That’s what I did for one Asian pear, but it now looks bad. I might have to redo this grafting, I did it back in Nov.
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Typically, grafting is done when the tree isn’t in a state of dormancy, i.e. ( November) for your microclimate I’d think the months of Feb., or March would be more applicable for grafting fruit trees.
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This is my first year grafting and I have many scions coming that I am looking forward to (most excited for Starkey and Milo Gibson). I also have a plethora of local wild trees I am going to be grabbing scions from. One of my favorites was split in half by a fallen spruce this winter so I am going to make sure I save it.
Aside from apples I am pleased that Fedco ended up selling Lenningrad cherries again this year. I almost picked one up last year but ended up not doing so as I did not have confidence that any of their other sweet cherries would survive this far north. This summer, however, I saw someone here on the forum mention that Montmorency are able to pollinate both sour and sweet cherries so I am going to give Lenningrad a try after all.
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I have almost 2000 berries mainly haskap and currants in two smallish orchards. a bit over 200 persimmon seedlings, a small 100 hazelnut orchard and 100 pear orchard to manage and some other areas of fruit trees, small chestnut orchard also… I am going to counselling for my fruit tree planting addiction this winter… Because it is a bit to keep up with I started a spreadsheet to help overview the tasks, even though some things are like 100 tasks in one word like garden spring planting or grafting, I think it helps to overview things like this. i’m not done at all but i think others would enjoy seeing it.
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Only try sweet cherries if you have plenty of room to spare, as they are not the best gamble in 4a. I speak from experience.
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Gonna plant a bunch of new trees at our other property. Hoping to get a well out there also.
Ordered so far:
From Adams County:
Dapple Dandy pluot
Coralstar peach
Cresthaven peach
July Rose peach
PF-19-07 peach
From Fedco:
Ember hybrid plum
Lavina plum
Toka plum
From St.Lawrence:
Toka plum
Ptitson #10 plum
From Burnt Ridge:
Nadia pluerry
Lots of plum and peach rootstock
I also have 15 bench grafted paw paws and some bench grafted peaches and plums ready to go. Planning on doing a few dozen more cold hardy plums and peaches this spring. Might try to plant 10 Tokas out there. Also have scion wood coming in for some Ukrainian plum varieties. Don’t know a whole lot about them.
Also going to dig up a few trees from my present orchard and move to the new place. If they make it, they make it. Mostly they’re just in the way right now.
Dug the first one up today. Montmorency cherry. Had already been transplanted once. Here it is. Needs pruned, we’ll see what happens…
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Nice root mass.
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Thanks, It was planted in a mound. 10x easier to dig out than ones that were just planted in our native soil.
PF-19-07 peach
This is the one peach I was super close to ordering this year after looking at a whole lot of them, and I don’t even like peaches all that much (it’s the fuzz…I was attacked by a peach tree as a child, it was a traumatic event).
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this year is jujube, harrow pears, and trying to get fruit out of the trees from the last few years. I also have a bunch of pawpaw seedlings and a few chestnut crabapple to put in. I want to build a well drained area in our drought and full sun patch for some prickly pears I’ve got. those are rooted already and will go out in spring
then the veggie garden. trying to get as many perennials in as I can. I feel like last year was just so so bad. hoping this year is better. I’ll be fighting the aphids from day one. they took over last year
also want to try more grafts but my timing is still a crap shoot. I never know when to do this
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I got two Toka last year because I heard it was nicknamed the bubblegum plum because it tastes like bubblegum. I am hoping that rains true.
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I have a few Toka trees at my present location. Yes, it does have that flavor and is very good. I’m probably going to plant a bunch because I like the flavor and they are fairly reliable and cold hardy. Only downside is the small size. New location is at the top of a hill. Probably good for fighting spring frosts, but also exposed more to extreme cold in the winter. .
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Good idea! My counselor said if I add one more tree he will come out and personally start plucking them out, 1 for 1.
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My plan is to move the Golden Transparent Green Gage to the ground this weekend.
How big do Toka fruit get on a mature tree with some thinning?
In addition to the above aforementioned, I decided two years ago that one of my goals was to create a Frankintree out of a 9-year-old Freedom Tree at the house. It will be a tree to honor the Univerisity of Minnasotos apple breeding program over the course of their research. The tree to date will have Keepsake, Fireside, Frostbite, Zestar, Sweet16, Snow Sweet, Wealthy, and Haralson grafted onto it.
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This year… my plans include adding several fruit trees to our future new home location.
I transplanted a wild callery pear yesterday to the new location … and hope to get one more done today. I plan to graft improved keiffer, orient and some scions from a homestead keffir pear to those two callery.
Going to purchase and plant IKKJ persimmon… and i am getting scionwood of several american and hybrids to graft to my own rootstock this spring.
Plan to purchase and plant gerardi and silk hope mulberries ay my new place.
I have already planted novamac and early mcintosh apples (grafted last spring) over at the new place.
I have a chicago hardy fig currently over wintering in my garage (that i rooted and grew from a cutting last year)… going to plant it at the new location too.
I have two more hickories 1 oak and a large pine tree that i am taking down (at my new place) to get more morning sun to my fruit trees and future garden spot at my new place.
I plan to plant a crab apple near my novamac and early mcintosh… and hope to get that done this spring too.
Plan to make another raspberry bed and plant it with mostly black and purple raspberries.
Would love to graft over my lang jujube with honey jar, chico or any of the sweet tart varieties.
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It is going to be a busy spring !!!
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Apple bloom time here runs from 10-25 May, which begins scab spraying up until about June 25, when I fertilize. Before that, I dormant prune and cut brush from around March 10, with cleft grafting around April 1, and bark/side grafting around the 20th, and a dormant spray of copper around the 1st of May.
I’ve got 11 new trees going in around April 15th, about 10 new and existing varieties to graft in by scion, and about a dozen bench grafts of existing varieties onto homegrown seedling stock about evenly split between Northern Spy and Antonovka.
Working towards about 50 mostly seedling trees (just a few M111/B118) of 20+ varieties, chosen for continuous ripening from late July (Yellow Transparent) to mid-November (GoldRush).
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8 raspberry plants in container, I already see green shoots from the Latham Raspberry plant that I bought on impulse from Home Depot. Can’t wait to see the rest. However I must lay the pot in concrete blocks otherwise they might take over my garden.
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Perhaps this will be the final big adjustment to my back lot:
Delete four trees. Plant two ordered, 1 already grafted & another hoped-to-be grafted.
As the desert creeps closer, russet apples show me they cannot succeed here. Pretty dashed about it, as the first Hunt were unforgettable & Rosemary just cries to be tried everywhere. Rosemary tree & fruit have so much going for them.
Bardsey had its last chance in '23. All its fruit were invaded by codling worm & dropped. Again. I cannot wrap these before petal fall & the moths flock to them incredibly early. Plant Shackleford near its spot.
Try grafting Sundance at the first opportunity on the root now supporting Rosemary.
Once Hunt is down, plant Otterson near its spot.
Take down Connell Red (nice spreading tree, huge lovely fruit, ephemeral taste in conditions foreign to Minnesota) & plant Kirke’s Blue plum near its base. This will put the only other Europlum I know of within foraging distance for honeybees, close to Ersinger, which proved its worth in '22.
Graft to & later dig out the rootstock bed, standing in a spot that was supposed to be temporary.
Amazed to discover I have a few apples the Temperate Orchard Conservancy lacks. Will correct that.
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