In June, I began working as the propagation methods intern at the Intervale Conservation Nursery in Burlington, Vermont. This internship has allowed me to apply the knowledge, skills, and connections I’ve built during my time at UVM and apply it to a working business.

The Conservation Nursery wants to expand the number of trees they can grow. My internship focuses on cracking the code of some of the more difficult species to grow from traditional seed or hardwood cutting. Another technique for propagating trees is taking softwood cuttings. This method involves trimming the fresh green growth produced that year, applying a specified concentration of rooting hormone, sticking them in a medium, and keeping them moist while they establish roots.  The species I am focusing on are winterberry, quaking aspen, basswood, tamarack, nannyberry, and northern-white cedar. For some of these species, softwood plant propagation is the preferred method, while for others softwood cuttings have rarely been attempted.

I tested various concentrations of hormone, mother trees, mediums ,and cutting sizes in an attempt to see which worked best. I hope that my results can be given to the Conservation Nursery to inform the methods used to grow these tricky species.Softwood cuttings are an important and unique way of growing trees. This allows one tree to turn into many in just a few months.

When I wasn’t working on my project, I was spending time in the nursery’s 8-acre field maintaining their trees. The work consisted of prepping beds using tractor implements, dibbling, planting, weeding, mulching, and irrigating. For future nursery interns, I would recommend establishing a routine schedule to balance your project and field work. I also highly recommend packing a big water bottle and an even bigger can of bug spray - the more DEET the better! This experience has taught me so much about what it takes to run a successful woody plant nursery, and I truly enjoyed the experience.