Grow your own trees!

Probably the easiest way to grow your own trees is to copy a tree that you already have. Cut a nice twig, 5-10mm thick, and put it in a pot with soil. Keep moist and after ten weeks or so, your tree is growing by itself!

Here is one way of doing it:
 

1. If you have willows nearby, you can start by making “root-juice” to stimulate root-forming. There is a hormone in willow wood that stimulates other trees to set root. We cut 200g of a willow branch and made 1 liter “tea”, letting soak for one hour, which seems to work.
2. Cut twigs from a tree that you like. This also works with bushes and vines, so grapevine is one of the things we have here in a pot.

   

3. Put the twigs to half the depth in a pot with soil. We took 50% potting soil and 50% sand.
4. Keep moist, and the twigs will soon start to form hair-roots sideways from the bark into the soil.
5. In the beginning, the energy stored in the plant will be used for root forming and opening up of the first new leaves. After that, the sun will replenish the stores and your tree will continue to grow.
6. When you think it is strong enough, take it outdoors for a week before planting into the ground. Thereby your tree can recover from the climate shock and getting ready for the re-planting shock that comes when you put it into the final location.

   

We started with twigs that had not yet budded, in the early spring. Try it out and share your experiences!