Methods of breeding lilac with a detailed description

The fresh aroma of lilac under the windows on a warm May night is the best evidence of the victorious spring and the early arrival of summer. There are many shades, aromas and varieties of lilac flowers. That to make, that nearby the most liked grades, we will tell in this article.

Cuttings

Like any beauty, lilac is quite capricious, therefore any method of reproduction requires a lot of effort and has both advantages and disadvantages.

Cutting is the most difficult method of breeding lilac, because you need to adhere to a number of conditions in terms of time, temperature and humidity. However, it is most effective, it is most often used in the mass cultivation of lilacs.

Now any novice gardener can learn how to propagate lilac cuttings, as there are a lot of educational materials, including video materials, in free access.

Timing

Timely harvesting cuttings, this is one of the main features of this type of breeding. Lilacs are propagated with green cuttings in spring, during flowering or the next week, until the young green branches complete their growth, since the cuttings that have begun to grow, will not root.

Preform

It is recommended to harvest cuttings early in the morning. They are taken on young bushes mainly from their middle, choosing growing on the middle part of the shoots. Sprigs need medium thickness, preferably with 2-3 knots and small gaps between them. Tops and processes on thick branches are not suitable, because they do not root.

At the bottom of the node cut off all the leaves. Then, just below it, make an oblique cut, trying not to injure the plant, for this purpose take a sharp tool, pruner or sharp grafting knife.

If the cut passes through the internode, the stalk will not root. A cutting is cut at the top, directly above the top node. The remaining leaves are cut in half.

After such cutting, the cuttings are put in water for 15–18 hours with dissolved growth stimulants, for example, "Epin-extra", indolyl butyric acid, and an aqueous solution of heteroauxin.

Rooting

Rooting is best carried out in a greenhouse, it is best to place it in a light shade or to make shelter from the sun.

Preparing the soil, go down by 30 cm, drainage is done by 10 cm, a layer of expanded clay or crushed stone, 15 cm above it is a nutrient layer of peat or humus, all this is filled up with 5 cm of soil or a mixture of sand and peat. This "cake" is carefully tamped and watered. When watering, you can add antifungal drugs ("Vitaros", "Fundazol"). For covering use a low, up to half a meter frame, which is tightened with a special greenhouse cover, but it can also be covered with two layers of polyethylene with a layer of paper or fabric between them.

Greenhouse close tightly. The petioles are planted in rows, with an interval of 5-10 cm. Before planting, the cutting butt should preferably be dipped into a root-stimulating powder mixture such as "Kornevin".

Cuttings deepened so as to cover the bottom node in the ground.Subsequent watering is carried out depending on the tightness of the greenhouse from two times a day to once a week, the main thing is to ensure that the soil does not dry out.

To combat mold, cuttings, no more than once a week, are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Rooting lasts a long time, from 40 days to a couple of months. Not the last weeks the cuttings need to be aired and then completely opened.

Landing

After rooting the stalks can be transplanted. If it is already autumn, then it is better not to touch them, and transplant them in spring. When rooting happened before the end of summer, then from the beginning of autumn they can be transplanted into the "school" for growing up.

By the completion of root growing, leaflets on the cuttings may darken, this is normal, the main thing is that the buds are alive, then the seedling will take root. The place for growing is determined by the sun, closed from the wind. Land is picked up light, neutral or slightly acidic.It is fertilized with compost or humus and they dig up shovels on a bayonet.

In the cuttings, fresh roots are very delicate and fragile, so they are transplanted carefully, the soil is not tamped, but only watered, so that the ground is slightly thickened. Seated them in 30 cm from each other.

For the winter, the cuttings are covered with coniferous branches, hay or another dry cover. Lilac grows for about two years, after which it can be planted in a permanent place.

The final landing of lilac is best done at the end of summer - early autumn. When planting the plant must be watered well. The landing site, if you do not take into account the design factor, you need to choose a sunny, warm, well-drained, neutral fertile soil, preferably even.

Lilac vaccination

Grafting is the most effective way of breeding varietal lilacs. You can graft not only on the wild, but on any varietal lilac. A seedling for a stock can be grown from seed itself, but you will need a couple of years to do this, you can graft it upon reaching a centimeter thickness.

There are many ways of plant grafting, copulation is best for lilac, a common graft cutting over the bark, splitting, budding with a sleeping kidney (summer) and budding in the butt.

Timing

If you can cut the lilac only in spring, when flowering occurs, then you can graft most of the season. By the time of vaccination can be divided into spring, before the start of sap flow, and summer, when the tree fully eats juices.

Before sap flow, copulations and grafts are performed. With the onset of sap flow, an ordinary graft is made by cutting, this usually happens during lilac flowering. The period of budding of a sleeping kidney depends solely on the stage of maturation of the kidneys and begins in the middle or end of summer, depending on the region.

Preparation of cuttings for the scion is done at the beginning of winter, but it can be done at the end of winter or early spring, before spring grafting.

Scion and stock preparation

If the cuttings were cut at the beginning of winter, they are wounded in sawdust under snow or in a damp cloth, in a package in the refrigerator.

Scion cuttings can be purchased at special farms or from breeders.If cuttings are harvested independently, you need to adhere to a number of conditions.

First, they are taken from well-known, proven bushes in order to know exactly which grade you are planting. The bush should be relatively young, aged from three to ten years.

Well-ripened, annual shoots are cut from the bush, they are cut from the sunny side of the bush, preferably from the south, from the outer part of the crown. It is best to take shoots at the average height of the plant, since the lower ones are usually still small, and the upper ones are already too thick to take root. The best cuttings will be 30-40 cm long and about 7 cm thick, with short internodes and well-marked, developed growth buds, they should be from 4 to 5.

For the stock, you can use bushes of different ages. Only the method of grafting will differ, for example, by copulating onto thin shoots, and beyond the bark to shoots are thicker than one and a half cm. If an adult bush with a thick trunk is grafted, then it is better to vaccinate all skeletal branches.

Budding process

Budding sleeping kidney - one of the main ways of grafting lilacs.Hold it in July or August. For a stock take two-year-old seedlings or root shoots.

In the run-up to budding, for a couple of weeks, the vegetation is cleared around the rootstock, and at the very bottom side shoots are cut off and the shoots coming from the roots. Before grafting, the stock rootstock is thoroughly cleaned with a damp cloth. With a cutting, a sleeping kidney is cut (shield with a peephole).

On the stem of the rootstock, 3-5 cm from the ground, a T-shaped incision is made on the bark, and the bark is carefully separated on both sides of the vertical incision. The flap is placed in a T-shaped incision, removing the protruding part with a knife.

Then swab the site of vaccination, leaving the kidney with a petiole open. After the accretion of the shield with the barrel, the winding is removed. In early spring, part of the rootstock above the accreted kidney is cut.

Plant care

The scion usually takes root in a couple of weeks, but they begin to grow much later, depending on the timing of grafting this or even next summer. Therefore, until the cutting has dried, and the buds are green on it, the graft is considered successful.

The graft garter is removed to prevent it from growing into a tree, and in the event that there is confidence that it will not be broken off by the wind. To guarantee engraftment, it is necessary to remove the sprouts below the site of inoculation.

Lilacs from root shoots

Probably the easiest way to reproduce lilacs is reproduction of root shoots. This is done by a canopy when the movement of the lilac juice stops and the root system is not so sensitive.

It is advisable to choose a cloudy day. The shrub from which the shoots are taken should be well-established, already flowering. Before watering it, they separate the young sapling. Since the young roots are very fragile, this should be done carefully so as not to tear them.

The resulting seedlings, with already formed roots, are transplanted. The only drawback of this breeding is that the new plant will not bloom for about three years.

Seed propagation

Lilacs are propagated by seeds when they want to grow a stock for the subsequent implantation of valuable varieties of lilacs or if they want to get a new variety.

The fact is that during flowering cross-pollination occurs and, as a result, the same lilac will not grow anymore, the flowers will be different.

From the resulting seeds, some plants will be similar to the mother, some will degrade to "dowce" (the flowers will be smaller and less), they can be used on the stock, and some can grow with flowers superior to those of the mother in splendor, aroma and color. So get new varieties.

Seed preparation

Seeds are harvested in the fall, they are dried at home for several days until the boxes unfold, the rate of disclosure is due to the lilac variety, if necessary, the seeds are extracted manually.

Seeds are harvested to a quarter more than necessary, then to reject substandard seedlings. Harvested seeds are either sown for winter or stratified at home.

Preparation and seeding

Seeds can be sown before winter right in the ground, they do it in the already frozen ground or before the first snow falls. In a clean area, without grass, weeds and other plants, the seeds are dripped a couple of centimeters.

In the spring, after the snow melted, this area is covered with a film, and when the sprouts rise and grow (4-5 leaves appear), they dive and sit more freely.

If the seeds are kept for the winter, they are mixed with wet sand, 3 parts of sand on a part of the seeds, or honey is put in wet wipes and placed in a refrigerator for several months.In the spring, they are sown on a prepared bed under a film, or they are first germinated in containers in the house.

In spring, it is advisable to preliminarily clean the land on the beds by thermal treatment from black rot and other fungi.

Seedlings care

During the growing season, the seedlings are fed three or three times per season with organic or potassium-phosphate fertilizers. The timing of seedlings is highly dependent on the variety, but not later than three months.

To protect against soil parasites, the area near the roots is covered with ash. Picks and seating of young stock can be carried out from the end of spring, after the appearance of the second leaf. In this case, sluggish and immature shoots are rejected. In the main place they are transplanted in the spring of next year. If you do not give them a bush, then you can use on the stock. By the spring of the second year the lilac reaches about 80 cm in height, it will bloom for the fifth, sixth season.

Growing from cuttings

During reproduction from cuttings, we receive viable seedlings in a year. In an unvaccinated plant, it is important, annual shoots bend down to the ground, fastened in this position and sprinkled with earth. During the season watered.

Grown bushes are separated and planted in the fourth year. With the grafted lilac come in this way, above the site of grafting, the trunk is pulled over with wire, tilted and the plant is covered with earth by two-thirds so that the pulled place is in the ground.

By the end of the season, new roots form above the waist area, after which the layers can be separated and planted.

When you decide how to dissolve the lilac, which method to choose, you need to consider that of its advantages and disadvantages you are critical. Lilac cuttings with green cuttings, although it is difficult and time-consuming, but gives the opportunity to immediately get a lot of seedlings of the required variety. Grafting provides greater survival of the required varieties of lilac, but requires constant removal of the root shoots. Reproduction by layering is quite laborious, but it allows both to get a large number of cuttings of lilac and to root an already grafted variety.

The easiest way to get a seedling from the root of the shoots, but you need to have a mature plant already formed and be careful when planting. Growing seedlings from seed is the most intriguing.

It is quite laborious, flowering in grown plants comes the last, but it allows you to get a lot of seedlings, and most importantly, the end result may be unexpected and delightful, lead to the emergence of a new lilac variety.