Very well done video. Thank you for explaining not only your process for taking the cutting but also how you log your data and your misting system. It has given me several usefull ideas.
Hi Todd. My family and I have had nanking bushes in our yard for about 15 years, and we only just realized a week ago that what they have grown year after year are actually edible cherries! We are so excited yet sad we didnt realize it sooner! I have a question for you though. We have noticed that these bushes grow both red and white cherries, some on the same branch. I tried searching it up but I can find very minimal information on the white cherries. Is this supposed to happen? Are the white ones edible as well? By the way, thanks for the great video!
Hi Tanya, I purchased a white nanking cherry bush last year. It did not produce this year but should next year. So the partial answer to your question is there is such a thing as white nanking cherry and they are edible. Now on to the part I can't answer - I have never seen a bush that has both red and white cherries on it. Could it just be that the white cherries are not fully ripe yet? Can you share a picture - I'd love to see this. My Nankings go right from green to red. I do have a Korean bush cherry that go from green to white to red.
This year early spring just before buds grow I cut a pencil size branch and just stuck it in the ground specifically under full shade right under a bush or tree where it will still get some very light filtered sun and I'll just leave it alone and it and many other cuttings are able to root slowly but surely there's enough spring/early summer rain that we typically get will be enough moisture for the cutting to survive. Simple and quick to just stick it in the ground as long as your patient more shade takes longer to root yet gives best success
The process that you describe here is known as hardwood cuttings. Just make sure the cuttings you take in the winter/early spring is from new growth of the prior your. Thanks for sharing.
I have two Nanking Cherry bushes that are two years old and didn’t produce fruit this year. Are there different types of Nanking bushes? I purchased them from the same place. I am wondering if the cuttings were taken from the same bush would they pollinate each other?
Did the bushes flower? Nanking cherries are partially self fertile and you would get a little fruit from one plant or cuttings from the same plant. You will absolutely get more fruit from nanking cherries from different parents.
@@greatescapefarms I don’t remember. We had a late freeze and I lost the flowers from some of my fruiting bushes. That could be the problem. Apparently it is hard to grow fruit in East Tennessee because we often have late freezes. That is what my nursery woman tells me. I have only been here for two springs and this would be the first season I expected fruit. I will be better prepared and try to cover them. Thanks for responding.
By the way, I was propagating cuttings in homemade compost last year with some success, but I recently switched to sand. Seems like the bioactivity in the compost was too high and ended up rotting my cuttings. So, you taught me a few things. Thanks.
I use rubbing alcohol to clean my clippers. I always assumed that would kill anything that would harm my plants. I hope that I didn't do more harm than good. 😕
Could you explain a little more about the propagation bed you are using for the cuttings in this video? How deep is it, and do you only have sand in it? Or is it mixed with some other material? And how long do the Nanking cuttings have to stay in it before you can remove them to transplant elsewhere? Thank you.
Sure. The sand is concrete sand and it is about 8" deep. I laid cardboard down on the grass and put the concrete sand on top of the cardboard. I'm sure the cardboard had turned into worm food in the first couple of months. My whole reason for putting the cardboard down was just to kill off the grass so it would not grow up through the sand. The plants are put in the ground in the summer - usually late June to early August. I remove the plants when they are dormant - anywhere from December to February.
Keep in mind these are bush cherries and not tree cherries. The bush cherries do not cross pollinate with tree cherries. When propagated with softwood cuttings they are generally flowering and pollinating the following year.
Hi Graham - sorry for the late reply - somehow I missed this one. I do use sand for my summer or softwood cuttings. This is because I use a mist irrigation system that sprays water once every five minutes. I want to keep the leaves wet, but don't want to saturate the soil and rot the roots. The sand lets the water drain and helps a lot. I have found that concrete sand works great. For hardwood cuttings taken in the winter, you can use straight garden soil because you are not using the mist irrigation system.
Nanking states on the rap sheet that it survives in USDA hardiness zones 3-7. If you are in zone 8b, you may be able to grow them if you create a micro-climate. A micro-climate is an area that has different conditions than your general area. You could put them in a little more shade so they don't get scorched by your warmer sun and make sure they get a little extra water during the summer. The one thing that would be difficult to mimic would be the cold months. Some plants require a certain number of months of cool weather - I'm not sure if Nankings have this requirment or not.
I tried propagating from seed last year with little luck. I'm quite sure the seeds froze several times during the stratification process, so I'll have to try again with a more controlled stratification process.
Cambium is where cell division takes place. Phloem is where nutrient flow down from the leaves. The tissue that water flows through (up from the roots) is called xylem. An internode is the space between leaves or branches. Places where leaves and branches emerge are called nodes. You run a commercial farm and don’t know these things?? Wow...
@@SanRafaelSwell This man is taking the time to teach us how to propagate Nanking Cherries. You seem to correct his terminology which I am really not interested in. I am just trying to learn how to propagate.
Very streamlined operation!!! Great stuff!! Tnx for the knowledge ")
Very well done video. Thank you for explaining not only your process for taking the cutting but also how you log your data and your misting system. It has given me several usefull ideas.
You are most welcome.
I grew up in South Korea picking these cherries. Delicious! I purchased two plants to be planted in March, thanks for teaching me to propagate.
Thanks
Awesome thanks for sharing
You are most welcome.
Good size cuttings. My plants are about a2 feet high. Might get a few small ones in autumn.
Great video, brother.
Thanks!
Very good video! Thank you
New sub
You are welcome!
Hi Todd. My family and I have had nanking bushes in our yard for about 15 years, and we only just realized a week ago that what they have grown year after year are actually edible cherries! We are so excited yet sad we didnt realize it sooner! I have a question for you though. We have noticed that these bushes grow both red and white cherries, some on the same branch. I tried searching it up but I can find very minimal information on the white cherries. Is this supposed to happen? Are the white ones edible as well?
By the way, thanks for the great video!
Hi Tanya, I purchased a white nanking cherry bush last year. It did not produce this year but should next year. So the partial answer to your question is there is such a thing as white nanking cherry and they are edible. Now on to the part I can't answer - I have never seen a bush that has both red and white cherries on it. Could it just be that the white cherries are not fully ripe yet? Can you share a picture - I'd love to see this. My Nankings go right from green to red. I do have a Korean bush cherry that go from green to white to red.
This year early spring just before buds grow I cut a pencil size branch and just stuck it in the ground specifically under full shade right under a bush or tree where it will still get some very light filtered sun and I'll just leave it alone and it and many other cuttings are able to root slowly but surely there's enough spring/early summer rain that we typically get will be enough moisture for the cutting to survive. Simple and quick to just stick it in the ground as long as your patient more shade takes longer to root yet gives best success
The process that you describe here is known as hardwood cuttings. Just make sure the cuttings you take in the winter/early spring is from new growth of the prior your. Thanks for sharing.
Did your method work?
I have two Nanking Cherry bushes that are two years old and didn’t produce fruit this year. Are there different types of Nanking bushes? I purchased them from the same place. I am wondering if the cuttings were taken from the same bush would they pollinate each other?
Did the bushes flower? Nanking cherries are partially self fertile and you would get a little fruit from one plant or cuttings from the same plant. You will absolutely get more fruit from nanking cherries from different parents.
@@greatescapefarms I don’t remember. We had a late freeze and I lost the flowers from some of my fruiting bushes. That could be the problem. Apparently it is hard to grow fruit in East Tennessee because we often have late freezes. That is what my nursery woman tells me. I have only been here for two springs and this would be the first season I expected fruit. I will be better prepared and try to cover them. Thanks for responding.
The way you document your cuttings reminds me of my time in public accounting.
Hope I didn't bore you too much :)
@@greatescapefarms That wasn't an insult. It's systematic. Very good process.
By the way, I was propagating cuttings in homemade compost last year with some success, but I recently switched to sand. Seems like the bioactivity in the compost was too high and ended up rotting my cuttings. So, you taught me a few things. Thanks.
@@DavidSimsStocks Thats awesome! Glad to help.
@@DavidSimsStocks Thanks!
Sorry if I missed this - What type of media do you use in your propagation bed? Is that a fine gravel/sand?
It is what they call sharp sand. It is used for mixing in with concrete.
I use rubbing alcohol to clean my clippers. I always assumed that would kill anything that would harm my plants. I hope that I didn't do more harm than good. 😕
You're good - Rubbing alcohol will work fine. Just make sure it has dried/evaporated before you use it on the plants.
Could you explain a little more about the propagation bed you are using for the cuttings in this video? How deep is it, and do you only have sand in it? Or is it mixed with some other material? And how long do the Nanking cuttings have to stay in it before you can remove them to transplant elsewhere? Thank you.
Sure. The sand is concrete sand and it is about 8" deep. I laid cardboard down on the grass and put the concrete sand on top of the cardboard. I'm sure the cardboard had turned into worm food in the first couple of months. My whole reason for putting the cardboard down was just to kill off the grass so it would not grow up through the sand.
The plants are put in the ground in the summer - usually late June to early August. I remove the plants when they are dormant - anywhere from December to February.
How many years does it take for the propagated cherry tree get mature enough to aid in polination?
Keep in mind these are bush cherries and not tree cherries. The bush cherries do not cross pollinate with tree cherries. When propagated with softwood cuttings they are generally flowering and pollinating the following year.
do you sand for cuttings sand only ? GT video and info new subscriber🐤🐞😁👍👍
Hi Graham - sorry for the late reply - somehow I missed this one. I do use sand for my summer or softwood cuttings. This is because I use a mist irrigation system that sprays water once every five minutes. I want to keep the leaves wet, but don't want to saturate the soil and rot the roots. The sand lets the water drain and helps a lot. I have found that concrete sand works great.
For hardwood cuttings taken in the winter, you can use straight garden soil because you are not using the mist irrigation system.
Dude your dog scared me haha
Whoops :)
Haha 😂 me too !
Great video thanks! About the Hardiness zone. I have 3 nanking and I am in zone 8b. Will this plant have issues here?
Nanking states on the rap sheet that it survives in USDA hardiness zones 3-7. If you are in zone 8b, you may be able to grow them if you create a micro-climate. A micro-climate is an area that has different conditions than your general area. You could put them in a little more shade so they don't get scorched by your warmer sun and make sure they get a little extra water during the summer. The one thing that would be difficult to mimic would be the cold months. Some plants require a certain number of months of cool weather - I'm not sure if Nankings have this requirment or not.
What about propagation from seed?
I tried propagating from seed last year with little luck. I'm quite sure the seeds froze several times during the stratification process, so I'll have to try again with a more controlled stratification process.
What is your planting medium in your mist bed?
It is concrete sand (or childrens play sand)
Cambium is where cell division takes place. Phloem is where nutrient flow down from the leaves. The tissue that water flows through (up from the roots) is called xylem. An internode is the space between leaves or branches. Places where leaves and branches emerge are called nodes. You run a commercial farm and don’t know these things?? Wow...
Yep - I do. Not many geeks out there lurking around that have interest in these terms - most folks just tune out - thanks for being our geek.
@@greatescapefarms except you say cambium "is where water goes up" so no, you don't.
@@SanRafaelSwell ok.
@@SanRafaelSwell This man is taking the time to teach us how to propagate Nanking Cherries. You seem to correct his terminology which I am really not interested in. I am just trying to learn how to propagate.