Blueberries
are propagated from either softwood or
hardwood cuttings.
Hardwood cuttings are collected in late January or February, after sufficient chilling has occurred. Follow these simple directions: collect shoots from the previous summer, 12 to 36 inches in length. Select healthy material, avoid propagating from plants that have odd-looking or stunted foliage. Divide the shoots into pieces 5 to 6 inches long, removing any flower buds. Place cuttings in a propagation bed at a depth of one-half to two-thirds of their length. Finally, keep moist.
Hardwood cuttings are collected in late January or February, after sufficient chilling has occurred. Follow these simple directions: collect shoots from the previous summer, 12 to 36 inches in length. Select healthy material, avoid propagating from plants that have odd-looking or stunted foliage. Divide the shoots into pieces 5 to 6 inches long, removing any flower buds. Place cuttings in a propagation bed at a depth of one-half to two-thirds of their length. Finally, keep moist.
Softwood cuttings are taken in late spring from the
current season's growth, 4 to 5 inches long. Here are the directions: collect these cuttings when the stems have
developed woody tissue but are still somewhat flexible. Remove all leaves with
the exception of two or three terminal leaves. Place cuttings in the propagation bed, under
mist at a depth of one-half to two-thirds of their length.
Rooted cuttings
are eventually transplanted into pots and held for about one year. During
the time of rooting, keep beds moist while being aware not to over water.
For the
propagation process, a greenhouse is not necessary, but some type of
propagation bed/chamber, under 40 to 70 percent shade with a mist system is recommended;
an area as small as 3x3x3 can be used.
The mist
system should keep the media uniformly moist but not soggy. An intermittent-mist system with frequent,
short misting intervals is recommended in order to keep the humidity near 100
percent. However, keeping the cuttings at
this constant moisture also creates an ideal environment for pathogenic fungi
to grow. Thus cleanliness is very important; use new or sterilized planting mix
and pots, keeping them raised off the ground.
Potting media containing various mixtures of
coarse sand, ground pine bark, perlite, sawdust, and peat moss have proven
satisfactory. According to a publication from the University of Hawaii, a good rooting medium recipe is a mixtures of coarse sand, ground
pine bark, and peat moss at 1:1:1, or perlite and peat moss at 1:1.
