TP Ume

So I have some an ume 'Shiro kaga' from which I started cuttings from the other year. Two survived from the attempt of maybe 30 cuttings. It looks like I have the same result this year so far.

I'll be keeping track of my ume in this thread.

Anyways after posting an image of one of my cuttings on @bonhe 's thread, the identity of one of my cuttings is found questionable. I was pretty certain it was ume, but not so sure now.

Here are pictures of the two cuttings from the same batch side by side. The one in question has the smaller prettier leaves. Possibly some sport or entirely different prunus that got mixed up? Perhaps I'll have to wait and see.




On the one I'm sure is ume, looks like there flower buds? The underside of the leaves feel a bit rough to me from the veins. Perhaps I just need more experience touching the leaves. @Brian Van Fleet

thumblessprimate1, So I have some an ume 'Shiro kaga' from which I started cuttings from the other year. Two survived from the attempt of maybe 30 cuttings. It looks like I have the same result this year so far.
Yes, it is difficult to propagate the ume via cutting. Don't be surprised. If you want to yield higher successful rate, you need to gently pull the cutting out after one month. If you feel mild resistant, you pull it out completely. You will see a callous formed at the cut surface. Then, you use the blunt knife to scrape the callous off, then replant it. I know it will consume a lot of time and effort, but that is the only way to do cutting on ume.



Anyways after posting an image of one of my cuttings on @bonhe 's thread, the identity of one of my cuttings is found questionable. I was pretty certain it was ume, but not so sure now.
Why are you not so sure?

Here are pictures of the two cuttings from the same batch side by side. The one in question has the smaller prettier leaves. Possibly some sport or entirely different prunus that got mixed up? Perhaps I'll have to wait and see.
Yes, the one on the left is absolutely an ume based on the leaf shape with toothed edge.

On the one I'm sure is ume, looks like there flower buds? The underside of the leaves feel a bit rough to me from the veins. Perhaps I just need more experience touching the leaves. @Brian Van Fleet
I am not sure because the blurred picture!
I can see your ume still has healthy green leaves at this time. I don't know if you can get the flower next year. You should place the tree in the coolest space in your garden at this time ( to force the tree going into the dormancy - I think the ume needs to be dormant to produce the flowers)
Bonhe

I'll have to pull out my Sony camera. I've been lazy to use it since I've gotten a smart phone the other year.

I checked with my wife who prepared my cuttings last year, and we're not sure how cuttings could be mixed with anything as ume stock was all we had. Also she knows better than to make cuttings of the rootstock.

bonhe said:

Yes, it is difficult to propagate the ume via cutting. Don't be surprised. If you want to yield higher successful rate, you need to gently pull the cutting out after one month. If you feel mild resistant, you pull it out completely. You will see a callous formed at the cut surface. Then, you use the blunt knife to scrape the callous off, then replant it. I know it will consume a lot of time and effort, but that is the only way to do cutting on ume.



Anyways after posting an image of one of my cuttings on @bonhe 's thread, the identity of one of my cuttings is found questionable. I was pretty certain it was ume, but not so sure now.
Why are you not so sure?
Bonhe

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Thanks, @bonhe. My ume cuttings started in spring usually don't root until late fall. Perhaps mid fall they might callous. I'll try your recommendation next year to scrape off the callous.

I'm not so sure the two in the images above are from the same ume stock because they look so different, but it could be a sport of ume. That would be a really cool surprise.

Hey @thumblessprimate1 your last photo appears to have flower buds. Here is a shot of ume with flower buds (1 and 3) and a leaf bud in the center (2).

Harder to photograph a smooth leaf vs a rough leaf, but the roughness seems to be from the leaf veins, and "hairs" on the undersides. Here are a couple close ups, rough first, from a non-blooming shoot:

A non-blooming shoot, leaves removed to show it has leaf buds only (sorry, horrible focus):

Now, smooth (from a blooming shoot):

The blooming shoots flower buds are swelling now; the challenge with ume is that many of these desirable flowering shoots end up not producing leaf buds, so the density is lost. Note that not all of the buds in the foreground have a leaf bud in the center; most of those in the background still do. Also notice how the buds proximal to the trunk are flower buds, and leaf buds tend to appear at the most distal internode:

@markyscott sent me an article from an old International Bonsai magazine, which I tried on a few branches I marked with bread-bag ties and photographed over the last 2 growing seasons. The trick is to defoliate the first 2 leaves (proximal) on a branch in May to encourage leaf buds to form on those first 2 nodes, instead of flower buds. More on that later.

@Brian Van Fleet That helps a bunch. Thanks, Brian.

This should be a better image of the cutting I'm certain is Ume and buds on the stock.


Here's images of the bark between the Ume cutting, one that is questionable, and a portion of my Ume stock in relative order.

Brian Van Fleet said:

The trick is to defoliate the first 2 leaves (proximal) on a branch in May to encourage leaf buds to form on those first 2 nodes, instead of flower buds. .

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I tried this method this year, but did not see the result yet!
Bonhe

I can see the flower buds here.

Bonhe

It dipped about 10-12 below freezing last couple nights and my ume and the unidentified "ume" both had a change in color. Ume turned nice gold color, while the other one that I had thought was ume turned a familiar brilliant red. This was a huge clue for me.

I questioned my wife, "Did you remember that one fruiting bush we had? Did you make cuttings from it too?" "I don't remember. Did I?" "You definitely did!" The mystery cutting was a blueberry bush! LoL! Anyways, this will be fun working with a blueberry along side of my ume, if it's not too much trouble. I'll post photos later when time allows.

thumblessprimate1 said:

blueberry

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I totally see it now!

Aaron

So here's my blueberry now. I was fooled a while thinking it was an ume. So it's a blueberry cutting that got mixed in with some ume.