Celtis (occidentalis)

John M. Englert USDA NRCS - Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center Bldg. 509, BARC - East, E. Beaver Dam Road Beltsville, Maryland 20705 (301) 504-8175 (301) 504-8741 (fax) john.englert@wdc.usda.gov http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/mdpmc/

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Family Scientific Name:	Ulmaceae
Family Common Name:	Elm Family
Scientific Name:	Celtis occidentalis L.
Common Name:	common hackberry
Species Code:	CELOCC
Ecotype:	Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Shenandoah National Park.
General Distribution:	General Distribution: Moist rich soil, often in floodplains; s. Quebec to s. Manitoba, s. to Virginia, Arkansas and Oklahoma; locally to North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Variable. (Gleason and Cronquist, 1991)
Propagation Goal:	plants
Propagation Method:	seed
ProductType:	Bareroot (field grown)
Stock Type:	bareroot seedlings and specimen plants in 2 or 3-gallon containers
Time To Grow:	0
Target Specifications:	Time to grow: Bare root seedlings are harvested after two years in outdoor nursery beds.<br>Selected 2-0 bareroot seedlings are potted in 1-gallon containers as specimen plantings for park landscaping. They are bumped up to 2 and 3-gallon containers in successive springs. It takes about 3-4 years for roots to fill a 3-gallon container.<br> Bareroot seedlings should have well-developed root systems at harvest. Long roots are pruned as needed before storage.<br>Containerized stock should have fibrous, firm root balls that fill pots treated with Spin Out, a copper hydroxide product that promotes development of fibrous root systems and inhibits root girdling.<br> Height: Two-year bareroot seedlings are 8-10 inches. <br>1-gallon container plants are up to 36", 2-gallon range from 36-48" and 3-gallon are around 72".
Propagule Collection:	Mature fruits were collected from the parks in October.
Propagule Processing:	Cleaning: seeds arehand-cleaned Storage: if seeds are not sown the season of collection, they are stored dry in paper bags or envelopes in a seed cooler at 40F, 35% relative humidity. Germination/purity: purity is estimated at 98% after cleaning; Germination has been around 4%;however, a recent planting resulted in about 45% germination. Seeds per kg/LB: variable but around 5,200
Pre-Planting Treatments:	Embryo dormancy: Seeds have internal dormancy and require cold, moist stratification (60-90 days @41F))to overcome this. (Bonner, 1974) Stratification: Seeds are sown outdoors in nursery beds in the fall soon after collection and cleaning to allow natural stratification to occur.
Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:	Propagation environment: bareroot seedlings are grown in outdoor woody nursery beds; container specimens are grown to finished size in a shade house. Sowing date: November Sowing/planting technique: Seeds are dusted with fungicide and hand-sown into rows. (Rows are 5-6inches apart and seeds are sown less than 1 inch apart within each row). Endomycorrhizae are sprinkled over the seed and the row is covered with about _ inch of soil. The beds are then mulched with aged sawdust, which is scraped back in the spring before seedling emergence.
Establishment Phase:	Seedlings generally emerge during the spring following a fall sowing. Newly emerged seedlings are monitored closely for irrigation needs. Young seedlings are shaded as soon as they emerge with 30% poly screening. Shade cloth remains over seedlings until mid-August.
Active Growth Phase:	Because NPMC soil is a nutrient poor, sandy loam, seedlings in the outdoor nursery beds are fertilized once weekly from mid-April through early June with a granular 10-10-10. From mid-June through late July, the 10-10-10 is alternated with a granular urea. Fertilization from late July through late August is bi-weekly with10-10-10. Overhead irrigation is used after each fertilization. The rate of water applied is determined by soil moisture prior to irrigation. Container nursery: Selected bareroot seedlings are potted up into 1 gallon containers as specimens and are held in a shade house during the growing seasons until reaching outplanting size at 2 or 3 gallons. Plants usually need a season or more after each bump up for the rootball to fill the containers. Daily overhead irrigation is adjusted depending on natural precipitation and pot size. Those plants that are ready are bumped up to the next container size in spring using a customized woody mix (3.8 cu. ft. bale Sunshine #1, 4 cu. ft. pine bark mulch, 4 cups 180 day controlled release Nutricote 18-6-8 with micros and about 4 cups of endomycorrhizae per batch). Spin Out-treated pots are used to promote fibrous root growth. Pots that are too large or soil that remains too moist may retard plant growth.
Hardening Phase:	Outdoor woody nursery beds: During mid- to late summer, fertilization is cut back to twice monthly. Beginning in September, irrigation is only used in a severe droughty situation. <br>Container nursery: frequency and duration of irrigation is reduced as plants go into dormancy, depending on natural rainfall.
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping:	Bareroot: Dormant bareroot plants are harvested in early to mid-December. A bareroot seedling harvester is used to lift plants in the woody bed. Seedlings are then hand-sorted by size and tied in manageable bundles. Roots are pruned as needed and kept moist until packing. Bundles are packed in plastic bins with drainage holes and roots are covered with moist sawdust. Bins are held in cold storage at 40F and watered as needed. Containers: dormant containerized stock is overwintered outdoors under a microfoam- insulating blanket after leaf fall. Clean, well-watered containers are overlapped on their sides on weed barrier fabric and covered with microfoam. Rodenticide baits are placed at intervals under the blanket before the microfoam is secured to discourage gnawing rodents.
Length of Storage:	3-5 months
References:	Bonner, F. T. 1974. Celtis In: Seeds of Woody Plants in the United States. Forest Service, USDA. Agricultural Handbook 450. Washington, DC. 298-300. Brown, Russell G. and Melvin L. Brown. 1992. Woody Plants of Maryland. Port City Press, Baltimore, MD Gleason, Henry A. and Arthur Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. 2nd. Edition. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY. USDA-NRCS National Plant Materials Center. Woody bed and container nursery plant records. Unpublished

Citation:

Davis, Kathy; King, Brandy; Kujawski, Jennifer. 2002. Propagation protocol for production of Bareroot (field grown) Celtis occidentalis L. plants bareroot seedlings and specimen plants in 2 or 3-gallon containers; USDA NRCS - Norman A. Berg National Plant Materials Center Beltsville, Maryland. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2024/07/01). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.