In mid-January I pruned my fruit trees in preparation for the coming season and just dropped the twigs and branches where they lay. A month or so later, I saw the cut branches were starting to show signs of growth. I realize this might simply be the result of the cuttings using the nutrients found in the cambium layer, so they haven't really figured out they should be dead.
But I also wondered whether I could use these cuttings and root them? I've tried rooting blackberry cuttings in the past without much success (okay, I forgot to water them) and last year I had stuck some cuttings in a bottle of water to see if they would grow roots, and though I got magnificent blossoms on them, no roots materialized and soon rot set in.
So I thought maybe if I stick them in some potting soil, but this time keep them warm and moist, maybe I'll get roots to grow and can propagate more fruit trees for my food forest.
So far the results are looking good, but I'll admit that I'm not sure if I'm actually growing plants that will root or is this just another example of forcing blooms and growth.
I planted 20 cuttings on March 10 using two different methods. On one group of 10, I used rooting hormone on the ends to encourage root growth. On the other, I used a honey-water mixture. I had seen a YouTube video recommending diluting honey with water as a natural rooting hormone so I figured I'd give it a try. While both groups of cuttings are showing growth, those with the rooting hormone are showing more than those with the honey-water mixture, though that group is also showing blossoms forming on one cutting.
The cuttings are kept in my basement in my grow room. There's a cheap greenhouse with a plastic cover in there, and on the shelves I'm using heated seedling mats. Above the shelves are simple fluorescent light fixtures (no gro-bulbs either). The room, because it's about 4'x10' stays fairly humid.
The cuttings themselves are planted in my standard potting mix: equal amounts of peat moss, perlite, and garden soil. The container they're housed in is a clear plastic shoebox.
As I said, I'm seeing results, I just don't know if its the results I want.