As an aside (in the GVRD - vancouver area of BC). Anyone else worried about how warm its been of late (bit cooler now), but i’ve seen ornamental cherries only a few days away from blooming already. 
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Gulf Islands here, and yes some trees are about to break with the warm weather we’ve been having. Hopefully we don’t hit a real cold snap in February or that could really be damaging. Keeping my fingers crossed. 
I’ve been loving the warm weather lately. Shorts and no shirt while working outside preparing planting sites for the last few weeks.
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Rob,
I believe you will need to use an interstem to bridge between your cherry and any other stonefruit to include plurries. Either Adara or cherry plum scions would likely work. I have used both for topworking my mature cherry trees over to plum varieties. All my efforts to graft without using an interstem failed. Since I started using interstems my grafts have been succeeding.
Dennis
Kent, wa
Maybe my knife skills could use improvement, but I start with a long scion and prepare the end for grafting before I trim down. In fact, I often/usually attach the whole long scion and then cut to length. That allows me leeway to redo the cut as many times as I need to or can get away with, sometimes losing some buds in the process.
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Okay, I have to ask, what do you plan to do with the new tree, if not plant it? I’m judging 
@murky, I will give it to a neighbor or friend. I essentially have the exact same tree that’s 3 years old. But the honeycrisp branch/graft died. Or I will throw it in a 10gallon grow bag and donate it to the PTA plant sale our elementary school does every spring. When I send all my other 3 truckloads of various cutting and seedlings.
I had been trying to get scions of honeycrisp for the last year and I found no one I knew with a proven tree. That was before I found this lovely forum. My backup plan was to just buy a tree, clip, and give it away. When I saw the 6’ tree at Costco for 27$ bucks I could not pass. But mainly my wife said no more trees. According to her I have a problem. If it was up to me it would find a nice place for it here. I need room for my peach collection and my pluerry coming this spring from raintree. Have to pick my battles. Ha
I am only grafting a honeycrisp apple back to another mixed graft apple. The pluerry is a tree coming from raintree in March. But a very much appreciate your input and knowledge.
Do you all think I should graft the honeycrisp dormant or after it awakens? The timing of when to is what’s messing me up. More than the grafting method itself. I feel solid on that (practiced for fun on hydrangeas and maples for years) and soft stem species. Trees are way easier because they are less floppy than soft stem annuals.
I have seen the decorative plums swelling to show the petals. Just busting out. Way too early. Yikes. The flower cherries are usually a week behind in my neighborhood. Next week is looking multinight frosty.
It won’t matter much when you graft it unless the technique calls for a particular timing, like bark grafting you want to wait for the bark to be slipping.
I do all of my topworking in the spring, or sometimes later, because the weather is better, I don’t have to wait as long to see results, and some species and/or techniques call for it.
Apple is straightforward and relatively forgiving.
edit: I went back to read more of your post. What direction is the branch you will be grafting to facing? Generally, higher in canopy, and South side of tree are favored spots for vigor. Honeycrisp is a relatively low vigor cultivar. I’m concerned that grafting Honeycrisp low, it may not grow into a significant portion of your tree as I expect you intend. The fact that you’ve already lost it (at that same position?) isn’t a good sign. And does that fence shade that area during part of the day?
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2nd trip to the Eugene Costco netted “veteran” peach (redhaven+20) again to fill a hole. wasn’t out the first time I think? otherwise the same trees. “beauty” plum and a few of their cherries also look suitable although Haworth nursery doesn’t publish rootstock so I’d stay away from any non-precocious cherries. something like lapins should be fine
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Right along with you my friend.
Those Costco trees are bigger than the ones I got from raintree, one green world, and burnt ridge.
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The branch points due west I want to graft to. It was the rootstock bud I let go so it is low like you mentioned. Do you think I would be better sharing a top branch with one of the other varieties? Rather than down low?
The tree is against the south side of my lot. The only area that gets full all day sun. Rise to set. The fence is a daylight picket only 3ft tall to keep in my nosey Bassett hound.
Sounds like maybe I should just keep the new tree as a backup. I picked thru all the trees and this one had by far the largest most branched honeycrisp top. There is a lot to work with. Maybe I will try the low sucker and sharing a top scaffold with another variety. Since apples are more forgiving. And then just watch them for vigor down season.
Thank you for your advice.
Honeycrisp was the top graft of the original tree 3 years ago. I chose poorly and it was a smallish scion grafted there at the top spot. Compared to the other varieties grafted down the stem. It never leafed out and was dead after the original planting. This is the first time I am attempting to replace the lost graft on this tree. I wanted it to grow some first.
I’ve done lots of mistakes in top working, but don’t regret many of them. It won’t hurt to put Honeycrisp on that location you had in mind, and you can put in with another cultivar on the South side as well. Make sure you document and label the grafts.
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@Bradybb @murky
How do you think about flavorella plumcot ? Any information plumcot in Pacific Northwest ? Vincent
I probably haven’t tried that one.
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But how do the roots compare? Trees in those skinny bags usually have significant root loss from trimming and grow slowly until enough roots can be replaced.
Rainteee had the biggest saved roots for sure. But I would say the Costco ones have twice the roots as the ones I got from burnt ridge and one green world.
In fairness, the only tree I got from one green world was an Oregon curlfree peach. So probably not a fair sample size.
I don’t know anything about Flavorella. If I’ve looked it up before, I decided it wasn’t likely to do well for me. But I don’t remember if I’ve done that.
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@Bradybb @murky
Its parents are Santa Rosa plum and Apricot both aren’t fruiting here either. See OGW available now but I may skip this one. Thank you so much.
Yeah, at quick look, I may have disregarded it because I’m not a fan of Santa Rosa, or cling stone. (maybe I just haven’t had a good Santa Rosa, but I suspect I just don’t like the flavor).
Also with Apricot hybrids, if the leaves look like apricot, or they bloom really early, or mention susceptibility to diseases - I generally pass.
At least this one ripens early.