Grafting can be fun and entertaining. I just happened to think about all my scions that I collected in January 2021 and I looked through some of them and as you would expect some were dry but many had buds that were swelling. The ones pictured below looked dry but had a mix of buds enlarging and some not at all. I took the three scions out and rinsed them off and placed the ends into some water. I will let them soak up water overnight and then I plan to graft them tomorrow. Will they grow? If they take, will they be winter hardy?
2 Likes
I think that your best chance is chip budding with the most dormant appearing buds. And yes, if they take they should heal in and be winter hardy. Go for it!
1 Like
Thanks
1 Like
I’d snip the dried bottoms off and put back in the water.
I’ve whip and tongue grafted dormant apple scions in September, with a high take rate, and some survived the winter 
Ours is pretty mild.
Unfortunately, several were to a tree that got girdled by voles and succumbed.
I wouldn’t plan to store and save scions for grafting until this late, but it can work.
5 Likes
Good advice. They have been snipped.
1 Like
Here in upstate NY I’ve chip budded apples into early-mid September and had them still make it through the winter. One I did last year has put on almost 5 feet of growth this year! A nice seedling bittersharp I found on some relatives land.
3 Likes
I grafted a 9 month old plum scion with success.
3 Likes