I would like to find the specific required info regarding propagation from cones (or cuttings!) of specific varieties of pine, spruce, larch, and cedar, as well as the miniaturized Chamaecyparis Obtusa. Could anyone link me up or (!) even recommend a book? Any tips or thoughts any of you might have, beyond this, would be most appreciated. I have a sizable garden around my home, and although a good bit of that will be planted with fruit trees, raspberries, blueberries, and black currants, I would like more coniferous ornamentals for a woodland swath. I'd also like to make some very large hypertufa planters, also for (small) trees. There's a small heated greenhouse as well. Our neighborhood is somewhat lacking in trees, and people don't seem to have much inclination to gardening. But they would happily accept gift exemplars of said. I would like to see a lot more trees in our neighborhood, and I also just want to try and grow some of these sorts of trees. In addition the the Hinoki cypress i mentioned, I would love to grow Dwarf Alberta and Blue spruce, Common Juniper, Tamarack, Common Yew, a weeping Cedrus Atlantica or two, and even some pines. I also have a terrible weakness for the Mountain Larch, which I've heard (sad to say) does not do well in our Delta climate.
Try finding this book, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses, Michael A. Dirr for information on propagation. I think you will find the Chamaecyparis fairly easy as they are grown from cuttings, as are juniper, yews, thuja, and most hemlocks. Most pines, spruce, true cedars, and larch are either grown from seed, or if you want a specific cultivar like the weeping blue atlas cedar, they are grafted.
Thanks for the tips. Anything online about grafting that would be applicable to that cedar in terms of rootstock, cutting techniques etc?
If you are really interested in propagation, you might want to take a propagation class from a local university. I took a propagation class from the Univ. of Minnesota about 10 years ago and I learned a lot and it was a wonderful experience. Plus, I got to keep some of the plants that I propagated. Good luck, Mike
bcgift52, no, but it's a good idea. I'll post the idea to the staff forums on here - our plant propagator is very keen and he might be interested to do one.
