i have 2 aurora. only 1 has started to produce. they are good sized but not nearly that big. hopefully as they get older they will get bigger. i also have a indigo gem and treat. just added honeybee and another aurora last spring and have beauty and beast coming in in may. i bet your long summer days have something to do with berry size . i bet black currants would grow great for you there as well. they make the best jam and juice hands down. i have to say that now that i have honeyberries, im not as interested in my blueberries anymore. alot less work to grow and the snow doesnt prune the honeyberries like my blueberries get.
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A friend of mine grew these last fall they are 2nd year Boreal Beauty. He only had a few on the bush so I will be surprised if this is the size they will be when the bushes mature.
The long hours of sunlight are very advantageous for growing. Pretty much all cold hardy
small fruits do really well, are large sized and high Brix. Recent warming trends are helping, even some sweet cherries are starting to make it in select areas. Last year I grafted a Bing on Krymsk 5, hope it makes it.
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Has anyone used OHxF333 graft to callery? I have shoots to dig from a wind-dropped Bradford, and will have tops cut from the pears I graft this spring. I want this to work well enough to last until the OHxF333 roots and then cut off callery later. I am looking for a smaller tree than callery will get me.
Or I can try Winter Banana interstem on a dwarf apple if I have enough of that. Does that actually work, and for how long?
Do you plan to plant the graft below the soil so the 333 roots, or stool it afterwards? Not sure how you plan to root the 333. It’s my understanding that pear does not stool well, most pear rootstock is from tissue culture. Regardless, I’d give it a shot !
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damn those are some big haskap!
Yes, that is probably best for establishing the new variety. But if the new variety is more vigorous than the existing one, it may be difficult to keep the original variety going well.
Also, assumes you have no intent of going open center in the future.
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Hoping to bury the graft and have OHxF333 root. Otherwise, hoping it dwarfs the tree. Just deciding the best experiments for the cut tops of pear and apples, might as well root what I have. If I end up buying next year, that was the idea anyway.
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Another thought- I believe I can get lots of Chaenomeles (flowering quince) suckers. Does anyone think the OHxF333 would the take as a graft on Chaenomeles root? Again, only need this to work for the initial season.
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Hi @franc1969 no, use what you have the callery; then graft ohxf 333 on it; Keep the rootsucker in the ground and allow the 333 to become well-established for a year, after;
dig up the root-sucker the following Spring, bury your work so the 333 will root; after 2-year, come on back and you’ll have a well established (great size tree for transplanting) root system on the 333. dig it up and find your union and cut above it to keep it all on 333.
…to aid 333 in rooting & at the time you are to bury, scratch off the bark on opposite sides going at least 6-7" in length on the 333 scion while of course keeping the roots from the Callery; then paint ‘Dip n’ Grow’ over those wounds… I recommend you do not skip this step with Dip n’ Grow.
best regards,
Dax
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Here’s something quick I put together. Dax
Basic Directions and Instructions Rooting Hardwoods and Softwoods Using Dip n’ grow Rooting Hormone:
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I don’t want to gain a reputation here as a crazy person but I have some OHxF333 rootstock and I’m going to try grafting winter banna onto it and growing it as an apple tree. Thoughts or recommendations about this experiment?
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I don’t know anything about winter banana nor do I need to. I have a recommendation.
Graft your pear and as you’re rubbing off the growth below the union to keep the rootstock clean of any growth that appears, decide upon (1) or (2) to keep. Allow them to become branches but head them back after they grow to an inch each this year so a bud is formed.
Allow the pear scion to grow this year. That’s why you’re heading the branch you’re created back. You’re going to stop it dead in its tracks this year and force it to set/produce a bud that will resume growth at a later time. Allow the focus to be the growth of the new pear cultivar during year one.
Year two, create a branch from the shoot below the rootstock you set a bud on that’s 333. Do you experiment on the branch of 333 below the rootsock with winter banana to apple whenever it’s ready.
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Good idea! Part of the motivation is that I don’t have enough pear scions so I thought I might as well try this.
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Thanks- you just described what I decided on. Good to know my late night musings are not crazy. Now to figure out deer fencing for the area where the callery is.
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can someone help me with timing? I have some peach and plum scions in the fridge and some dormant rootstocks in tree sleeves. I have a greenhouse that won’t go below freezing, a heating mat and lights, and a callus pipe. which tools and timing will be best?
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YES! YES! YES!
Great Question!
What should ‘one’ consider when choosing a branch to graft to???
My 1-2-3
- the branch will not be pruned away in few years.
If the branch itself is not in good angle, location, etc. and you plan to prune it away to enforce the tree structure, grafting a scion onto will not help much. (I must confess, when I have scions leftover but not right branches left, out of desperate, I have done that. But I face decision every year should or not I remove that branch)
2)the branch is about same size as the scion. I mostly do a nice and easy cleft grafting or WT and try to avoid fancy grafting methods. But if scion size either too small or too big, out of desperate, I will try something new but without high hopes.
3)the branch is on the right tree😜.
I once grafted a apricot onto pear (no, I was not drunken. Just a mislabeled scion on my part). That poor apricot survived for two season. I had to watch it agonizing for two springs and summurs. That was a torture for it as well for me to look at.
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I would start with ,…
is my knife sharp ! .?
Will it will easily shave the hair on your arm …
That’s where I start.
You would not want to have a operation with a dull knife ,
? would you ?
We “ are” talking plant surgery here !
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Are your talking about bench grafting, right? You have not planted your rootstocks in ground yet?
yes bench graft and they’ll stay in the greenhouse as long as they need to