Scions shipped too early?

I ordered scions from Fruitwood nursery, two jujubees, two persimmons, and a paw paw. They shipped them already. I was not expecting this. I will be able to wrap them in parafilm and store them in the fridge, but it seems like a long time to store them.

Do you think they will be okay or should I contact the seller? The email says they already shipped, so I can’t call and ask to hold them.

Thanks

I have gotten things in jan and feb that didnt get grafted until well into june, so if it is dormant i am not sure you should have to worry

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I have had to accept scion and though it might be OK, it could go bad too. I try to avoid it. I have lost scion many times held that long. But it is not the nurseries fault. Soon in California bud swell will happen. They have to harvest now. If you order from a nursery in CA expect them this time of year. They have no other choice. Many deliver bare root trees right now too. Such as Grow Organic, their bare root shipping season is almost over. Bay Laurel can hold till the first week in March, I usually buy from them.

Even if you asked them to hold them, they would have to harvest now. i would rather store myself, i would not want them to store for me.

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Drew is right. They have no choice other than storing them on their end.
You have a better chance of success in my opinion storing them for a few months then you would have if they shipped them in late Feb and they were coming out in transport.

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I ordered some stuff from them too. But it was pomegranate scion which I can root now. I have excellent indoor lights. Poms root fairy easy.

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I thought it probably had something to do with the fact they are in California. I’ll do my best with it.

Jolene…the Seckle pear scions you sent me last year did great with about two feet of growth. You sent me either Liberty or Freedom also, and they survived with new growth.

Drew…you sent me Satsuma plum, which also grafted well and put on a few feet of growth on my Methley tree and a little growth on my newer Toka tree.

Thanks guys

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Most of my peach scions I got from California, and peaches are one of the hardest fruits to graft. They generally did very well. So I wouldn’t worry too much.

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I had the exact opposite experience. . Only the scion from California failed. Maybe I just got unlucky, but I’m a fairly experienced grafter at this point. Scion from 2 sources on the west coast failed. The only difference is those scions were obtained earlier. So if it were me I would not count my chickens before they hatch. I myself will no longer obtain scion from the west coast. Maybe it’s my fridge, my location, or the sources I have used, or whatever? I have had success in the past, but failure rate has always been high. For other scion from the PNW, NE, and MW I had a 70% success with peach. So I can say with confidence it was not me. 70% is a damn good rate. If it walks like a duck…
Part of it may be how long I have to wait here in MI. I cannot really start grafting till about May 1st. The best time to graft here is at bloom according to local experts. I found this to be very true too. I get 95 to 100% with plums at this time. Last year I grafted plums twice once on May 1st and again on May 15th. I only lost a couple on the 15th, none were lost done on the first. I’m done experimenting, I know when to graft here now. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. My guess is sap flow is highest here at bloom. Temps varied year to year and seem to have less effect on grafts. Maybe some, but not as important compared to when sap is flowing best.

I added this info not to dispute what Scott said, no doubt it has worked for him. I’m just relaying my experiences as the more info the better. It may be that the Midwest environment here in Michigan is so different from the west coast I was doomed no matter what. It appears if in the NE you have a better chance. I’m in zone 6 that used to be zone 5, and we still have zone 5 numbers. I’m totally confused as to why they changed it? So maybe it is a zone thing? I have had no problem with bare root trees from California, almost all my trees are from California. Arctic Glo, Indian Free, the Nectaplum etc all came from Bay Laurel, so I can’t say why they had no problem? Zero died.

I added last year
Fantasia
Red Gold
PF 24c
Foster
Clayton
Indian Blood Cling
Arctic Jay
Old Mixon Free

Looking for June Pride if anybody can help?

I do think like Scott said you should be OK, you’re in zone 7 which me being in 6 is why I had bad luck. Not sure? Anyway how it works out is important, so update this thread next summer and please let us know.

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My scions from GRIN arrived on December 24th already. Last year’s grafting attempts with scions from the west were nearly a complete failure, so I will try grafting when the trees bloom to see if that helps. I also plan to use a knife to cut a long slit, rather than the zen tool I bought. I also didn’t know one had to seal up the top cut end of the graft, as the video I watched didn’t show doing that. It doesn’t seem like rocket science, so I should be able to master this!

In the age of government shutdowns, getting one’s scion in December might be a beautiful thing…

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Yeah seal all of it. I myself have found the best product is not parafilm, it’s grafting buddy tape, You’ll need a rich uncle to help you pay for it. I will only use buddy tape from now on, it’s worth the cost. It teaches how to use this tape correctly, stretch the crap out of it! Pieces are peforated at about 2 inches. I found this is adequate for most scions, you can use a 2nd piece if needed. Part of the reason I had 70% success with peach last year that was not from the west coast.

https://www.amazon.com/Grafting-Budding-Zen-Gardens-ELECTRONIC/dp/B06XWQ5249/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1547059932&sr=8-3&keywords=buddy+tape+grafting

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Thanks, Drew. I just ordered a roll, as well as some Tanglefoot grafting compound. Now if my orchard becomes one of frankentrees, it will be all your fault!

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LOL! It is very good stuff. I didn’t see much difference from parafilm, but that is looks and feel, but performance wise was a different story. I love it for my fig cuttings too. I use wax, but I would tip the scion with that compound as often ends become exposed first. It’s interesting after grafts become a few years old, it’s hard to tell even with super ugly cleft or wedge grafts. Amazing how it changes so much.

Today I received scions and rootstocks from Fruitwood aka Rolling River. I was happy to see things were well marked, packaged and of good size. The scionwood was definitely pencil-sized. Only thing I changed was to remove most of the moist paper towel wrapping the scions before resealing, double bagging and putting them in downstairs fridge. The m111s are to be grafted for my cousin. The scions are mostly local: Auvil Early Fuji, NW Greening from WI, Pacific Gold, Turtleback and Westsound Red. Very happy with my order and highly recommend these folks!

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Got my shipment of scionsb from fruitwood nurseries. They look super healthy.

I wrapped them in parafilm, put them back in the bag with the moist newspaper, wrapped bag and put in fridge.


Look right?

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They look nice! I like to make sure there’s a twist of parafilm on both ends, just to be sure.

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I will be receiving quite a bit of scionwood from them on Sat but won’t be in town to attend to it until Wed as I will be out of town.

I am concerned about their use of wet paper. I hope the cuttings don’t go bad. The last time someone shipped me cuttings in a wet newspaper, it was all moldy and smelly. A 100% loss.

Mold is everywhere,so make sure the paper isn’t too wet.Also,they could be dipped in a weak bleach/water solution.
They will be in there a number of months.right?bb

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I did that, good advice.

Yes, I figured three months about. I did not dip them but I will check how wet the paper is. Thanks