Trees (deciduous)Red Alder, Oregon Ash, Indian Plum, Big Leaf Maple, Vine MapleWinterSeedSeedlings and small speciments are easiest and can be dug nearly any season, especially with rootball and if watered well and perhaps top-pruned. White Oak, Madrone, and Pacific Dogwood are very difficult.

Trees (evergreen)Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Western HemlockWinterHardwood Cuttings
(in winter), SeedWillowell currently does not salvage evergreen trees.

1. Seed
   
Advantages:

• Easy to collect large quantities
  
• Most economical of all propagation methods
  
• Easy to ship across international borders (quarantine issues)
  
• "Seedling vigor" – get larger plants faster. (One reason why seeds are used for "root stock")
  
• Capturing the genetic history (or diversity) of the species
  
• Necessary for breeding & the introduction of new cultivars
  
Disadvantages:

• Erratic germination (some take too long)
  
• Pre-treatment requirements (Overcome dormancy –need to stratify or scarcify)
  
• Don't know the sex
  
• Less uniformity
  
• Hybrids – variables in the genetic makeup from cross pollination
  
• May often lead to a "taproot dominant" rather than a fibrous root system
  

 

Asexual

 

2. Cuttings
   
Advantages:

• Relatively fast and inexpensive method (2,000-3,000 per day per worker)
  
• Requires few specialized skills
  
• Uniformity
  
• Clonal – no genetic variabilities
  
Disadvantages:
• Requires special structures and equipment
  
• Lower volume compared to seed
  
• Transmission of plant viruses
  

 

3. Division (including bulb scaling)
   
Advantages:

• Sometimes the only way to multiply plants
  
• Clonal – no genetic variabilities
  
Disadvantages:

• Lower productivity (limitation to the # of plants taken from a stock plant)
  
• Less uniformity
  
• Lower plant vigor
  
• More expensive/labor intensive than seed or cutting methods
  
• Transfer of plant viruses
  

 

4. Grafting
   
Not used in native plant production or restoration. Very expensive. Takes skilled labor. Sometimes the only way to reproduce a plant type. (Often used to produce plants with pest resistant rootstocks.

 

5. Micropropagation
   
Not used in native plant production or restoration. Test tube babies. Expensive. Used to produce large numbers quickly.