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Gardening Review
Friday 6 May 2011
Weed Control Facts, Winning the Battle of the Weeds
Using the Propagation Technique Known as Budding to Grow Beautiful Ornamental Trees
by Michael J. McGroarty
Flowering Dogwood trees can be easily grown from seed, however 99.9999% of the seedlings that sprout will be Cornus Florida, which is White Flowering Dogwood. It doesn’t matter if you collect the seeds from a White Dogwood or a Pink Dogwood, the seedlings are likely to be white.
The only predictable way to grow a Pink Dogwood, Red Dogwood, or one of the beautiful Dogwoods with variegated leaves, is to bud or graft the desired variety onto a White Dogwood seedling. That’s why the botanical name for Pink Dogwood is Cornus Florida Rubra. Cornus means Dogwood, Florida indicates White, Rubra indicates Red or Pink. Cornus Florida Rubra indicates Pink Dogwood grown on White Dogwood rootstock.
Between budding and grafting, budding is the most common technique used in the nursery industry. Grafting is usually done in the late winter months when the plants are dormant. When you graft a plant you remove a small branch (4 to 6 inches) from the desired variety, trim the end of the branch to expose the tissue under the bark and then trim a taper on the end. You then trim the seedling in such a way to match and receive the branch you are grafting on to it. Timing, temperature, and humidity are all critical to the success of the procedure, which is usually done in a greenhouse.
Budding is much easier, and does not have to be done in a controlled environment. Most budding is done later in the summer when the bark on the seedling slips easily. That means that when a cut is made in the bark of the seedling it can be easily pulled away from the tissue layer under the bark. This tissue is known as the cambium layer. Here in the north Crabapples and other fruits are usually ready to bud around mid to late July, while Dogwoods are not ready until late August.
Unlike grafting where you use a small branch to attach to the seedling, when you bud you insert a single bud under the bark, budding is usually done down low on the seedling, very close to the soil. You can bud up higher, but any new growth that appears below that bud must be removed because it will be identical to the rootstock and not the desired variety.
The budding process is quite simple. Just clip a branch from the tree of the desired variety, this is known as a bud stick because it has many buds that can be used for budding. The buds can be found at the base of each leaf. Look closely where the leaf emerges from the branch and you will see a very small bud. In the fall when the tree goes dormant the leaf will fall off, and bud will remain. The following spring the bud will grow into a new branch.
When you slip that bud under the bark of a compatible seedling, it will grow the following spring just as if it were still on the parent plant, with all of the qualities of the desired variety. All most all fruit bearing and ornamental trees are grown this way.
Just make a “T” shaped cut in the bark of the seedling. A horizontal cut about ¼” long, with a vertical downward cut about ½” long. The two cuts should intersect at the top of the “T”. Don’t cut into the cambium tissue, just slice the bark and open it up slightly with your knife or razor blade. Now you are ready to remove the bud from the bud stick.
First clip off and discard the leaf from the bud that you are about to remove. When you remove the leaf, leave the stem attached to the bud stick, just remove the leaf itself. The stem makes a nice little handle to hold on to. To remove the bud from the bud stick just cut into the bark and under the bud, it should pop off easily. Again, don’t cut into the cambium tissue, but make sure you are under the bark so you don’t damage the bud. Along with the bud you will have a small piece of bark shaped like a tiny banana peel, and the stem from the leaf.
Visit this page for photos of this complete process: http://www.freeplants.com/budding_fruit_trees_and_ornamental_plants.htm
Holding the bud by it’s handle (the stem) slide it into the “T” shaped cut you made on the seedling. Make sure you put it in right side up. The stem and the leaf should protrude through the slit, and the stem should be pointing toward the sky at an angle. Push the bud all the way down into the slit by catching the bark, (not the bud) with the tip of your knife.
Now cut a rubber band so that it is no longer a loop and wrap it around the seedling to close the opening so dirt, water, air, and insects can’t get in. Make a wrap below the bud, and a few wraps above the bud. Use a rubber band approx. ¼” wide, and be careful not to wrap too close to the bud, nor to tight.
You don’t want to strangle the seedling, it needs to be healthy and happy so the new bud will bond to the cambium layer. Leave the rubber band on until early spring, at which time you should remove it, and clip off the top of the seedling just above the bud. As the plant comes out of dormancy the bud will begin to grow into a new branch just as if it is still attached to the parent plant, except that now it is going to grow upright and form the stem of a tree.
When this new growth reaches a height of 3 to 4 feet, clip the tip off, this will force it to start putting on lateral branches. Once these lateral branches are 18” long or so, you can remove all the growth from the stem below where the lateral branches start. Now the plant should look like a beautiful little tree. And that makes you the proud parent!
With all of that said, today it is possible to grow Pink Dogwoods by rooting cuttings under intermittent mist, however, it is tricky, and my few attempts have failed. ??? Most nurseryman still bud them.
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter. Article provided by Gardening Articles. If you use this article the above two links must be active.
The only predictable way to grow a Pink Dogwood, Red Dogwood, or one of the beautiful Dogwoods with variegated leaves, is to bud or graft the desired variety onto a White Dogwood seedling. That’s why the botanical name for Pink Dogwood is Cornus Florida Rubra. Cornus means Dogwood, Florida indicates White, Rubra indicates Red or Pink. Cornus Florida Rubra indicates Pink Dogwood grown on White Dogwood rootstock.
Between budding and grafting, budding is the most common technique used in the nursery industry. Grafting is usually done in the late winter months when the plants are dormant. When you graft a plant you remove a small branch (4 to 6 inches) from the desired variety, trim the end of the branch to expose the tissue under the bark and then trim a taper on the end. You then trim the seedling in such a way to match and receive the branch you are grafting on to it. Timing, temperature, and humidity are all critical to the success of the procedure, which is usually done in a greenhouse.
Budding is much easier, and does not have to be done in a controlled environment. Most budding is done later in the summer when the bark on the seedling slips easily. That means that when a cut is made in the bark of the seedling it can be easily pulled away from the tissue layer under the bark. This tissue is known as the cambium layer. Here in the north Crabapples and other fruits are usually ready to bud around mid to late July, while Dogwoods are not ready until late August.
Unlike grafting where you use a small branch to attach to the seedling, when you bud you insert a single bud under the bark, budding is usually done down low on the seedling, very close to the soil. You can bud up higher, but any new growth that appears below that bud must be removed because it will be identical to the rootstock and not the desired variety.
The budding process is quite simple. Just clip a branch from the tree of the desired variety, this is known as a bud stick because it has many buds that can be used for budding. The buds can be found at the base of each leaf. Look closely where the leaf emerges from the branch and you will see a very small bud. In the fall when the tree goes dormant the leaf will fall off, and bud will remain. The following spring the bud will grow into a new branch.
When you slip that bud under the bark of a compatible seedling, it will grow the following spring just as if it were still on the parent plant, with all of the qualities of the desired variety. All most all fruit bearing and ornamental trees are grown this way.
Just make a “T” shaped cut in the bark of the seedling. A horizontal cut about ¼” long, with a vertical downward cut about ½” long. The two cuts should intersect at the top of the “T”. Don’t cut into the cambium tissue, just slice the bark and open it up slightly with your knife or razor blade. Now you are ready to remove the bud from the bud stick.
First clip off and discard the leaf from the bud that you are about to remove. When you remove the leaf, leave the stem attached to the bud stick, just remove the leaf itself. The stem makes a nice little handle to hold on to. To remove the bud from the bud stick just cut into the bark and under the bud, it should pop off easily. Again, don’t cut into the cambium tissue, but make sure you are under the bark so you don’t damage the bud. Along with the bud you will have a small piece of bark shaped like a tiny banana peel, and the stem from the leaf.
Visit this page for photos of this complete process: http://www.freeplants.com/budding_fruit_trees_and_ornamental_plants.htm
Holding the bud by it’s handle (the stem) slide it into the “T” shaped cut you made on the seedling. Make sure you put it in right side up. The stem and the leaf should protrude through the slit, and the stem should be pointing toward the sky at an angle. Push the bud all the way down into the slit by catching the bark, (not the bud) with the tip of your knife.
Now cut a rubber band so that it is no longer a loop and wrap it around the seedling to close the opening so dirt, water, air, and insects can’t get in. Make a wrap below the bud, and a few wraps above the bud. Use a rubber band approx. ¼” wide, and be careful not to wrap too close to the bud, nor to tight.
You don’t want to strangle the seedling, it needs to be healthy and happy so the new bud will bond to the cambium layer. Leave the rubber band on until early spring, at which time you should remove it, and clip off the top of the seedling just above the bud. As the plant comes out of dormancy the bud will begin to grow into a new branch just as if it is still attached to the parent plant, except that now it is going to grow upright and form the stem of a tree.
When this new growth reaches a height of 3 to 4 feet, clip the tip off, this will force it to start putting on lateral branches. Once these lateral branches are 18” long or so, you can remove all the growth from the stem below where the lateral branches start. Now the plant should look like a beautiful little tree. And that makes you the proud parent!
With all of that said, today it is possible to grow Pink Dogwoods by rooting cuttings under intermittent mist, however, it is tricky, and my few attempts have failed. ??? Most nurseryman still bud them.
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter. Article provided by Gardening Articles. If you use this article the above two links must be active.
Thursday 5 May 2011
$1148 in One Day with Plants? You Bet!
By Michael McGroarty
This article is actually an example of a simple yet, excellent marketing plan. Pay close attention to how I went out and found new business at a time of the year when things are normally slow, and not only did I make $1,148.00, my friend Franky also made $1,060.00.
Because I chose to keep myself out of the rat race of landscaping new homes, I went after a market that was more of an impulsive type market. New home landscaping is almost a necessity, since new homes don't have any shrubs or grass. Not only that, many housing developments actually require people to have their landscaping done within a certain number of months from the time they move into their new homes. Therefore, when the house is done, people are anxious to get it landscaped.
Since I wasn't in that market, and most impulsive gardening decisions are made in the spring, my business typically slowed down during the very hot summer months. So one year I decided to do a little test marketing, to see if I could muster up some work during the summer.
I decided to do a test mailing to 350 homeowners in an area where I knew the people could afford landscaping services, but were not extremely rich. I mailed a letter to these 350 homes, and the letter basically said I could help them with any landscaping project that needed done, and because my business was slow during the summer I could give them a really fair price.
Of the 350 people that received the letter 3 called me. I immediately sold two jobs, and the third job was still open for discussion. On one of the first two jobs I made about $350. and on the other I made about $700. That's net profit. That's how much I got to keep. Since the mailing cost less than $175., my immediate profit on the mailing was $875. Not bad at all considering this was only a part-time business for me. But don't forget about that third caller. I had not even met this person yet.
The reason he called is because he happened to own a 60 unit apartment building in the Cleveland area, and he needed some trees or shrubs planted around the parking lot. The architect that he had been working with suggested Taxus Hicksi, which is an evergreen that is easily trimmed and maintained to a certain size. However, all the landscapers he had spoken with in Cleveland wanted about $44.00 each to install these plants.
Although a fair price, that amounted to $4,664.00 because he needed 106 plants.
He contacted me because he was hoping I could find a less expensive plant to use. After visiting the job site I realized that Taxus Hicksi actually was about the best choice for this situation, so I told him I would see if I could get a better price on the plants. I showed in a wholesale catalog that the wholesale price was $22.00 per plant, but mentioned that I might be able to find another source.
I knew that my friend Franky did at one time grow this particular plant, so I gave him a call. Turns out he did have 106 plants available, and was anxious to move some of them, he quoted me $10.00 each, balled in burlap. I called my customer and told him that I found good plants at a lower price, and that I could actually deliver and plant them for $22.00 per plant, which is exactly half of what others had quoted him. He was delighted, and I did the job. As a matter of fact he actually asked me to install some additional plants while I was there.
I hired 3 guys to help me do the job, and we had it done in one day. After I paid for the plants, and paid my help, I actually made $1,148.00 on that one day job. My customer was so happy with the work we did that he asked me to come back the following week and do about another $700.00 worth of work. I made another $350.00 The following spring he hired me to re-landscape an older home that he had purchased, and I made another $600.00.
Remember the $175.00 that I spent to mail those 350 letters? The net profit on that mailing turned out to be about $2,973.00! And my friend Franky picked up $1,060.00 for the plants I bought from him. Were these 350 people I selected special? No they weren't. Every town in America has at least 350 people just like them, probably thousands more.
There are many different ways to make money with plants, this is just one of them, I can show you plenty more. I've been making money with plants for over 25 years.
You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com/resellers.htm
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter. Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_McGroarty
http://EzineArticles.com/?$1148-in-One-Day-with-Plants?--You-Bet!&id=88629
This article is actually an example of a simple yet, excellent marketing plan. Pay close attention to how I went out and found new business at a time of the year when things are normally slow, and not only did I make $1,148.00, my friend Franky also made $1,060.00.
Because I chose to keep myself out of the rat race of landscaping new homes, I went after a market that was more of an impulsive type market. New home landscaping is almost a necessity, since new homes don't have any shrubs or grass. Not only that, many housing developments actually require people to have their landscaping done within a certain number of months from the time they move into their new homes. Therefore, when the house is done, people are anxious to get it landscaped.
Since I wasn't in that market, and most impulsive gardening decisions are made in the spring, my business typically slowed down during the very hot summer months. So one year I decided to do a little test marketing, to see if I could muster up some work during the summer.
I decided to do a test mailing to 350 homeowners in an area where I knew the people could afford landscaping services, but were not extremely rich. I mailed a letter to these 350 homes, and the letter basically said I could help them with any landscaping project that needed done, and because my business was slow during the summer I could give them a really fair price.
Of the 350 people that received the letter 3 called me. I immediately sold two jobs, and the third job was still open for discussion. On one of the first two jobs I made about $350. and on the other I made about $700. That's net profit. That's how much I got to keep. Since the mailing cost less than $175., my immediate profit on the mailing was $875. Not bad at all considering this was only a part-time business for me. But don't forget about that third caller. I had not even met this person yet.
The reason he called is because he happened to own a 60 unit apartment building in the Cleveland area, and he needed some trees or shrubs planted around the parking lot. The architect that he had been working with suggested Taxus Hicksi, which is an evergreen that is easily trimmed and maintained to a certain size. However, all the landscapers he had spoken with in Cleveland wanted about $44.00 each to install these plants.
Although a fair price, that amounted to $4,664.00 because he needed 106 plants.
He contacted me because he was hoping I could find a less expensive plant to use. After visiting the job site I realized that Taxus Hicksi actually was about the best choice for this situation, so I told him I would see if I could get a better price on the plants. I showed in a wholesale catalog that the wholesale price was $22.00 per plant, but mentioned that I might be able to find another source.
I knew that my friend Franky did at one time grow this particular plant, so I gave him a call. Turns out he did have 106 plants available, and was anxious to move some of them, he quoted me $10.00 each, balled in burlap. I called my customer and told him that I found good plants at a lower price, and that I could actually deliver and plant them for $22.00 per plant, which is exactly half of what others had quoted him. He was delighted, and I did the job. As a matter of fact he actually asked me to install some additional plants while I was there.
I hired 3 guys to help me do the job, and we had it done in one day. After I paid for the plants, and paid my help, I actually made $1,148.00 on that one day job. My customer was so happy with the work we did that he asked me to come back the following week and do about another $700.00 worth of work. I made another $350.00 The following spring he hired me to re-landscape an older home that he had purchased, and I made another $600.00.
Remember the $175.00 that I spent to mail those 350 letters? The net profit on that mailing turned out to be about $2,973.00! And my friend Franky picked up $1,060.00 for the plants I bought from him. Were these 350 people I selected special? No they weren't. Every town in America has at least 350 people just like them, probably thousands more.
There are many different ways to make money with plants, this is just one of them, I can show you plenty more. I've been making money with plants for over 25 years.
You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com/resellers.htm
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening newsletter. Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_McGroarty
http://EzineArticles.com/?$1148-in-One-Day-with-Plants?--You-Bet!&id=88629
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