Holding off grafting due to the heat! 82-85 degrees

General Fruit Growing
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I have a lot more grafts to do but holding off until the temperature dips back down later this week to the upper 60’s and 70’s. I’ve had bad luck grafting in the mid 80’s. What are you going to do about the sudden heat wave?

3

Fri-Sun look much cooler around your parts…probably just hold out until then?

I’m trying to figure out when to put my first spray for curculio… nights are so chilly i probably don’t have to worry for a little while yet.

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4

You’re in better shape than I! PC and EAS both hit with a vengeance here in Northern VA back around 20 April.

I’ve been thinning and bagging apples off and on for a couple weeks now, and I’m seeing scars and frass on a lot of them. Fortunately, there are plenty without strikes. I’ve got 210 apples bagged thus far.

{Note to self: start spraying at petal fall next year.}

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5

Yes that’s what I was thinking to hold off a few days and try it again. It’s either 30’s and raining or 80’s and hot and it may not change this year much. I have a feeling since I’m seeing 85 in April and May in July and August it may rarely drop below the 100+ and 90’s!

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I feel sorry for my late grafts: persimmons, pawpaws and apricots and I scold myself for not grafting them early when it was 50s and humid.

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I’ve used all the good grafting weather we had this year to graft but there has been precious little of it. Grafting in the rain might have been my best option.

8

It depends on what you’re grafting. Now is a good time for chestnuts.

9

I just put together another 50 bench grafted pears. Hoping there will be another round of cooler weather later in the month for planting. Still have 50 more apples to do as well. Regrafted some apple and cherry root stocks that are in the ground this morning. We will see how the heat affects them.

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10

We’ve been stuck in the 50’s to '60’s for a while, so I’ve held off grafting peaches and J. plums because it’s so cool. Probably better weather in about a week.

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11

Decided to gamble and field graft another 30 ohxf333 with my risky pears scions such as abate fetel, Comice, and forelle. Rolling the dice with those anyway so I put them on a non vigorous rootstock that will remain short in heavy clay alkaline soil. Fireblight strikes vigorous growing trees so I’m slowing them down and grafting higher up than normal.