Native to the Mediterranean and the Middle East, almond trees have become a popular nut tree for home gardens around the world. Since most varieties only grow to heights of 10 to 15 feet (3-5 meters), young almond trees can easily be trained as spayers. Almond trees have pale pink to white blossoms before emerging in early spring. In cooler climates, it is common for these flowers to bloom while the rest of the garden is still asleep under the snow. Almond trees can be purchased from garden centers and nurseries, or propagated from an existing almond tree at home.
Almond Propagation methods
Most almond varieties cannot be propagated by seed. The seeds of some hybrids are sterile, while the seeds of other almond varieties may be viable but will not produce the same type of plant. Plants grown from seed may revert to the original parent plant, which, although related, may not even be an almond plant. Therefore, the most common method of almond propagation is by cuttings of softwoods or grafting of shoots.
Propagation of almond trees by cuttings
Softwood cuttings is a propagation method in which young shoots are cut from a woody plant and forced out from the rootstock. In the spring, after the almond tree has germinated and produced new shoots, select a few small, flexible branches of your softwood cuttings. Ensure that these are new shoots growing above the graft union of the tree and not suckers from below the graft.
Before cutting off shoots for softwood cuttings, prepare seeding trays or small pots with a good compost mix or potting medium. Using a pencil or dowel, make a hole in the middle of the pot for cutting. Also, make sure you have rooting hormone on hand.
Using a sharp, sterilized knife, cut off the young branches you have chosen to grow the almond tree just below the leaf node. The selected buds should be about 3 to 4 inches (8-10 cm) long. Remove any leaf buds or leaves from the bottom half of the cutting.
Apply it to the bottom of the cuttings, following the directions for the rooting hormone you are using, and place them in the potting medium. Firmly press the soil around the cuttings and water gently but thoroughly.
Softwood cuttings usually take five or six weeks to root. During this time, it is important to keep the compost or potting mixture moist, but not too wet. Keeping cuttings in a clean plastic bag or greenhouse can help maintain constant moisture.
How to Propagate an Almond by Budding
Almond propagation method by budding Another popular method of almond tree propagation is budding or bud grafting. With this form of tree grafting, the almond tree buds you want to grow are grafted onto a compatible tree’s rootstock. Other almond root stocks can be used for almond trees as well as peaches, peaches, or apricots.
Budding usually takes place in late summer. Using a precise cut with a grafting knife, the almond buds are grafted onto the selected rootstock in one of two ways, either a tea bud or a foil/shield bud.
In tea shoots, a T-shaped cut is made at the rootstock and an almond bud is placed under the bark of the cut, which is then secured with grafting tape or a thick rubber band. In shield or chip buds, a shield-shaped chip is cut from the rootstock and replaced with a properly fitted shield-shaped chip with an almond bud. This chip bud is then secured in place with grafting tape.
