Day 130: If western Washington records an 8.5 earthquake this afternoon, that was me upon discovering that my horticultural labours have finally been rewarded. Yes, that is a rooted slip of Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, Corylus avellana "Contorta," the fruit of a soil-layering attempt begun in 2016! It is the only one of ten to take root. Two years ago, I thought it felt like it was attached to the ground, but I didn't want to disturb it until it had had a chance to establish. I still wasn't completely convinced last year. Today when I checked on it, there was no doubt: it had formed a good root system and was ready to move to Phase Two, i.e., being transplanted to a sunken pot where it will remain for another year before being put in its permanent location. I believe this was one of the slips I treated with rooting hormone although the colour had faded entirely from the cloth strips I'd used as indicators of "treated" vs. "untreated." Given the difficulty I've had propagating Harry using every method known to man but grafting, I think it's safe to assume that this must have been one of the treated twigs. Soil layering, for those of you unfamiliar with the procedure, is done by burying a living twig in soil, leaving it attached to the parent plant until a root system forms. It is sometimes helpful to create a wound on the lower portion of the buried piece as I did in this instance. The wound stimulates a healing response. I am ecstatic! Now let's see if I can do it again.
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