2020 Grafting Thread

I have had a Washington Navel that the previous owner planted (12+ years ago). I let them hang till eating, sometimes over a year. They are the best oranges I have had, no store bought orange competes. I have other oranges that hang longer, but unlike the navel, they get fibrous not sweet.

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Do you or can you grow limes?

Several kinds, they produce well. Citrus seem to do well (all are in the best locations in the yard with 70% of full sun south facing location). I was just grafting the lime over from a smaller potted one that is in partial shade, so I can increase yield.

I found my last little scrap of Indian Free scionwood. It was still alive, so I’m giving it one last chance. T-budded two buds on to the rootstock from my earlier failed grafts. Hopefully, I’ll get at least one to take and can let it grow next year.

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Top worked Flavor King on some random Plum tree for a friend. Now I need to graft a pollinating variety.

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wow, that whole tree coming off the cut stump is the graft? Looks great! how long ago did you graft it?

Grafted it 1.5 years ago but my friend was too scared to lop the top off. So I waited for a year and then headed the tree back to the grafted branch.

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Might be easier for your friend to manage pruning if you place the other variety someplace like here:

image

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Any idea what is happening to my poor smokehouse graft?

6 weeks after grafting it was one of my most vigorous growers:

And a few weeks later it looks like this:


The leaves started to blacken and become crispy at the ends. I removed the first half of the leaves fearing a disease that may spread and watered it thoroughly.
The second half of the leaves (which are pictures above) have done the same blackening. I have seen aphids in other parts of the orchard but not on this particular apple. It does seem to still be trying to send out new growth where leaves were removed. There is one other graft showing slight signs of this but not to this extent. Thoughts?

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my initial guess/reaction is overwatering. that’s what I normally think of with black leaf tips but of course it could be many things.

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I agree with @TrilobaTracker. I am only a novice, but in my first year grafting apple rootstocks, 19 of 20 took quickly but then a few weeks later the same thing happened to mine as yours. I had planted them in a bagged potting soil with a “moisture control” formula. They all started well, then began dying one at a time, and those that survived grew rather slowly. It was torturous to watch 13 die over a two to three week period. When I transplanted the survivors into a garden bed this spring, the bottoms of the rootstocks on some were black, or had black roots–and so that is what makes me think it is too much water, or moisture (?)

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Thank you both for the responses. The water issue does make sense now that it is mentioned. All of my grafted trees are in the ground in their “permanent” spots in my newly established orchard. The orchard does slope slightly…and this spring before planting I did notice a few holes draining slower than others, this smokehouse graft is planted in one of those holes. Now I am in Maine, and as many of you have already been made aware of in other threads, the northeast has been very hot and dry the last few months. So being a novice grower, I thought I needed to help my newly grafted trees through the drought with weekly waterings. I gave every tree the same amount of water (a good 5-10 gallon soaking a week) not even thinking back to this spring and those slow draining holes…So I will not give it any more water and see if the new growth comes out of it…Thanks again!

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I had a few newly grafted rootstocks this year that appeared shriveled and sickly and I was afraid they would die, but after giving them some 10-10-10 slow release fertilizer they began to recover and grow. Perhaps a little triple 10 wouldn’t hurt?

Yes, in my experience black roots is a sure sign of rot from overwatering

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Except on persimmons.

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Cool, good to know!
I don’t grow persimmons, which would fall under my “in my experience “ disclaimer.

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Just in case you ever do…Persimmon roots are very black naturally.

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Very interesting! I love to eat em but I’m afraid I have no room to grow em :sleepy:

I was busy and lazy with my persimmon grafts. They didn’t get done until early June but about 80% are budding out.

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A few of my persimmon grafts initially took and died later because I forgot to check them often. The rootstocks have pushed growth without me rubbing them off. Grafts could not competed and died. :weary:

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