Thanks Otterbot,
I will give your instructions a whirl after I pick the quince crop in a week
or two - and after my elbow joints recover from all the stirring of quince
into quince paste
Love and peace
SyrianPrince
"0tterbot" <spl [at] t.com> wrote in message
news:P0_Wf.20399$dy4.12802 [at] news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> "SyrianPrince" <princeandprincess [at] bigpond.com> wrote in message
> news:JAXWf.20314$dy4.13739 [at] news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>> Hi all,
>> I want to strike a few quince trees from a couple of good trees I have.
>> Could anyone give me some nice and slow directions about how to go about
>> it please? or Point me in the direction of some information? I would
>> appreciate some tips and advice from folk who may have experience
>> thanks
>> SyrianPrince
>
> not "experience" exactly as i've been successful so far with soft & medium
> cuttings from smaller plants, but i'm right in the middle of a propagation
> course (which i am doing for a reason, <g>) & we did cuttings the other
> week, so take from this what you will <g> (and my own hard-wood cuttings
> will be much more successful next time, i'm sure, hehe):
>
> use seed mix, or make your own (3 parts coarse sand, 1 part coir or
> similar water-holding medium). make sure it is well-packed in the pot &
> use shallow pots ("squat pots") or seedling trays so that you have good
> drainage (from the sand element) but the cuttings can stay moist without
> there being a great deal of cold media under the cuttings as it's not
> necessary & you won't be able to look for little roots. make your holes
> first - (you don't want to shove or force the cuttings in & dislodge the
> rooting goo).
>
> use rooting powder or gel, to the right proportion for what you are doing,
> according to the packet (i'm assuming you're doing medium-hardwood? just
> the tips?) pack the mix firmly around the cuttings after putting them in.
> be sure to include at least one "node" below the soil surface, and that
> your cuttings were taken with a node at the bottom and perhaps 0.5 cm or
> so of wood beneath that node but no more, (and 2 pairs of leaves is about
> right; cut off neatly, rather than pull, excess leaves from the bottom of
> the cutting before you put it in). water in well afterwards, without
> dislodging the cuttings, they must be in firmly. and the cuttings mustn't
> be too long - max 10cm or they are less likely to survive, it's too hard
> for them. be gentle with the stems of cuttings when holding &
> manipulating, to avoid further stress on them.
>
> keep the cuttings moist, in shade or in indirect light (no full sun!), and
> not too hot and not too cold. don't allow them to dry out or become loose
> in the seed mix. you may want to rig up little "greenhouses" around them
> depending on your area, such as a p.e.t. bottle top (you can take the lid
> off when it's warm & put it back on when cooler.)
>
> and that's all there is to the basic procedure for cuttings & as i say
> works a treat for soft to medium and medium-hardwood in autumn. i'm
> certain the experts would have more specifics to add :-) we have in our
> course been encouraged to operate by "feel" & i back that - you can use
> your own good sense & observations to work out how the plants are going,
> if that makes sense. (although i concur it's completely obvious when your
> cuttings _haven't_ survived ;-)
> kylie
>
