Fall pruning/scion collection (apple)

General Fruit Growing
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My tree has gone dormant but the weather is still really nice, so I’ve taken advantage to start pruning now. There are still a lot of leaves on the tree, and while I don’t like dealing with them at least they show me how they block light and air movement, so it’s easier to visualize what the tree will look like next summer.

But there’s the scion question. I have several pieces I’d like to be able to use next spring. So I labelled the scions, wrapped in several layers of plastic, and stuck them in the freezer (not frost-free). I figure they would be frozen if I left on the tree until spring. Next year I’ll graft with them and we’ll see how they do.

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It’s a noble thing to experiment and take chances…and share the results to help others.
Keep us posted. I’ll be one of your cheerleaders.

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I’m always itching to cut scions. I hope your experiment works!!

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Don’t freeze them. Put them in a refrigerator to keep moist. I like to cut mine about a month before bud break.

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Thanks for your comment. I’ve always done it the same as you, but this year I decided to do something different and learn something.

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Try another experiment: Well into cold winter (Feb.?) cut some more scion and put into same freezer, to compare to those from today (Late Summer/Fall).

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No doubt, the less time in storage means higher % successful grafts. But, if it’s not a HUGE difference, be interesting to see the comparisons. Also, be interesting to see if there’s a big reduction in viability from freezing or not. (Obviously at -40 degrees they freeze in Montana in the orchard).

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It’s not something I would ordinarily do or recommend, but wanted to try out of convenience -I happen to be pruning now and there were some nice shoots to save. I actually suspect that I could leave them in a ziplock in the fridge until late April, early May and still get some takes, but freezing should moderate any changes they might make in storage. On the tree they might freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw a few times before they were collected, but in the freezer they would have a more stable environment.

Scions were being collected long before refrigeration was invented, so naturally the way it’s always been done is to leave them on the tree as long as possible. Sometimes they were cut, bundled, and stuck in a snowbank on the north side of the barn, I’ve read, but you couldn’t do that in low-snow areas. (Happily we don’t usually get huge amounts of snow here, and sub zero temperatures are rare too, but not unheard of. Now in eastern Montana it’s a different story. Think western North Dakota.)

I plan to let them stand upright in water long enough to give them a chance to get a good drink, and then try it out. Nothing ventured …

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Sounds good. Keep us posted.

(I think drying out of small scions especially is partly the reason older scions have reduced success…so hydration is part of it no doubt.)

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