Question
Hi, I have a dwalf cherry tree in a pot on my garden.We planted this tree along with my fathers ashes so  I would really like to take 3 cuttings from it to give to my family. It is a very young tree, it was only brought about 10 months ago. 1st question - Will the ashes effect the growth of the tree?? 2nd - how do i begin to take 3 cuttings from such a small tree??? I hope you can help!! Many thanks in advance

Answer
Hi Karla,
Thanx for your question.  First, would there be any way you could bend some branches down to the ground?  If you can do that, it is an easy way to root a new plant from your tree.  You will have to scrap the surface of the part of the branch that will touch the soil so that it has direct contact.  This is where the branch will form roots and the action of scraping away the top layer of skin/bark on the branch will cause rooting hormones (plant auxins) to start their work.  Just barely cover this with soil and put a rock on top to keep it from moving.  By fall, you should have roots at which time you can cut the rooted portion from the main branch and pot up in a separate pot.  Now, if you can't do that, you need to take 10-15 cm cuttings of green wood and trim off all the leaves but the last two or three.  Make sure there are no flowers or fruit on the cutting.  Dip the cutting in a strong rooting hormone which you should be able to purchase from your local nursery.  Put the cuttings in a pot of warm, wet sand and keep the pot enclosed in a clear, plastic bag.  This will maintain humidity but the key is keeping the bottom warm.  Rooting should start to take place in 8 weeks but it could take several months to get a complete root ball.  This is a difficult project as fruit trees, even ornamentals, are hard to root.  They are usually grafted onto hardier root stock.  Anyway, I hope this helps.
Tom