Cherry blossom cuttings

[ShadyBonsai]

Hello - apologies if this topic has been covered, I looked around a bit but didn’t see anything specific. I live outside of Seattle and my neighborhood has hundreds of cherry blossom trees. I would love to go around and take various cuttings but I have not had much success with cuttings in the past and wondering if anyone has any tips. I watched a couple videos on YouTube and it looks like the 1-2 year branch growth maintains a nice dark red color so they are easy to pick out. Right now most of the trees are flowering so I am wondering 1) is it fine to start taking cuttings now or should I wait a few more weeks until leaves start to appear? 2) what is the best medium to stimulate growth once I take the cuttings - should I attempt water propagation, potting soil, bonsai mix, or something like perlite/moss combo? 3) My yard is surrounded with trees, I have a lot of shady spots that get around 4 hours of light, I can do morning sun or afternoon sun, and have one section that gets 8+ hours of sunlight - where should I place them once I’ve got them in the medium? 4) how long should I leave them in the medium - should I check that they rooted next spring? Or should I check in the fall and then move them to a protected location during winter? 5) also I assume they should just be left outside to root naturally and not brought indoors?

I love seeing these bloom each year and would love to start a few as bonsai so any tips are appreciated! Thanks for the help!

 

[Frozentreehugger]

Shady do you know what exact tree they and the famous ones in Washington are . I’m trying to ID a tree here I believe the ones here are prunes sargenti Sargent cherry have been told that those are the ones in Washington but the source is not reliable I have doubts there the same tree unlikely the tree there is hardy enough for here

 

[ShadyBonsai]

Hey - my best guess is that it’s a mix of Sargent and kwanzan in my neighborhood. They are almost exclusively landscaped placed trees so I’m sure it’s a mix. To my understanding the Sargent are a bit of a lighter pink while the kwanzan are a much brighter/saturated pink color. Ive seen both along with a white variety. They are planted all over the city!

 

[Mikecheck123]

Wait until it's warmer and there are leaves.

Then cut a twig with one or two leaves only. Most important thing is humidity, so tent the cutting with a plastic bag.

The whole idea is to maintain the photosynthesis cycle for as long as possible before the lack of roots dries it out. That's why you only want a leaf or two.

As to when you check, never! You'll know it worked when the roots come out the bottom or it's growing vigorously. Checking for roots will damage any progress and speed the death of any cutting that's not dead yet.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

shady I’m going to attempt mine from the cold hardy trees here from seeds collected fruit 1/2 partially rotten after all winter on the tree And maybe a few cuttings . Like you I don’t do well with cuttings . Dirrs manual spreads the info on propagation thru out the prunus section . But basically says . May June cuttings hardwood cuttings slightly higher success rate . 2 parts perlite 1 part peat . Also says because of graft incapability there is a movement to cherry on there own roots . That is from 5th edition 1998 so there is probable more info out there somewhere good luck like I said I am just starting . The cherry thing myself other than choke cherry I gave in the ground from seed

 

[ShadyBonsai]

Thanks for the tips guys I’ll add some progress if it goes well!

 

[rockm]

Shady do you know what exact tree they and the famous ones in Washington are . I’m trying to ID a tree here I believe the ones here are prunes sargenti Sargent cherry have been told that those are the ones in Washington but the source is not reliable I have doubts there the same tree unlikely the tree there is hardy enough for here

The famous cherry trees in the D.C. area (surrounding the tidal basin and other official sites) are a few different species. The most common are Yoshino and Kwanzan. Yoshinos surround the Tidal Basin. The history of their planting is interesting, since the first 2,000 trees from Japan were destroyed on purpose because of a nematode infection. After that, the Japanese sent over 3,000 trees of many different varieties to replace them. At this point, only a handful of those original trees survives. Most have been repeatedly replaced over the years with Japanese sourced trees.

Here's a link to the history, which includes a list of the varieties that were shipped out. FWIW, cherry trees do very well here in this zone, but they're not very long lived (100 years is a long time for them). The trees on the Tidal Basin are abused with idiots and killed with enthusiasm by visitors who break pieces of them off, compact the ground and break branches by climbing in them...Beavers have also become an issue in the last few years.

History of the Cherry Trees - Cherry Blossom Festival (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

 

[Frozentreehugger]

The famous cherry trees in the D.C. area (surrounding the tidal basin and other official sites) are a few different species. The most common are Yoshino and Kwanzan. Yoshinos surround the Tidal Basin. The history of their planting is interesting, since the first 2,000 trees from Japan were destroyed on purpose because of a nematode infection. After that, the Japanese sent over 3,000 trees of many different varieties to replace them. At this point, only a handful of those original trees survives. Most have been repeatedly replaced over the years with Japanese sourced trees.

Here's a link to the history, which includes a list of the varieties that were shipped out. FWIW, cherry trees do very well here in this zone, but they're not very long lived (100 years is a long time for them). The trees on the Tidal Basin are abused with idiots and killed with enthusiasm by visitors who break pieces of them off, compact the ground and break branches by climbing in them...Beavers have also become an issue in the last few years.

History of the Cherry Trees - Cherry Blossom Festival (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

Great story of peace and friendship . And trees . Just wish they were a little more cold hardy thanks for the history I did not know the story

 

[queenofsheba52]

great info, @rockm

Knowledge is power, as they say.

 

[rodeolthr]

I had good luck 2 years ago taking cuttings of new growth just as it had hardened slightly. I rooted them in perlite with bottom heat and high humidity. Plan on doing more this year as they rooted quickly and grow very fast.