Filter by Popular Categories
Join us on February 22nd to learn all about perennial plant propagation! This free, full-day event in Slocan Park will feature four different speakers sharing their extensive propagation knowledge – from growing trees from seed, rooting hardwood cuttings, multi-grafting fruit trees, and growing native plants.
This event will also feature a Scion Exchange – an opportunity to swap plant cuttings (aka scionwood) with others in the community. Bring cuttings of your favorite trees and shrubs, and take home new varieties to add to your own garden or orchard. Do you have an heirloom fruit tree you think others should try out? Maybe some varieties of berries you think every garden should grow? Are you looking for new plants to add to your collection and want to find out what grows well for others? Bring your cuttings and swap with friends – it’s a great way to share knowledge and plant genetics.
Learning to propagate your own perennials is a valuable skill to have, and creating your own backyard nursery can save a lot of money when planting out new orchards and gardens. These skills allow you to adapt and diversify existing plantings and help you discover and collect plants from wherever you go. This event will provide an introduction to the exciting world of plant propagation, and an opportunity to connect perennial plant enthusiasts from around the region.
This event is BYO lunch, but refreshments and light snacks will be provided.
DATE: Saturday, February, 22, 2025 – 9:30 am – 4 pm.
LOCATION: Slocan Park Community Hall – 3036 Highway 6 (located beside the Co-op Gas Station) on Sinixt, Syilx, and Ktunaxa Territories.
REGISTER: This event is free, but registration is required as there is limited space in the hall.
SCHEDULE :
9:30 AM – Opening Circle
10:00 – 11:00 – Rooting Hardwood Cuttings – with Kim Watt
11:15 – 12:15 – Propagating Native Plants for Ecological Restoration – with Gregoire Lamoureux
12:15 – 1:30 – BYO lunch and Scion Exchange
1:30 – 2:30 – Fruit Tree Grafting & Growing – with Frank Ruljancich
2:45 – 3:45 – Growing Trees from Seed – with Brian Goldstein
4:00 – Event Ends
BRING: Scionwood/cuttings to trade (see below for more details), BYO lunch, water, notebook, bags to bring home cuttings. Refreshments and light snacks will be provided
SHARE: Planning on joining us? Invite your friends and share the Facebook event.
About The Speakers
FRANK RULJANCICH – Fruit Tree Grafting
Fra
nk and his wife, Libby, run Bright Ridge Farm, located in Deer Park, 32 km northwest of Castlegar. For over 47 years they have been growing their own fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts. Every year they run a full-season gardening course, Growing through the Seasons, where they share their extensive growing and homesteading knowledge with others in the region. Frank and Libby have experimented with hundreds of varieties of fruit over the years, and curated a collection of varieties that grow well in the southern Arrow Lakes microclimate. They have about 60 fruit and nut trees, multi-grafted to around 120 different varieties. Frank will be speaking about his experience growing and grafting fruit trees.
Web: https://brightridgefarm.com/
GREGOIRE LAMOUREUX – Propagating Native Plants
Gregoire Lamoureux is the manager of the riparian and wetland restoration program with Slocan River Streamkeepers.
He also manages a small native plant nursery at his farm in Winlaw. Spiral Farm was started in 1991 and it includes a diversity of fruit trees, nut trees, berry bushes, perennial vegetables and medicinal herbs, as well as nearly 5 acres of wetlands. Gregoire is a co-founder of Kootenay Organic Growers Society and is also a co-founder of the Slocan River Streamkeepers Society, and has been doing riparian and wetland restoration work around the region for over 20 years. He will be giving a presentation on propagating native plants.
Web: https://kootenaypermaculture.wordpress.com/
BRIAN GOLDSTEIN – Growing Trees From Seed
Brian Goldstein is the founder and co-owner of ZeroFox Tree Crops, a perennial plant nursery located in Harrop, BC. The nursery ships plants across Canada, focusing on edible and useful trees, bushes, shrubs, and herbs that thrive in the country’s harsh climates. Everything is sold bare root at affordable prices during the winter months for spring delivery. With a long-standing interest in cold climate food systems, Brian made his way to the Kootenays from his home state of Colorado in 2014, when he came to take a permaculture course in Winlaw, BC. He has experience in cold climate vegetable production and holds an Environmental Studies degree focused on resilient food systems. Brian is committed to improving community food security by promoting regionally based perennial food crops, agroforestry practices, and fire-smart land management. Brian will be presenting on growing trees from seed.
KIM WATT – Rooting Hardwood Cuttings
Kim Watt runs Thimble Hill Orchard & Nursery, just north of Nelson, BC. Thimble Hill includes a one-acre experimental orchard with several hundred varieties of fruits, nuts, and perennial vegetables, as well as a small nursery specializing in edible trees and native plants. Kim has been growing and propagating perennials for over 20 years, and enjoys teaching other these skills. She will be presenting a session on how to root hardwood cuttings. Kim is also currently the Young Agrarians Columbia Basin Events Coordinator, and organizer of this event.
Scion Exchange
What makes a Scion exchange a success is that everyone brings plant material to share and has something to take home with them! Scion wood is dormant plant material (hardwood cuttings) from woody perennials that can be either rooted on their own, or grafted onto existing trees or rootstock. We welcome any woody perennials species that can be grafted or rooted – fruit trees, berry bushes, grape and kiwi vines, native plants, ornamentals – whatever you think others might like to grow!
It is important that the cuttings being shared are high quality and correctly identified, so please follow the guidelines below:
- Only collect from healthy plants or trees. Check for signs of pests and disease, as well as any potential winter die back. If there are any signs of stress to the plant, or you haven’t been monitoring the plant during the growing season, please do not collect cuttings. Sterilizing your pruners before and after collecting cuttings is recommended.
- Look for vigorous, straight sections of first-year growth. Cut into 6-10″ lengths, with several viable buds per cutting. On fruit trees, you can collect from water sprouts or straight sections of tip growth. If your tree is grafted, ensure you are collecting from above the graft union and avoid any suckers or whips growing from the base of the trunk. For bushes and vines, look for long whips of last years’ new growth.
- Label your cuttings clearly. Be sure that you are 100% certain of the variety you are collecting before labelling. If you don’t know the variety, you can write a general description of the variety (growing habit, bloom time, fruit qualities, harvest time, any interesting history) and why you think others should grow it. Wrapping bundles of cuttings painters tape is a good way to keep them all organized and clearly labelled.
- Don’t let your cuttings dry out or get warm. After collecting, immediately place in a sealed bag and store somewhere cool – a cold cellar, fridge (ideally without apples or ethylene producing fruits), or outdoors in a cooler.
- Bring a few containers or jars that we can fill with water to keep your cuttings fresh while indoors at the Scion exchange.
- Be aware of breeders rights – many named varieties of fruit trees and plants have restrictions on propagation. Do a quick search of the variety to see if you are legally allowed to propagate that plant in Canada.
If you have any questions about collecting scionwood or the event in general, please feel free to reach out to Kim (kim@youngagrarians.org). More information on scion collection will get sent out to event participants before the fair.
Stay in Touch
- Join our Young Agrarians Columbia Basin (Kootenay) Facebook Group to stay up to date with all events in the region
- Sign up for our e-newsletter to get events and opportunities for your region delivered straight to your inbox
- Due to limited spots, we ask that you please give us as much notice as possible if you have to cancel, so we can give someone else the opportunity to join. You can do so through Eventbrite, through the link in your registration confirmation email, or by contacting kim@youngagrarians.org.
- Questions? Email Kim at kim@youngagrarians.org
THANK YOU!
The Columbia Basin event series is made possible with funding from Columbia Basin Trust.