Propagation is how a fruit garden grows without a garden centre — how one strawberry plant becomes a bed, one raspberry becomes a row, and one currant bush becomes a hedge. It is also one of the most satisfying parts of fruit growing, because a plant you propagated yourself is a plant you understand. Some fruit propagates easily and reliably; some is hard and slow; and some should not be propagated at all, because the result will not be the plant you wanted. Knowing which is which saves years of disappointment.
The easy fruit to propagate is the fruit that propagates itself. Strawberries send out runners, raspberries send out suckers, blackberries tip-layer themselves where a cane touches the ground, and currants and gooseberries root readily from hardwood cuttings taken in winter. Figs and grapes root from cuttings too, and a cutting taken in winter will be a rooted plant by summer. The hard fruit to propagate is the tree fruit: apples, pears, peaches and cherries do not grow true from seed, and they do not root reliably from cuttings, so they are propagated by grafting — a skilled job, but one a home gardener can learn.
The rule for all propagation is to take material from a healthy, productive plant, and to do it at the right time. A cutting taken from a diseased plant carries the disease with it, and a cutting taken at the wrong time will not root. Label everything you propagate, with the variety and the date, because in a year you will not remember which pot is which. If you are unsure about a variety, a spray, or a diagnosis, check your local extension service — its advice is matched to your climate and soil.
Strawberry runners and raspberry suckers: the easiest propagation
Strawberries propagate themselves: in summer, the parent plant sends out runners, and each runner forms a new plant where it touches the soil. To propagate, peg a runner into a small pot of compost while it is still attached to the parent, wait until it has rooted — usually a few weeks — then cut it free and plant it in its new bed. Take runners from young, healthy, productive plants, and take no more than three or four runners per parent, so the parent is not exhausted. Raspberries propagate by suckers: young shoots that spring up from the roots around the parent plant. In late winter, dig up a sucker with a good piece of root and replant it eighteen inches apart in a new row. Blackberries propagate by tip layering: in late summer, bend the tip of a cane down to the soil, peg it in, cover it with compost, and by spring it will have rooted and can be cut free. All three methods are free, fast and reliable, and they are how most home fruit gardens expand. Our growing guides for strawberries and raspberries cover the details.
Hardwood cuttings: currants, gooseberries, figs and grapes
Hardwood cuttings are the classic way to propagate currants, gooseberries, figs and grapes, and they are taken in late autumn or winter, when the plant is dormant. Cut a pencil-thick shoot from the current year's growth, about eight to twelve inches long, with a straight cut below a bud at the bottom and a slanted cut above a bud at the top — the slant tells you which end is up. Push the cutting two-thirds of its length into well-drained soil or a pot of compost, in a sheltered spot, and leave it alone: by spring it will have rooted, and by autumn it will be a young plant. Currants and gooseberries root so readily that most cuttings take; figs root well too, though they are slower; grapes root from hardwood cuttings taken in winter and kept in a cool place until spring. Take cuttings from healthy, productive wood, and take more than you need, because not every cutting will root. Pot the rooted cuttings on in spring, grow them on for a year, and plant them out in their second autumn.
Layering: the patient, reliable method
Layering is propagation without cutting: you bend a low branch down to the soil, wound it slightly, peg it in, cover it with compost, and wait for it to root while it is still attached to the parent. It is slow — a layer can take a full year to root — but it is almost foolproof, because the branch is fed by the parent while it roots. It works well for figs, grapes, blackberries and blueberries, and for any fruit with a low, flexible branch. For a blueberry, which is hard to propagate any other way, layering is the home gardener's best method: peg a low branch into acidic compost in spring, keep it moist, and cut it free the following spring. Air layering is the same idea done in the air: wrap a wounded section of a branch in damp moss and plastic, and roots form inside the wrapping. It is useful for a branch you cannot bend to the ground, and it works for figs and citrus.
Grafting: how apples, pears and cherries are really propagated
Apples, pears, plums and cherries do not grow true from seed and do not root from cuttings, so they are propagated by grafting: joining a shoot of the variety you want — the scion — onto the roots of another tree — the rootstock. The rootstock controls the size of the tree, which is why a dwarf apple is a dwarf: it is a normal variety grafted onto a dwarfing rootstock. Grafting is a skilled job, but a home gardener can learn it: the whip-and-tongue graft and the bud graft are the two methods to start with, and both are done in late winter or summer, with a sharp knife, a steady hand and a willingness to practise on spare wood first. The scion and the rootstock must be the same species and the cambium — the green layer under the bark — must line up, or the graft will fail. Grafting is also how you can put two or three varieties on one tree, or replace the variety on an established tree by top-working it. If you want to learn, graft a few spare shoots first, and expect some failures — every grafter has them.
Growing fruit from seed: the lottery
Growing fruit from seed is propagation of a kind, but it is not propagation of a variety: a seedling is a new plant, genetically different from its parent, and it will not be the same fruit. Strawberries and melons grow true enough from seed to be worth sowing, and they fruit quickly. Citrus grows from seed but takes many years to fruit. Apples, pears, peaches, plums and cherries from seed are a long-term experiment: the tree will be full-size, the fruit will be unknown, and you will wait five to ten years to find out what you have. That is a fine project if you enjoy the experiment, and a poor plan if you want a known variety. A seedling can, however, make a good rootstock: grow an apple seedling for a year, then graft a known variety onto it, and you have a tree that is yours from root to fruit. Keep a label on every seedling, with the parent variety and the sowing date, because in five years you will not remember what it was.
Aftercare for propagated plants
A propagated plant is a young plant, and it needs the care a young plant needs: a sheltered spot, regular water, protection from slugs, rabbits and frost, and no fruit in its first year. Pot rooted cuttings on into a larger pot when the roots fill the one they are in, and grow them on for a full year before planting them out — a cutting planted out too soon is a cutting lost. Harden a young plant off before it goes outside, feed it lightly with compost, and stake it if it is a tree. Do not let a young propagated plant fruit in its first year: pick the flowers off, so the plant puts its energy into roots and growth. Keep a note of what you propagated, when, and how it did, because propagation is a skill that improves with practice, and your notes are the record of what worked.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest fruit to propagate?
Strawberries by runners and raspberries by suckers — both propagate themselves, and the new plants fruit in their first or second year. Currants and gooseberries from hardwood cuttings are almost as easy.
Can I grow an apple tree from a cutting?
No, not reliably. Apples do not root from cuttings and do not grow true from seed. Apples are propagated by grafting a shoot of the variety you want onto a rootstock.
How do I propagate a currant bush?
Take hardwood cuttings in late autumn or winter: pencil-thick shoots, eight to twelve inches long, pushed two-thirds into soil. Most will root by spring.
What is layering, and which fruit suits it?
Layering is bending a branch to the soil and letting it root while still attached to the parent. It is slow but almost foolproof, and it suits figs, grapes, blackberries and blueberries.
Can I propagate fruit from seed?
Strawberries and melons grow well from seed. Apples, pears, peaches and cherries grown from seed will be new, unknown varieties and take five to ten years to fruit — grow them as an experiment, not as a way to get a known variety.
Propagation is how a fruit garden becomes yours: a runner pegged down, a cutting pushed into soil, a graft that takes. Start with the easy ones — strawberries, raspberries and currants — and learn grafting when you are ready for it. For the individual fruits, see the growing guides, and time your cuttings with the seed starting calculator.