Got scionwood, now what?

General Fruit Growing
#56

Thanks!

#57

For those of you within striking distance of Southeast Pennsylvania… a grafting workshop:

https://www.phillyorchards.org/civicrm/?page=CiviCRM&q=civicrm/event/info&reset=1&id=38

#58

That would be nice, but it takes me 5 hours to get there… Need to think about it).

#59

I already signed up for this. Very excited :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

#60

I am getting my root stock today. When should I graft it, before or after planting? If I graft before planting, should planting be delayed, do I have to store the grafted tree refrigerated? How short should root stock be cut for grafting?

#61

I’ve never bench graft. I read some threads here to learn.

This is one of those thread. Bench Grafting Questions - #2 by thepodpiper.

It may answer your question.

2 Likes
#62

I also found this:Bench Grafting Apple Trees

#63

Does bench graft have to be whip and tongue graft, or it still can be cleft? I am going to do just one graft, so I can give it as much care as needed after the grafting, just not sure if I can perform whip and tongue.

#64

bench grafts can be anything you want it to be, w/t, cleft, saddle. Whatever your comfortable with or scion/stock size demands.

#65

Bench graft means, sitting on a bench grafting… more or less. You could be outside on a five gallon bucket sitting there, like at a bench. You can sit on a bench and graft any type of graft, cleft, whip, whip and tongue. That is how I would explain it… bench is not a type of graft. I hope that makes sense… at least it does to me :grinning:

#66

The way I interpret “bench graft” is grafting a scion on a rootstock that is not yet be planted in ground.

w/t offers excellent contact of cambium of scion and a rootstock. If you can do it, good for you. Also w/t when bench graft allow you to easily manipulate both scion and a rootstock in any direction you want.

Doing whip and tongue on a branch of a tree is not as easy. I, for one, do not posses the fine motor skills needed for it.

2 Likes
#67

I understand that bench is not type of graft) But I only can find online references for whip and tongue, so I thought, it is only graft is used to graft to root stock. So to rephrase my question - can grafting to newly arrived bare root dormant root stock be done with cleft or saddle graft?

#68

You can do it with cleft. saddle, or W&T. Bark is hard to do because the rootstock is in a dormant stage.

Tony

#69

Thanks! And how short should I cut the root stock?

#70

I would graft it about 4 to 5 inches above the ground level for just in case the graft fail and you can have enough wood above the ground level to re-graft the second time.

Tony

2 Likes
#71

Good point, but if it takes, how do you keep root stock from growing below the graft?

#72

Plant it deep enough, but not so deep that the graft is buried

#73

You can just rub off the growth below the union.

Tony

#74

Thanks, all!

#75

The simplest would probably just be to top your yellow trans with a graft and keep a few low branches, depending on tree size, how much of it you want to be which apple, etc.

You can also graft to crabs.

Another possibility: m7 suckers like nobodys business. When you see apples w/ little red pencils or whips near the base they are often on m7 and suckering. If you have permission or whatever you could recruit a few of those brought home (i did this recently as a farmstead was bought and made public land, including an orchard) then you’ll have to deal with the suckering yourself at a later date.

Or buy rootstock.

As far as storing, keep the cyan wood in the fridge in the bag it came in and don’t let it dry out. When you do graft parafilm can be extremely useful and make your first cuts somewhat more forgiving.