Thanks for the advice! Please let me know how your pears go!
I’ve done some internet research, and typically what I read was that the bark grafts had to be done when the bark is slipping but before it got too warm out (around 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit), and that the chip buds could be done when it is warmer (around 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit). But I didn’t find anything that said whether or not the chip buds could be also done earlier, when it is only 50-60 degrees out. Which is why I got confused!
That method should work very well for the chip buds. Dax did a great job with showing the process. When it comes to pears and apples, it seems they are a forgiving place to learn how to graft.
I feel like I’ve watched many videos/articles/posts about the answers to these questions, but I just need another human to help with some questions:
I’m trying grafting for the first time this year. I still need to harvest my scions. I’m in zone 5a, and right now our lows are still around 10 degrees. I seem to feel like I always read that I should cut scions after ‘the worst of winter’ is past (or is that only for pruning?), which, we’re past the nights of -15, but, does that mean I should harvest now or wait until the lows are a bit warmer (around 20?)
I have some pre-existing trees that have some good lower branches after 1 year of growing last year, but they’re uneven around the 360 degree radius of the tree . i.e., there’s a great branch at 180 degrees and 270, but not at 0 and 90. Is it possible to graft and even the tree out? If so, what kind of grafts should I look into? (dwarf apple trees)
Assuming I harvest my scions at the right time and successfully graft them and I have a tree growing, should I put it into the ground this year or leave it in a pot? These are pears, and they’ll be getting full sun. There isn’t any kind of critter pressure that I’m aware of (no deer). I’m sure I’ll have a rabbit who will be in the mood for a salad so I’ll protect from that…
Trees start growing in the Spring,after they have met their chill hour requirement,around 40F.Say for example,Apples average could be 800-1200 and then growing degree hours,above 40F,pick a number,300 hours is met.
So,at anything under 40F,they will still be dormant.I assume your scions will be stored in a refrigerator and usually they will start to slowly get active in there,maybe by opening the door.
There shouldn’t be any harm in waiting,til the temps are in the upper 30’s,to collect wood.
Isn’t dwarf size determined by the root stock?
About your question number 3,it probably doesn’t matter too much.
I hope there is a lot of success.
Can I save the hazelnut catkins to use on the female flowers when they show up later in the season? Or do I just need to rely on some still being around on some of the plants when the female flowers show up?
The catkins appear very early on mine, but don’t mature and start providing pollen until the blooms also show up. Otherwise I’d expect almost any pollen can be saved, possibly even for a considerable amount of time, if stored properly.
There is a very old, mature crab apple in front of my house. Crab apples were planted as a tree lawn plant in front of many of the house on the street. Most of them have been long ignored and are full of water sprouts and dead wood. Most still manage to flower nicely each spring. The all get terrible scab fairly early in the season and are usually defoliated by mid-summer. This makes my property look terrible. I’m wondering if it is worth trying to spray this large tree. If all the other crabs are getting bad scab, blowing diseased leaves into my yard, is spray even worth it? We’re on pretty small (50x100 foot) lots here, so they trees are very close to each other.
Not so much a question as an observation, and none of the more directly related threads have been alive in a loooong time.
I have two Pawpaws currently in my house that I have marked for grafting and frankly wanted to get a bit of a jump on that process since they came from a slightly lower elevation zone and weren’t in the ground yet.
They are in two different rooms, but each had a couple flowers on them that I let blossom. Although I could not smell anything, a small colony of fruit gnats of unknown progeny certainly could once they got close to pollen stage. I bent one up to look at it last night and there must have been fifty gnats come out of it. I’m thinking one could get pretty creative with just a couple of male-stage flowers as bait in a trap.
I’m not sure how much pollen they would carry along if they went flower to flower though. Someone like a ladybug going in after them might do the trick.
Are you sure it’s not fungus gnats? Those buggers can wreak havoc inside on new seedlings. Obviously if your pawpaws are blooming they aren’t tiny plants so they should be ok…
I couldn’t say. I have a lot growing inside this year, including a couple of “potato” species. I don’t see a lot around damp soil or new plants. They seem to prefer what shouldn’t still be in my sink, sweeter drinks, and occasionally nostrils. They are attracted to the humidity in the bathroom, where most just drop dead in the tub or sink. The pawpaw I noted them on is in one of the bathrooms with my attempt to overwinter tomoato and pepper plants. (Those aren’t growing yet, but there is still “tension” in the stalks.) And they are not obviously going for the basket of onions on the kitchen counter, although nothing has quite made it to a stage of breaking down.
Ryan, I have thought about it, but I have some reservations. Our immediate neighbor has reported several folks on our block to the city (including us) or police for various perceived slights. She also harassed us for weeks after we took down a sugar maple in our backyard that was badly weakened from borers (and overhanging the garage and house). So, I have some concerns that she would cause trouble. Our city code requires a permit to trim or otherwise alter trees in public areas (tree lawns are included here - and actually spraying is included as well). While I doubt the city would care much, I’m not sure it’s worth the headache.
Here’s a picture of the tree in bloom in 2019 (right after we moved in):
Hmmm… having a legal aspect definitely changes things. Still, if you have to get a permit to spray, you might as well just apply for a permit to “trim” at the same time. I bet there aren’t regulations about adding branches to your trees…
I’m new to pruning trees and now that I’m planting a few of my benchgrafts I’m very, very confused. I have a few standard sized apples going in the ground in what will be pasture, so I want the lowest branches to be fairly high up and out of sheep range, which is the opposite of how most people want to shape their trees and not how any pruning guides seem to advise. Any tips on pruning? I don’t know how to begin, and how to predict at what height the branches of my tiny trees will end up as the tree matures.
I’ve a minor nuisance question. Ultimately it doesn’t matter, but I can’t find the answer so I am going to ask it to close the matter in my head. I received scion wood from a variety of places this year, and a good bit of it came in long slender zipper bags clearly designed more with the purpose of such things and the labeling in mind. My scion fridge would be much more orderly if I could standardize my efforts. What are such bags sold as / where are they sold? A basic search just gives me all the options I can pick up in any grocery or dollar store. Refined efforts give me everything from fabric pots to body bags, but nothing closer than standard freezer bags.
I put my scions in a big soda cup that is as tall as my bags are wide , cut them at the top of the cup , they all fit in the bag .
Then in boxes with a master label .,before being put in refrigerator.
Helps with organizing , not so much shuffling…
I can’t say as I truly have a size I am looking for yet. There has not been that much consistency in what I have received beyond it being better than what I pick up off the shelf locally. As you mentioned, scion can be tailored to fit the packaging. I received scion everywhere from 3" - 14" this year and I generally only want a couple sticks of anything.
The U-line page had a lot closer to samples I have/had. I didn’t spot the ones that were longer & narrower, but I’d be surprised if that’s not where a lot of those I recieved came from. A deeper search might find some closer to what I see in my head. Probably 3" x 10" or 12" with a label field would be about perfect for my needs, although consistency is mostly what I was after. Gallon sized freezer bags forced a lot of diagonal packaging, and I opted not to recut anything I had until I was ready to use it. At some point, I’ll be collecting primarily from my own plants, so I’ll make my initial cuts in line with whatever I have set up.
Doesn’t match the imagined bag but I don’t think it could get much closer than that for the imagined purpose. Still a little curious as to where those using them got theirs, but not curious enough to call them all and ask.
Keep it to a single stem until your above sheep height then notch (cut bark 1/3 of the way around trunk on spring) to force the buds where you want branches…Skillcult has a good tree training video on youtube
