Was trying to get some Anna apple scion wood, and put in my order with the Temperate Orchard Conservancy earlier this year. They sent me the other things I requested but weren’t able to include Anna. So I took my chances with an Etsy seller, which was easy to find since Anna apple is pretty popular for areas around here that get low chill hours. I’m questioning the quality of the scion wood that I got from Etsy. It looks like mostly first year growth, though some of it may be second year, and is otherwise in good shape. But there are barely any buds visible at the nodes. Some of the bits are also a little green and the petioles are still attached in some places where it looks like the leaves were snipped away.
My own apple trees in the yard all have large obvious dormant buds. And same goes for apple scion wood that I’ve ordered in the past.
So my question is:
Is this just low quality scion wood? Or is it normal for Anna apple scion wood to only have small buds like this? I assume this got harvested somewhere in southern California in a frost-free warm winter area where the apples may not go entirely dormant, so that may be a factor.
The suspect Anna apple scion wood:
For comparison, this is the scion wood I got from TOC:
I see several sticks that look pretty good to me. I like straight sticks with fairly long internodes. The buds you show are just fully dormant, which is good. So go for it.
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Agree with Mark, though I have seen much better, but in the top pic don’t underestimate the energy of these larger diameter scions. Who ever cut them recognizes the stored energy and if you look closely at most leaf axils and of lateral joints there are buds that will likely grow well. So I give Etsy a B-. I am not familiar with how Anna grows but it could just be less vigorous. They do look a bit dessicated so soak them in ice water over night and air dry just before grafting. They should all work
Dennis
Kent, Wa
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Some of the buds I got from USDA were that small.
Thanks all for the input!
Would you rather pick a dinky one that has nice looking buds:
Or a fatter one that’s closer to pencil-thick but has no clearly visible buds (though I assume there are some hiding at the nodes):
I’d probably lean towards the thinner ones, but I think they’d all work. Like Dennis says, give them a good soak the night before grafting.
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If you have more than you need, try rooting several of each! Don’t waste them, use some rooting hormone at plant them in a sandy/ compost medium with only one bud above soil line in a location where they get AM sun only. This test will give you insight into the stored energy, my hunch is that the thicker ones will root and grow faster. I use willow tea to soak them overnight before planting
Good experiment to learn from
Dennis
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Good idea, I’ll give it a try! I do have way more than I need. The Etsy listing said 5 cuttings, but I got about a dozen (probably because the seller knows they are B- grade 
).
Not that I have room for another apple tree, but if I can get some to root I can use those for scion wood in future years.
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