Is there a consensus that rootstock that doesn’t take a graft in spring get used for July - August bud grafts? Newbie question.
Do it!
Afghanistan Apricot cleft graft on Blenheim
Santa Rosa T-bud on Flavor Supreme
Van T-bud on Bing
Van T-bud on Lapins
Van cleft graft on Lapins
Coral Champagne cleft graft on Bing
7 Likes
Nice graft. some scion grows thicker than the stock wood, will this cause problem further down the road?
I think they’ll settle down in size over time.
I always find myself with days to use up in December (no-rollover), so I want to make sure to use some of them now when it is nice out.
I don’t think it got quite that bad here. I think I lost a few flower buds, but didn’t suffer any branch damage (only about -10F). But, I did lose the crop for some of the trees. In particular, Cavalier Nectarine is a zero, while the Contender next to it needs thinning.
Scott, how long do you leave the foil on for? 5-6 days? When I was putting the foil on, a couple of the grafts from 3 days ago had tiny leaves forming at the tips of the grafts, which I was hesitant to damage (I let them stick out the foil).
We finally started to have warm nights and all fruit trees grow very fast.
On the right is Prok persimmon graft which grew 2-3 inches in just a couple of days! It started to bend under its own weight, so I put a support for it. Also what a surprise! another persimmon graft all of a sudden started to push buds, I was thinking that it was dead.
4 Likes
I’ve had this happen- Flemish Beauty overgrew on a Bartlett, but hasn’t caused any problems, and a prune plum grafted to Nanking Cherry keeps trying to overgrow but they seem to have struck a balance. It’s in it’s eighth leaf. I keep expecting one or the other to fail, but it hasn’t happened yet. The pear must be 20 or older and has been productive for years, and the prune bloomed this year and last but has never set fruit.
3 Likes
Bob I usually leave it on until the graft starts growing.
I’m hoping my remaining peach grafts really take off, the weather is almost perfect now so no excuses for those grafts! Some of my first round on weaker stocks ended up failing after they got going; I think the extended cool/un-sunny weather was a factor there.
I did an experiment on grapes this spring, I did four kinds of graft (cleft, side, green shoot, wedge) and it looks like only the cleft graft is going to work (both going). These grafts were done in too-cool weather for grapes; I painted the graft area black to give them a little more heat. Anyway, its cleft from here on out on grapes for me!
I am working at home now, wife out of town and I need to do 3-kids schlepping. As an added bonus I can pop out in the orchard for breaks, was thinning remaining peaches this morning 
3 Likes
That’s what I was was thinking, but isn’t it hard to know if they are growing under the foil? Or does the growth push the foil off? I’d hate to have to keep checking each one. Not just that there are so many that it would be a lot of work, but that I would likely damage a few.
I’ve been trying to graft grapes for the last two years without a single success. Both times, I did about half a dozen cleft grafts in the spring, but it was in mid-April, so it sounds like that was too early. Not only was it cold, but that is when they were pushing sap, so it was very messy and probably flooded the grafts.
I also did grape chip buds in each of the last two summers, but my failure there isn’t surprising. I even fail budding apples. This past summer I had a total of 1 in 16 apples take, 0 in 4 nectarines (though I think one took and was winter killed), and 1 in 4 plums. At the same time I did the chip buds (mid-August), I also did a few cleft grafts, just to see if it could work out of season and 3 in 6 leafed out this spring (though I knocked one out with my head…).
I waited a bit on the grapes this year and just did them last weekend, so maybe it will work better.
To provide a contrast for my horrid chip budding results, I was checking my apple grafts yesterday and on my newest franken-tree (formerly a Egremont Russet), I’m 21 for 21. On another tree nearby (41 grafts, a mislabeled tree with large red apples) I still have a few (3?) later grafts (2.5 weeks old) which haven’t taken. I also have a dozen grafts where I got a bit overconfident. It was getting dark and not only did I do them mostly by feel (uncertain cambium), but I skipped the parafilm. No takes there, though I had a couple grafts that I did in the dark with parafilm that took.
Scott,
Are you trying any new grape varieties?
Is the Nanking root dwarfing the prune plum size and has it been fruitful. Just wandering if Nanking would be a good dwarfing rootstock. Thanks, Bill
I did some stone fruit grafts this year.
Here is the multi-grafted Asians & Euros plums & pluots: Satsuma,. Sugar prune, Beauty, Byron, Green Gage, Bavay Gage, Au Rubrum, Mar. De. Nancy, Sweet Treat ,Geo-Pride, Flavor Queen, Prune 707 on Nadia.
My new crossed of Korean Giant x Shinko grafted on a large Callery understocks.
Multi-grafted crabs: Wickson, Weathley, and Chestnut.
Tony
11 Likes
Hi, Bill.
You and I talked about the prune on tomentosa some time ago, and I promised you a picture. I’ll try to get that done sometime soon.
The Nanking cherry has been very dwarfing, and to date has not produced fruit, although we got a few blooms last year and a few more this year … maybe next year?
When I planted the grafted prune I also planted part of its clone separately, and it too seems immature, and in fact did not bloom this year or last. The prune on tomentosa is bushy and healthy looking, and I have pruned it very, very little. I’d be so tickled if it would produce. It appears it might be a little more mature, if anything, than it’s parent clone control.
I think Lucky played with grafting stuff to tomentosa and has his doubts; he’s closer to you and I think his experience would be more useful to you than mine, so let’s hope he happens to be following this thread and chimes in.
Best,
M
1 Like
Here is my Roxbury russet with the tape off. I think this cleft graft will look pretty seamless by fall.
7 Likes
I agree, it looks great. If mine I’d maintain some support for a while. While pretty it might not be that strong yet.
1 Like
Yes that is good advice I will take. We have thunderstorms frequently this time of year and the high wind and driving rain can really put pressure on a graft.
thankyou to everyone that got me to this point! My guerrilla rind graft of a Liberty on a wild crabapple tree seems to of worked.
3 Likes
Several years ago I planted the Nanking and it did well in my area. I no longer have these and this was before I knew enough to consider the dwarfing effect from grafting onto them. Sounds like they do dwarf the tree but you don’t get the early fruiting as you would dwarfing apples. Thanks, Bill
They dwarf the tree a lot! I don’t know why they don’t promote precocity, but there we are.
:-)M
1 Like