Is it possible to bridge graft this time of year? Most people seem to talk about doing it first thing in the spring after things wake up and bark can slip. Can I bridge graft now, in July, with current growing branches, or would I need to wait for next spring, when most other grafting is done? If it’s not a good time to do this, what’s the best thing to do when you have some girdling during the growing season? Will removing growing fruit help the tree focus its energy on healing?
I’m asking because of this dumb (I think) thing I just did, chasing 2 borers in a 5-6 year apple tree. The trunk has had cracked and curling bark for most of its life, and I found the first borer when I broke away a loose bit of bark yesterday, curious to see if new bark had grown beneath. In hindsight it might not have even been a borer, perhaps a more harmless larvae, though seemed to be tunneling through the cambium layer.
For next time, would I be better off letting a tree this old deal with the borers on its own? My feeling is that the tree would be better off without the gardener. 