That is too early, but looking good so far.
Well I guess I’ll be doing my most grafts ever this spring. On the agenda…
Apples
Akane
Arkansas Black
Kidd’s Orange Red
Liberty
Northfield Beauty
William’s Pride
Cinnamon Girl
Westman Rd
Cabot Russet
High Lake
Florina
Pixie Crunch
Dayton
Claygate Pearmain
Black Oxford
Sweet Sixteen
Prima
Goldrush
Blue Pearmain
Kerr
Hubbardston Nonsuch
Pristine
Bonkers
Colorado Orange
Pears
Bell
Tyson
Shinko
Korean Giant
Clark’s Small Yellow
Drippin’ Honey
Turnbull
Peaches
Challenger
Redhaven
Intrepid
Contender
Pawpaws
Garage West
Big Ben
Susquehanna
Tropical Treat
Regulus
IXL
Central
Plums
Green Gage
Hopefully I can get on the apples and pears soon.
So, I’m not the only one to laugh at himself in the midst of all this. Live and learn!
I have never grafted before but have been feverishly reading and watching videos about it to learn all I can. I am desperately wanting to get my grafting started but the weather is just not cooperating here in southern Indiana, 6B. It is cold/chilly, constant rain, high winds and tornado warnings. Just doesn’t seem like optimal grafting weather to me. Below freezing temps are in store for April 7-9, so that concerns me also. After that, it appears things may be getting warmer. I just hope I am not too late getting started.
I ordered my scion wood from Brambleberry Farm in Paoli, Indiana and received it in mid March. It looks very nice and every package had an extra stick thrown in. I put it in the basement fridge where there are no fruits or veggies and turned the temp down to keep the scions cold. Hopefully they will not start budding before I can graft them. I am scared to look at them so will let them be till I get ready to use them.
Scion wood awaiting grafting:
Mulberry: Gerardi Dwarf, Varaha, Illinois Everbearing
Jujube: Sugar Cane, Xu Zhou, Shi-Hong
Plum: AU Rosa, Waneta
Apple: William’s Pride (Co-op 23)
Goumi: Carmine
Peach: Reliance
Persimmon: DEC Goliath, Dollywood, Rosseyanka
Pawpaw: KSU Chapelle, Prima 1216
Pears: Korean Giant, Honeysweet, Kieffer
Pecan: Kanza
Now that I’ve put it in writing here, it sounds like a lot for a first try, but I guess I will have an increased chance of something being successful. I have rootstock I will be using planted all over the place such as apples, pears, pawpaw, mulberry, pecan, Nanking Cherry, Hanson’s Bush Cherry, and numerous wild persimmon trees and callery pears.
I have a R4T3 jujube on Tigertooth rootstock and a Tigertooth jujube on its own roots that I planted last spring. Both have grown well and are sending up suckers from the roots. I may try to graft to the suckers and move them elsewhere, although I don’t know how that will work. Do I just dig them up carefully from the mother plant, cut them loose, and plant them elsewhere? Not sure. I will also graft over the Tigertooth, as from what I have read, it ripens too late for me to get much from it here. It appears to be quite a vigorous tree.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I am so excited to get started!!
Sandra
I recommend lots of practice with throw away wood.
I’d also recommend starting with easy stuff like apples and pears your first year, but looks like you’re past that stage of planning
Yes, I have already gone over the edge for my first year learning this. . Unfortunately, that is how I approach most new things, much to my husband’s dismay.
I will start with the apples and pears, since those would probably be the earliest things to graft anyway. I have already been practicing on a few branches I cut from trees, and it is NOT pretty. But I won’t be deterred. I did buy some gloves, because I would like to keep my fingers. I plan to get a bunch more branches to practice on, if the rain will ever let up.
I bought some kind of grafting tool on Amazon, but it came with no directions, and I am not sure how to use it. I am spatially impaired and always have trouble with figuring out how things go or should be put together. Will have to get my husband to look at it and tell me how the stick is supposed to be inserted. He will probably die laughing, even though he is used to my lack of spatial intelligence. I also bought a grafting knife which just seems easier to me.
Thanks for the tips. I need all the help I can get,
Sandra
Most grafting knives don’t come grafting sharp.
I’m planning to graft pears Sunday. I have about 25 rootstocks in containers most of which have enough growth to support a graft. I’ll find enough callery trees in the area to finish out my planned 40+ varieties of pears.
I will probably start on apples Monday. I have 50 B118 rootstocks from Willamette which are in 5 gallon containers ready to graft.
I have about 20 persimmon varieties to graft most of which will go on native rootsprouts in my garden.
Pecan grafts will be on a dozen trees which are established around my house, also, several more on my place near Hamilton Alabama. It is still early for pecans so I will be watching carefully for the right stage of rootstock growth and weather to coincide.
I have a few walnut grafts to make of which Fately 5 carpathian is top of the list. I may do a few black walnuts too.
I can see then when I click on them.
What method do you use to graft feijoa?
I think I used a simple whip and tongue.
It appears to be 100% success.
My Flavor King graft has grown about 3ft since grafting. I have it supported but it seems weak and spindly. Can I prune it to encourage it to grow thicker or do I let it ride?
A member shared feijoa wood with me that I grafted today in a brief window of beautiful weather. I did a whip and tongue and a side cleft, not sure what its called.
Also grafted 4 varieties of loquats from OGW. I lost track of the last bit of Angelino, I wanted to put it on more than one tree.
On the loquats I just did whatever I felt like for each graft, 2 of each variety:
Well, we planted our benchgrafts and rootstock out Monday through Wednesday. Then we got 6" of rain since Thursday. Are they toast? They were all still dormant.
"After that, it appears things may be getting warmer. I just hope I am not too late getting started.’
I am in your zone (Northern KY), and have the same temperatures coming up. I am going to wait till Saturday to continue my apples/pears. The nice thing about grafting is that it is not an all-or-nothing activity. It is very forgiven, my first year, I grafted pears in early March, 40-50s on day of graft and days later, and still had a 33% success rate.
April is a good time to do the grafting in our zone, so definitely not too late yet.
" I may try to graft to the suckers and move them elsewhere, although I don’t know how that will work. Do I just dig them up carefully from the mother plant, cut them loose, and plant them elsewhere? Not sure."
Best plan; in the fall, use a shovel to sever the root between the mother plant and the sucker, this way the sucker can establish its own root system during fall/winter/early spring. Move the sucker in early spring while it is still dormant. Since you haven’t done that, I would graft on the sucker but keep it attached to the mother plant till you sever the sucker from the mother in the fall and move it next spring (while dormant)
MF
Nice fit. Good luck!
First time apple grafter- several of my scions were pretty small diameter and were branch tips. I’m about two weeks out from grafting and the first sign of life I see on some of these is a flower bud swelling in the apical position. Should I just let this go until a vegetative bud starts opening and then pick the flowers off or should I remove the flowers now before they open?
Thanks!