it may take a few years to become chest high...any advice?

[Kevin G]

My Mistake! I meant to say the Whitethorn! There is a Blackthorn too I guess, does anyone know how to tell the difference?

[verge]

Kevin G, Hawthorn, whitethorn & blackthorn are usually grown from seed but you can propagate them from hardwood cuttings as well. November and December are good months for this,so you have plenty of time to prepare. I dug up the following infomation on hardwood cuttings for you.

Hardwood cuttings are hard and woody stems that have finished a years growth.
They are 20 to 30 cm long with lots of buds.
They should also be about thickness of a pencil

In a lightly shaded part of a garden dig a trench, to the depth of a spade, with one vertical side
Add about 5 cm of coarse sand along the bottom of the trench.
Make two cuts in each cutting with the secateurs.
The first cut is a sloping one, above a bud or a pair of buds, near the top of the cutting. The second cut is made below a node or leaf joint.
This should leave the cutting about 23 cm in length.
A tiny sliver of bark is then cut away from the base of each cutting. This helps the rooting.

Remove the leaves from about 2/3 of the bottom part of cuttings.
Dip the cutting in hormone rooting powder.
Insert cuttings in the trench, against the vertical wall, about 15 cm apart with about 2/3 of the cutting underground.
Label the cuttings.
Replace the soil bit by bit, treading on each layer.
Water well.

Cuttings can also be inserted around the edge of a 13 cm deep pot, if no ground space is available.
They should be treated as above.


Cuttings are left in situ for twelve months. They will have rooted by then and can be lifted and transferred to pots, filled with potting compost, or transferred to a nursery bed or to their permanent location.

Severe frost can loosen cutings greatly during the winter and cause them to dry out and die. Therefore, the trench should be inspected after frost and the soil around the cuttings should be firmed down gently by foot.

The area around the trench should be kept weed-free and watered in summer, if the weather is very dry.

[James Kilkelly, was GPI.]

That is quite possibly post of the month Verge, Well done, great propagation info.

[Kevin G]

Wow verge, that is great information! Thanks for spending the time on it! I'll be giving that a go this winter...Cheers

[Bugs]

Hawthorn and Whitethorn are Cratagus Oxycantha from which you get haws
Blackthorn is Prunus Spinosa from which you get sloes .
Bugs

[bold_defender]

Couple of questions on this old tread.

Should I wait to all the leaves have gone before taking any cuttings?

Any reason I shouldn't just plant in the permanent position straight away? I'm just using them to fill up some old patchy thorn hedges.

When verge says make two cuts in each cutting, does he mean to cut the top and bottom off at that point?

thanks

[vincentdunne]

Why take cuttings, Bold Defender, Hawthorn are easy to grow from seed (the 'haws' . Collect the haws, crush them up and extract the seed (does not need to be extracted completely) and sow in a tray, leaving it outside to get the frosts.. Quite a few will come up in the first year and even more in the second.