2018 Grafting Thread

I would rub off those emerging leaves below those grafts.

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Good idea. Will do.

You need to do that to every graft and sometimes, do it more than once.

Finally had a day off from work, so I started my 2018 grafting season.

Unusual warmth after an endlessly long winter: 83F with full sun; not a cloud in the sky; no leaves on the trees to hide under yet. It felt hot as hot. I wilted under the relentless sun.

I only got three varieties of apples grafted (with a few backups) before I had to leave to tend to family matters. I guzzled water on the way home. After not seeing it for half a year, the sun really zapped me today.

I executed all clefts and saddles.

Henry Clay apple grafts on a Lodi/Williams’ Pride B.9 frankentree. It took me 4 years to track this one down. Finally obtained it from the Temperate Orchard Conservancy, which saved it from the Botner collection. This guy better damn take.

I also threw on a stick of @Stan’s Wickson:

I also put Wickson on another G.935 frankentree to accompany Pixie Crunch, Chestnut, and Pomme Gris (my LITTLE APPLES tree).

I put a stick of Yates apple from @scottfsmith on some 111 roots before calling it a day, and retreating down the mountain.

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I have a LOT more grafting to do.

This is just some of the scionwood I inspected from the fridge today. Peaches/nect wood is the center pile. All other stonefruits is the pile on the left. Apples/pears not pictured (had them packed for travel to my orchard). Pile on the right is everything else miscellany (persimmons, jujus, etc etc).

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Funny how the scion piles just seem to get larger every year! Enjoy.

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We had some rainy and cold weather in March (cold by California standards :wink: ), so I’m behind on grafts compared to the last year. I’ve finished grafting all stone fruit (apricots, cherries, Asian plums, Euro plums, peaches, nectarines), figs, and mulberries. Didn’t count the exact number but over 200 grafts made so far (all field grafts). Still have a bunch of apples and pears to graft, have to finish them in the next couple of weeks.

Update: Here is the exact count of grafts in 2018 so far:
Apricots and Apriums: 60
Cherries: 6
Asian Plums and Pluots: 34
European Plums: 29
Peaches and Nectarines: 49
Figs: 8
Mulberries: 24
Total: 210

Making one field graft takes me about 20 minutes on average, so this is about 70 hours of grafting. :slight_smile:

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Amazing, ache and pain anywhere?

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No pain, this was done over the period of one and a half months, a hew hours here and there, a bit more on weekends.

I appropriated your storage tub idea

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Flavor King on native Mexican plum seems to be doing well. The rootstock has been in the ground there for a year. I grafted it about a month ago when the native plum was just starting to push up buds. So far so good. Love it! Thanks for the scions @Drew51

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Nice! I just started grafting here, still early. I have so much I need to start early. I’ll be grafting for a bit, when I get a chance, I’ll do more. Only rootstock grafting will be for mulberries.
When i say just started…today was the first day!

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Did some grafting of pear , apricot and peach. Temperature was about 60 and will be sunny after that. Save some peach scion for last round when temp hits 70 .

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my Asian pear grafting was done more than a month ago.now they are pushing buds. I just J. Plum grafting done this past weekend.

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Here are my three apple grafts, sitting under lights today because of rain. Doing very nicely, the Goldrush sprout is about 4", the Stayman about 3", the Suncrisp lagging a bit at abt 2", maybe because of a thinner rootstock? But, it has picked up some growth over the last few days.

Stayman, on left, then Goldrush

Suncrisp, on left, and Stayman

I have to get these outside soon, because I started my veggies a few days ago, and when they sprout, I’ll have to lower the lights down to them. It’s sitting on a heat pad, that explains the condensation on the clear lid:

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Glad you’re having some success! And don’t worry too much about which is ahead right now. I had some last year I started that were dogs—grew like 4 inches all of last year. I just planted them in their “forever homes” this spring and they’ve taken off!

A variety that’s going to get big will do so, I think, whether it’s this year or next year. :slight_smile:

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Too much condensation. Be sure to keep it wiped nearly clean. A light mist only on the inside, subdood.

Some pears and cherries. 25 of 25 cherries and I swear it looks like 174 or 175 pears :slight_smile:

Dax

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Wow, you have been busy Dax. Are you going to leave them in the containers till autumn or replant during the summer?
When you graft in hundreds you usually get in trouble with space and lack of containers so I am often keeping more rootstocks per 1 container as well. Then usually carefully replant out in the soil anytime during the year cause by autumn it would get too crowded. Plants do get in shock and wilt but if you water enough they eventually pull through and recover. Just wondering if you are doing it the same way

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Here is clarks little yellow, starting to push some growth out the top of the wax.

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Great Jason! Keeping the torch burning. I grafted it yesterday. A beautiful 68 degrees day. I did about 20 pear grafts. I chopped the Yulu Fragrant pear to 5 small sticks with one bud each. Hopefully a few will take for insurance.

Tony

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