This works best with: Elder, Willow, Hazel, Holly and Alder.
Take cuttings in late Autumn or early Winter. Find a new shoot as thick as a pencil, taking the cutting from just above a fork, using a pair of sharp secateurs (1). Cut into 20cm lengths and set upright in well drained compost or equal compost and sand mix (2, 3). Keep in a cool dark place such as a garage or shed. Keep damp and roots will begin to form. Early Spring, transplant each one into a large pot and place outside against a north-facing wall. By late Spring, cut off all but the strongest sprout on each plant and keep trimming off any flowers (4). Planting Out: Transplant into the ground in the following Autumn or Winter, making sure the tree has plenty of room to grow. Ideally a new tree needs planting with plenty of compost, watering in dry weather and keeping weed-free for 2 - 3 years.
Works best with Oak and Hazel. Remove the outer casing and sew directly into earth, Cover with mesh to keep out rodents and keep damp but not sodden.
STRATIFICATION mimics nature by exposing seeds to the cold of at least one Winter - works best with: Rowan, Hawthorn, Crab Apple, Yew, Holly, Blackthorn, Birch and Alder
Stratification mixture: Equal amounts of peat-free potting compost mixed with sand, perlite, grit or bark chips.
Wash the flesh from the seeds and mix them with an equal amount of the stratification mixture. Cover with wire and keep damp. Paint the name of the tree seeds on each pot. During the Spring tip out the mixture once a week and take out any seeds that are beginning to germinate. Plant these immediately in large individual pots. Put any seeds that haven't germinated back in the mixture. Some tree seeds take 2 years to germinate.
Keep newly potted trees damp and place against a north-facing wall or hedge. Plant them out in their second Winter.