I got a question for grafting experts (I cannot count as one). I exchanged some scion wood with other ppl this winter. Most of the exchanges happened in January/February but one of the envelopes got lost on the way. Now almost 4months later it suddenly appeared at my door. Each of the sticks are nice, pencil sized, individually wrapped in packing foil and I put them in a fridge (mostly plums, some pears). My plan is to buy rootstocks, put them in the ground and try chip budding in June/July. Should I bother at all, is there a chance the grafts will take or is it a waste of effort and money (for rootstocks)? I haven’t checked if they sprouted yet. I imagine they were sitting somewhere in warehouse for 4 months…can scion wood last that long under these conditions? Thanks for any advices/ideas.
It can last that long in cold storage but probably not at room temperature. Still strange things happen so I won’t rule out positive results.
I am not an expert but from what i understand the scion wood being dormant is critical. I would open them and check. Maybe they were up north somewhere in an unheated warehouse or they maybe ruined.
I’m the exact opposite of an expert, but I think it would be worthwhile to check at least some of them. For all you know, they could have been wedged in the back of a truck and repeatedly fried in the sun.
I am going to buy rootstock on Tuesday from local nursery and see what I can do. I noticed maybe 1/3 scions have mold on it so those are lost. I will get back in about month and will update if successful. Thanks everyone for their replies 
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I grafted new green plum wood in which I ripped the leaves off of the scion and they took. In fact, they put on more growth than the dormant brown 1 year old wood that I grafted at the same time and currently have 3 golf ball size plums on them this year.
I saved some apple scions this past spring and when I was ready to use, I found everyone of them turned moldy. But I cleaned and grafted one onto my only rootstock anyway. That was about 3, 4 weeks ago.
It took! Just showing some green tip couple days ago…
So maybe it worth to evaluate your scion wood condition first. If they’re “decent”, then prepare the root stocks?
Just my 2 cents since I’m still a learner and making plenty of mistakes along the way!
Tom