CUTTING PLANTING GUIDE

HOW TO STORE YOUR CUTTINGS:

→ Keep your cuttings in the fridge until you are ready to plant. It’s important that they do not dry out, so keep them in the plastic bag. Check on the humidity level every few days - if they’re starting to grow some mold, crack the top of the bag open. If they seem dry, add a damp paper towel or moist sawdust.

→ You can plant as soon as your ground is workable - no need to wait til last frost.

PLANT: The looser the soil is, the easier it will be for your cutting to grow strong roots. If you are planting into untilled ground, it will help to loosen up the soil with a shovel. If you are planting into an existing garden bed, this isn’t necessary.

Location + Spacing: your spacing will vary depending on your goals (weavers, berry production, or landscape beautification)

Further reading on preferred soil types, spacing, and pest considerations for production growers: elderberry, willow
Landscape Beautification: if you are planting into existing landscaping, consider the mature size of the plant. It can be tempting to pack the plants close together, but resist! Your plants will be happier with proper airflow and less light competition.

Your cutting will have an angled end and a flat end - the angled end goes into the ground, and the flat end sticks up above the surface. Firmly stick the cutting into the soil. MOST OF THE CUTTING SHOULD BE BELOW THE SURFACE. Only the top 2-3” should stick up above the soil level.

MULCH: Top dress around the tree with compost (an inch or less is fine) and then a 4-6” thick layer of natural mulch. Our favorite mulch is plain wood chips, which encourages beneficial fungi. If you don’t have access to wood chips, use whatever you have on hand, like grass clippings, straw, leaves, or bark (as long as it’s free of any type of boring beetle, etc.). Laying cardboard or burlap under your mulch can help with weed suppression.

PROTECT: Consider your local pests: deer, rabbits, and groundhogs are our most common pests. We use a length of welded wire fence and a fiberglass stake to protect our trees. We like this combo because it is reusable once the tree outgrows it, and allows for good airflow to keep the tree strong. For a young tree, we cut a 4’ length of fence.

You can find softer/less expensive fence material and use that instead - it’s better to have some protection than no protection!

If you’re doing a large scale planting, mulching your whole row and spawning with a beneficial mycelium like wine cap (Stropharia Rugosoannulata) is a great way to ensure long term soil health. The fungi will break down your mulch into usable nutrients for the tree, and make tasty mushrooms for you in the process!

4' tall welded wire panel around a seedling pecan. The fiberglass stake is woven in and out of the grid a few times, and then pushed into the ground to hold the cage in place.

CARE: The biggest threats to cutting survival are lack of water and competition from weeds. Keep your cuttings mulched, watered, and well-weeded in their first year. They will be more hardy in future seasons!

We cut our willows, poplars, and elders back to the ground every year in late winter while they’re still fully dormant. This is called coppicing. It keeps the plant strong and vigorous.

For willows, this is how we harvest basket weaving material.
For elderberries, it keeps the fruit within reach and easy to harvest. The varieties we offer develop fruit on first year wood.
Annual coppicing isn’t a requirement if you are just enjoying the plants for their beauty and habitat value. However, it does help to keep the plants vigorous! Don’t worry - they will grow to their full size again (5-7’) by July!