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Live Stakes
Live Stakes
Live stakes are an easy and economical way to add many useful plants to your property. Instead of growing trees from seeds, grow them from tree cuttings. Small twigs of certain species can be easily inserted to the soft soil to develop a new tree. Tree cuttings are the fastest way to grow a windscreen. Windscreens are rows of trees planted somewhat close to blocking wind and noise together.
Live stakes are a great way to add strength to an eroding river bank, and trees that live near water are often the easiest to clone.
Erosion will slow because the trees add root mass to the soil. This will preserve the soil on the bank. Eventually smaller plants will grow, transforming a barren patch of dirt into a healthy micro-ecosystem. This will prevent pollution in the stream making for healthier water, too.Wet areas or those with high water tables are the best for planting stakes. Willows and buttonbush are relatively common choices. Those who live in drier areas often have the most success with silky dogwood.
Begin when you are ready to plant your cuttings, gently push the pointed end into soft soil. If the ground is hard, use a small piece of rebar or other material to open a pilot hole. Insert the cutting at least ½ to ⅔ of the way into the soil. If you need, use a rubber mallet to force the stake in the ground. However, for proper growth, you must remove the mallet damage from the protruding stake. You want to space them 2-3 feet apart. Fall through early spring is the best times to plant. After planting, the roots will reproduce for the first year. The leaves probably won’t so don’t rely on above ground growth to gauge success. Gently pull on the stake to assess the strength of the root system to know whether they have survived.
When you need to add trees to your space, cuttings are an easy and economical way to do it. Live stakes are cuttings from a live tree. These cuttings are highly perishable and needed planted right away. These cuttings will take root after plantings and will over time grow into a full, mature tree. Great for use of pond restoration and lining streambanks.