Anyone have experience using seedling P. umbellata, P. mexicana, P. angustifolia, or any other native plum for grafting, rather than the typical clonals such as Mariana, Citation, etc?
I also graft citrus on seedlings and airlayered trifoliata, and My experience has been that the seedling trifoliata make better citrus rootstock, and I was wondering if native seedling plums would also make stronger root systems. I would also presume that native plums would have some of the same benefits the clonals bring, since they grow without any help. It’s also beneficial that natives can be propagated by planting stratified seeds.
Thoughts, experiences, comments?
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Up here in Mississippi about 75% of my plum trees are on Chickasaw ( P. angustifolia) and the remaining are on Mariana. I’ve had good success using careful selections of chickasaw sprouts from various locations. P. angustifolia will accept almost any plum you put on it, even Peaches and Nectarines. It’s been my go to rootstock for over 50 years.
PS: I have about 86 plum trees.
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Are you grafting onto naturally occurring sprouts and letting them grow out in place, becoming part of the thicket?
I graft onto American persimmon root sprouts and occasionally move them, but I much rather sever and let them grow in place without transplanting.
What started this thread is I have a large, wild P. umbellata that grows as a single trunk without suckers. I was curious if anyone had experience with them. I do have several young Chickasaws that I planted with the intention of creating thickets, especially for grafting sprouts.