In reference to blueberry graft number one of Oneal grafts to Tifblue grafts. This is a current picture of the donor Oneal blueberry. It is only about 18" high and is low vigor in comparison to it being grafted to the robust Tifblue root. If I had not pruned and pulled limbs down it would be around eight feet high.
Oneal grafted to Tifblue root. Keeping it pruned and or pulled down to about 6’.
Thought I would take a couple of pictures before all the foliage pops out. Appears to be about 1/3 of full bloom.
This is a neat idea. Have you tried grafting less hardy varieties like sweet crisp on to a hardy variety and see how it does? Maybe sweet crisp is hardy in your area?
I wonder if it would work.
Looks good. Union looks like the “club foot” that flying dragon rootstock can give to citrus.
How low are the grafts? I plan on trying this experiment myself in a year or two. Just planted my Rabbiteyes this week.
In California, we have alkaline sodic soils and also very high pH well water. In order to grow blueberries, aside from using soil sulfur and peat moss, one must supply acidifying fertilizers along with phosphoric acid in order to get good yields of blueberries.
I recently helped a UC Davis graduate student (came from South America) graft blueberries on to Sparkleberries. Sparkleberry as the grad student told me it turns out, are tolerant of our soils and don’t need acids in the water, and most of all, they’re graft compatible with blueberries.
So I graft blueberries to sparkleberries. The Sparkleberries came from Oregon. I grafted 80 of these plants for the experiments. Whip and tongue is what I used. And the Blueberries loved it!
I haven’t grafted Sweet Crisp but I’m pretty sure it would do well on an aggressive rootstock like Tifblue. I planted Oneal a few years ago as well as Star. Both did not like my location and only grew a few inches each year. My original Oneal is still only about 18" high. The grafted Oneal was heading toward 8’ when I started pulling limbs down and cutting some back. I started grafting this bush about 1.5 years ago and it has exceeded my expectations.
The graft is solid but looks bad. It looks bad because it was a side graft and the Tifblue was removed later.
I read some old documentation for experimental grafting onto Sparkelberries but I never went back to see the long term results. My guess is with a high drought tolerance as well as liking a higher ph level they flourished.
The grad student showed me a photo of a 30 year old graft of blueberry on sparkleberry that is still producing blueberries to this very day! It’s like a small tree. Wish I could get a photo of that photo. It isn’t online.
So I got me a sparkleberry and my next project would be a long-lived multi-grafted blueberry bush on a sparkleberry. I am still thinking where to plant the sparkleberry. It is still small and potted and would like it to have nice scaffolds for the multi-grafts!
Too bad, she told me, that it is almost impossible to propagate Sparkleberry via stem cuttings. It is always easier to grow them from seeds. I myself would prefer the ones grown from seed as they will have nicer root system. But of course genetic variability would make it harder for commercial plantation but not for backyard growing.
I could do that. I have had sweetcrisp growing in zone 5b for 3 or 4 years now. To tell the truth though I won’t because blueberries are cane fruit. Which means each cane has a limited lifespan of productivity. You want the crown to produce new canes, Canes should be removed after five years.
Yes, this the only way i would graft blueberries. I too have basic soil, for me raised beds work fine, no not fine, work very well. It is a easier
I did see photos before, single truck with the blueberry scion branching out on top. Still a little at a loss of how this would work with no crown? Canes should exhaust their productivity after awhile.
behaved differently when grafted… perhaps, they can be rejuvenated by cutting down to a small knob and out of the knobs grow the next generation canes.
Yes, I was thinking maybe all you need to do, it might even work for any canes, even on regular plants.On one blueberry pruning video, it was mentioned to remove older canes to new growth. So if a new branch was near the base of the cane, you don’t remove the whole cane, you remove to that new branch.
Or I guess it is possible that you don’t need to renew them. Strange things happen with grafts.
Carmine Jewel bush cherry is grown on it’s own roots, it is a dwarf and stays under 8 feet for the most part. But if you graft it on a regular tart cherry, it grows like a tart cherry and is no longer dwarf.
I never considered it before, but grafting blueberries looks awesome!
It would be great to have O’ Neil or some other SHB on top of Tiffblue.
Do you know if the ripening date for the fruit would be determined by the SHB or the Tiffblue rootstock?
It is ripening at the same time as Oneal.
Picked a few Oneal this morning from the grafted bush.
Oneal ripens about 5-6 weeks earlier than Tifblue at my location. Picked about 5 cups this morning. Guessing that there is about 1/2 gallon remaining. Early frost damaged about 1/3 of the blooms but enough remained to provide a decent early berry.
This other SH grafted bush is loaded with berries and they should start ripening next (about 2-3 weeks). Really excited about this one in that it blooms later and ripens early. It also taste great.
What is the variety?
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