I thought I’d start a new thread for 2024 Spring grafting.
This week I received two of my orders.
Fruitwood Nursery:
Satsuma Improved J Plum
Camp Joy Sauna J Plum
Mariposa J Plum
Magness, Warren, and Ayers pear.
Slate Hill Edible Landscape
Luisa J Plum
Elephant Heart J Plum
Splash Pluot
White Ume Apricot
Still waiting on:
Maple Valley Orchard
Early Golden J Plum
Maxine Pear
Cricket Hill
Ya Li Asian Pear
Pai Li Asian Pear
Shinko Asian Pear
Gem Pear
Burnt Ridge
Chojuro Asian Pear
Atago Asian Pear
I have had about 430 chill hours this winter which has been a good one for here. With the last week of warmer weather, I’m seeing some bud enlargement on my Cot-n-Candy aprium and Flavor Grenade pluot. I hope they can hold on as I think there is more winter to be had in February.
My 6 Rootpac-R rootstock trees I planted late summer never lost their leaves. I’m wondering if I can go ahead and top and graft those trees now? I’ll leave a small nursing branch on each.
I usually read that you wait for new growth on rootstock before grafting, but these never went fully dormant, probably because they put on very late new growth upon transplant when they arrived.
I am also wondering when is too early to graft for dormant trees. If I see flower /vegetative buds on a dormant tree start elongating some, could I graft now?
Spring is in my mind even if it isn’t quite in the air.
Somebody has to start one for the 2024 season, right!?
Snipped a little on one apple cultivar…so I got started yesterday.
Also received first scions in mail. And I stuck some currant and honeyberry cuttings in a couple pots.
Buds coming fast on Aurora honeyberry…other cultivars, not yet.
You should have no problem with either of those, at least on the things I’m used to doing (pear, apple, plum, and a little apricot). I do suggest place two scions on each rootstock, if possible, if you offset them -it helps keep nutrients flowing to the other side of the cleft or cut which helps ensure that it will callous over and heal completely.
I’ve saved dozens of grafting videos this year so I’ll pick what I think I can accomplish. Might try slipping a few chip grafts in addition to the top graft.
I’ll keep the nurse branch to just a handful of leaves.
Boy, it’s really hard waiting to graft. I’ve gotten in more than half of my orders for this year.
With such inconsistent winter here, we may be past our last freeze already, or it might not be for another 4 weeks.
Last spring was the highly unusual late March 27 degrees that knocked out any chance for fruit for my few trees that were finishing bloom.
I know for grafting stone fruit all the writing says wait until you see the first new growth on the host tree… But have many grafted successfully while both the host and scion are dormant a few weeks from spring?
Additionally I have some late summer planted grafted rootstocks that had a good bit of new growth that never dropped their leaves. Are they still moving sap? Could those be topped and regrafted to what I want now? I can keep a nurse branch on them as I have a few rootstock shoots as well.
Time to find something else to think about and do so I don’t jump the gun.
Hmmmmmm. Summer veg. Place orders for seed?
PS here is one of my Rootpac-R rootstock with Desert Gold peach grafted. I will remove the peach and graft other fruit. I see bud swell as well as green leaves from last summer.
Depends on the species…I did my first apple graft yesterday here in KY.
A fresh cut small scion to a seedling I’ve raised. Sap is up. That’s 6 days earlier than I have previously grafted apples or pears.
My Burnt Ridge scions arrived today…completely loose in the USPS packaging. The scion was simply placed in a zip loc type bag with a piece of damp paper… No individual wrapping.
The sharp cut end of the scion appears to have punched through the bottom of the zip loc and the whole bottom was open.
If that’s how Burnt Ridge sends their scion, I’m not buying from them again.
I have been grafting all year round including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. This week I have to unwrap the top portion of the para-film. The soft tissue of the citrus scion is going to rot because of all the rain I’m getting. Moisture is a problem. Some of the scions have been wrapped for 2 whole months or more. The nectarine scion is better, since most of it is hard wood and I can see green bud. I see the orange tree is active and the peach tree is coming off hibernation. The Almond is going to flower soon.
It’s life…USPS is about to go broke despite raising rates on us folk every 6 months…UPS shedding 10 or more thousands of employees…half the FedEx deliveries to incorrect address or a day late…
Out of probably 30 scion purchases and exchanges…only one or a couple individuals put parafilm around individual scions…only 3or 4 dip ends in paraffein or something…
so you’ll have to get over it.
And don’t be asking me for scions if you expect each one to be parafilmed.
I’ve received scions from several nurseries and now from a forum member. Burnt Ridge was the least cared for packaging wise and it has nothing to do with the carrier.
And no I don’t expect anyone to be parafilm wrapping…though I’d consider it for sending mine out only because it would just be a few here and there.
My Self harvested scions I will be grafting in the coming months
Hanfu Apple
Harrow Sweet, conference, Gute Luise Pears
Sofie’s gift, and Sosnovskaja persimmons
Kolono and brave heart Plum hybrids.
Bouche De Betizac Chestnut
Sweet and Monster Mispel
Shelly Mulberry
Xenia and Chudo Vishnya hybrid cherries.
I dug up two Lovell suckers last year and planted them in some free space on the North side of my house where they only get a few hours morning sun. They grew to about pencil thick. I’ve got two peach scions coming from Fruitwood sometime in the next month or so (Oldmixon Free and New Zealand Black). They don’t have any deer protection, but the deer path through my yard is on the South side of the house, so only a few branches I didn’t care about got nibbled back a bit. I don’t really want to leave them there the rest of this season.
Would digging them up and putting them in pots now and keeping them sheltered and out of the sun until I get the scions. Grafting them and keeping them indoors at 70F in indirect light for about a month for the graft to hopefully take, and then acclimating them and planting them out after the weather has warmed up work OK? Or does it need to be warmer than that?
Well as I wait for pushing blooms to be followed by vegetative growth, I at least have 5 rootstocks who’s grafted trees never went dormant from late planting and growth.
Tomorrow I’ll remove the old grafts and put on plum and pluot scion.
I’m excitedly anxious.
I’ll save some scion in case they don’t take. Perhaps I’ll get a second chance.
