I am a total idiot about gardening, just to warn you.
I had to cut down a old plum tree on our property (SF Bay Area). I didn't want to do it because it made the most incredible plums I've ever had - they were like mangoes. It never made many, and seemed to have off years. But it had to go.
The question is, can I try to grow it from cuttings? I don't have any seeds, unfortunately. I'd love to try to keep a sprig going and eventually a new tree. Any chance of this?
Yes, you can. You must either have a plum tree or buy a plum tree root stock and graft one of the twigs (scion) on to it. There are plenty of things on the web about how to do grafting. I don't know how long ago you cut down the tree, but the scion wood has to be relatively fresh. If you strip off the top layer, you should still be able to see some green cambium. You need that healthy layer to bond to the root stock. If you have a bud from the tree, you can do a bud graft onto an existing plum tree. All of this is dependent on the season, because where I am in the Midwest, everything is going dormant, so grafting won't work. I'm not sure about doing it your climate zone.
Sherw>
Hi
That is good news. The tree was just cut yesterday. I have other plums around. I'll try to read up > Yes, you can. You must either have a plum tree or buy a plum tree root
Grafting now will probably work there, since it is a frost-free area. Some plum trees (I think) could do without root stock. Here is my advice: take 10 heel cuttings (side branches which, when pulled, come off with a little bit of a heel from the main branch), shorten to one foot, with two buds on top, dip in rooting hormone, plant 8 inches deep in sand plus perlite, apply bottom heat, water only at the beginning for the first month, cover with clear garbage bag. Within a month it should be clear whether they took or not. If they did, no guarantee they will do well without a root stock, but nurture them slowly, by placing them outside (if temps are around 50-60) in shade, and taking the garbage bag off in increments of one hour. The bag can come off for good in two months. Transplant to a bigger pot with compost then (without distrubing the roots, the whole sand pot), and transplant to a permanent site in the fall.
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