What cherries are you growing, Ann?
Ann,
Welcome. What kind of help you are looking for?. We also have many CA members here.
There are several of us grown-ups that want to branch out into new endeavors. This is the place to be. Lots of advice and encouragement to be had. Welcome!!
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Right now, I have mazzard rootstock in the ground (it is doing well!). I am trying to graft it with Rainier scion bud wood.
I am thinking itās too hot, 105 F. I am seeing the buds drying up within a week and the budding tape cracking off.
What do you think?
Thanks,
Ann
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Ann,
Would you mind posting your questions in the General Fruit Growing category, please?
This thread is only for introduction. Cherry is one of the favorite fruit among growers here. There will be a lot of forum members, in CA and outside, who will be happy to help you with their knowledge.
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@tbg9b 
good to have another āpunnyā person on this forum!
welcome! Iāll look forward to reading your posts.
pomgranny in VA
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Welcome, Ann!
I āfeel your 70 year old painā!
I figure that working hard gardening or growing fruit trees - either kills us - or keeps us YOUNG!
I go back and forth on that one! 
pomgranny
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Hi everyone, Iām Scott and Iāve been planning a backyard āorchardā over the past few months.* Every Google search points me back to this forum, so I figure I should just sign up already!
*Really, Iāve been āplanningā to some degree or other for years, but as of this year Iām finally in a position to get serious about it! Iām in Portland, OR, zone 8b. Iām preparing about 600 sq ft for apples, and weāll be putting in other fruit trees as well (quince, cherry, fig, pear, etc). Iām looking forward to learning about rootstocks and training methods for those apples, because all the advice I find is pretty overwhelming and probably overkill for just backyard trees. Plus Iād like to start actually talking to people about these things, rather than passively reading about them ā my brain is at capacity there!
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Youāre in a good place. Iām still asking advice and there is always someone helpful. Welcome Scott.
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Welcome Scott!
Iām doing orchards now for over 10 years and this place is the best when you want a good advice on just about anything.
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I grew up in Eugene, OR, Western Oregon has has favorable fruit growing weather so it should be a fun adventure. Definitely want to plant some berries, there are few places in the US where they grow better.
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Welcome Scott. Iām a bit west of you near the coast.
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Welcome Scott!
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Oh donāt I know it ā my wife planted four blueberry bushes when she was a kid, and we recently moved back onto that same property (multi-gen house + ADU thing w/ her parents). Theyāre some 30 yrs old and still give amazing fruit!
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Thanks! My wife went to Whitworth and her best friend lives in Spokane Valley ā we head up there every year or so (though not lately of course).
I am in the Valley as well.
Hello everyone,
After so many months of reading through the wealth of information on this forum I am excited to finally join! I grew up in the city and suburbs and my parents always had a decent vegetable and flower garden. When I was 10 I spent one year of my childhood living with my grandma in the country. She had almost every imaginable temperate climate fruit you could think of and was known in the area as a top grafter. I remember riding our bikes together to look for ditch apples to use as rootstock. It only made sense years later why she did that. Most importantly the flavors from her garden were amazing and nothing like the bland fruit supermarkets sell! That memory has stuck with me for decades and secretly I have always wanted to replicate something similar for my family to experience but never had the space or the know-how. The most we were able to have is small vegie garden behind our first home in suburbia. In 2017 when our twin daughters were born, my wife and I finally purchased a property sitting on 5 acres in central Illinois that has allowed us to start a huge garden and backyard orchard. Previous owner had already planted a few fruit trees but about half of them were girdled by a careless lawn care company hired by the real estate company. Having these few trees even though they didnāt produce much rekindled the itch to grow more fruit. So far I have an older orchard comprised mainly of bare root and box store bought trees (pear, apple, peach, plum, nectarine, apricot, and cherry) and raspberry, blackberry, blueberries, currant, gooseberries, and grapes. I also have a newer block with mostly grafted trees that I started this year. Thank you @clarkinks for your research into Callery rootstocks! All of my self-grafted pears are on Callery. I would never have had the courage to try grafting had I not known of this cheap and plentiful source of pear rootstock. Next year I plan to try grafting more apples, pears, plums as well as trying cherries if I can get some rootstock. I have also learned to be keen on noticing what is growing well in someoneās yard especially if they are larger trees that have thrived with minimal attention in our region. Most people have no issues allowing you to take some scions to perpetuate the tree. Iām slowly realizing the challenges of our local climate and the pest pressures that make things so much harder here in the Midwest so looking forward to learning from the experts on this site!
Greg
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Welcome Greg!
Welcome, Greg. Sounds like you have a good love of fruit and are off to a good start. Iād say lots of us here have knocked on a door to ask for a cutting off a nice looking fruit or nut tree. I did it last year to ask for some chestnut wood and the man was so nice he ended up showing me some good size seedling trees in his yard and let me dig them up- putting me 1-2 years ahead of where Iād been with only a grafted cutting. Anyway, its always nice to have like minded folks like you join us here. We are all still learning and folks here are always happy to offer advice and answer questions. Good luck!
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