o propagate haskap (also known as honeyberry), you can use softwood cuttings or layering. Softwood cuttings involve taking 6-inch long cuttings from new shoots, planting them in well-draining soil, and keeping them moist in a shady spot. Layering involves bending a low-growing stem to the ground, covering it with soil, and allowing it to develop roots while still attached to the parent plant.
Here’s a more detailed guide:
1. Softwood Cuttings:
- Timing: Take cuttings in early spring or early summer when new shoots are emerging.
- Selection: Choose healthy, vigorous shoots from the current year’s growth.
- Cutting: Cut 6-inch long pieces from the new shoots.
- Preparation: Remove the lower leaves from the cuttings, leaving a few at the top.
- Planting: Insert the cuttings into well-draining, acidic soil, ensuring the lower nodes are covered.
- Care: Keep the soil consistently moist, but not waterlogged, and provide partial shade.
- Rooting: Cuttings should develop roots in a few weeks.
2. Layering:
- Timing: Early spring when the plant begins to leaf out.
- Preparation: Choose a low-growing, flexible stem.
- Layering: Bend the stem to the ground and cover a section of it with soil, ensuring the tip remains exposed.
- Care: Keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged.
- Rooting: Monitor the layered stem by gently tugging on it after 4-6 weeks to check for root development.
- Separation: Once roots have formed, carefully cut the stem where it was bent, and the new plant can be transplanted.
Important Considerations:
- Soil: Haskaps prefer well-draining, acidic soil rich in organic matter.
- Sunlight: While cuttings benefit from partial shade, established plants can tolerate full sun.
- Pollination: Haskaps are self-incompatible and require cross-pollination from a compatible variety to produce fruit.
- Cultivar: Haskap cultivars are propagated asexually, meaning seeds do not breed true.
- Spacing: When planting, ensure adequate spacing (around 1 meter or 3.3 feet) between plants to allow for proper growth and air circulation.