Author Topic: Propagating Acerola Cherry  (Read 1049 times)

kapps

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Propagating Acerola Cherry
« on: January 16, 2021, 02:41:07 PM »
Hi everyone. I have an acerola cherry that’s been in the ground for a couple years. I’ve read a lot of posts and watched many videos where people show how easy it is to propagate. I’ve tried just about everything and can’t seem to get mine to root.  I’ve tried woody material and fresh growth, rooting hormone and no hormone, put some in a humidity chamber and left some out, and tried cutting the leaves in half to limit moisture loss.  They stayed green for a couple months in a humidity chamber but eventually died with no hint of root growth. The ones that weren’t in a chamber didn’t make it more than a couple weeks before drying out. What am I doing wrong?

Galatians522

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Re: Propagating Acerola Cherry
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2021, 04:31:46 PM »
Try air layering. That is how Echo propagated them.

Ulfr

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Re: Propagating Acerola Cherry
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2021, 05:24:07 PM »
That is a tough one. I seriously get near 100% take with cuttings the width of your finger just stuck in pots out in the open. I take all the leaves off.

I usually avoid the middle of summer and winter but I’m not even sure that matters.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2021, 05:42:50 PM by Ulfr »

bsbullie

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Re: Propagating Acerola Cherry
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2021, 07:11:56 PM »
Try air layering. That is how Echo propagated them.

I have very poor rate with air layers.  Cuttings usually do well.
- Rob

kapps

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Re: Propagating Acerola Cherry
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2021, 08:13:11 PM »
Hmm interesting. I’ll have to try some thicker pieces once it starts putting out fresh growth in spring. I don’t think I’ve tried pieces larger than 3/16” diameter. Should air layers also be made during warmer months or could I make them now in winter?
« Last Edit: January 16, 2021, 08:33:05 PM by kapps »

Galatians522

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Re: Propagating Acerola Cherry
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2021, 08:45:06 PM »
Echo had airlayers on their trees when I was there in March.

FMfruitforest

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Re: Propagating Acerola Cherry
« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2021, 11:57:16 AM »
I really enjoy acerola, tried planting some seeds but no success, Im also surprised that I don’t have any seedlings popping up under the bush, I must of thrown a hundred or so under it.

pineislander

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Re: Propagating Acerola Cherry
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2021, 11:26:09 PM »
Quote
If seeds are used for planting, they should be selected from desirable clones not exposed to cross-pollination by inferior types. They should be cleaned, dried, and dusted with a fungicide. It should also be realized that the seeds in an individual fruit develop unevenly and only those that are fully developed when the fruit is ripe will germinate satisfactorily. Germination rates may be only 50% or as low as 5%. Seedlings should be transferred from flats to containers when 2 to 3 in (5-7.5 cm) high.

Air-layering (in summer) and side-veneer, cleft, or modified crown grafting are feasible but not popular because it is so much easier to raise the tree from cuttings. Cuttings of branches 1/4 to 1/2 in (6-12.5 mm) thick and 8 to 10 in (20-25 cm) long, with 2 or 3 leaves attached, hormone-treated and set in sand or other suitable media under constant or intermittent mist, will root in 60 days. They are then transplanted to nursery rows or containers and held in shade for 6 months or a year before being set out in the field. Some fruits will be borne a year after planting but a good crop cannot be expected until the 3rd or 4th year. The tree will continue bearing well for about 15 years. There is a lapse of only 22 days between flowering and complete fruit maturity.

Grafting is generally practiced only when cuttings of a desired clone are scarce or if a nematode-resistant rootstock is available on which to graft a preferred cultivar; or when top-working a tree that bears fruits of low quality.
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/barbados_cherry.html#Propagation

I've never seen a seedling.