Most had become unusable, some had breaking buds, and some had callus on the bottom.
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Are they from winter 20/21?
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When where they cut? What temperature where they stored at?
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Storage temperature has been too warm. They need to be held below 37F, near freezing better.
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Jan 2021
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Jan 2021. A few in early Feb
These scions were in my house frig which is set on 38.
I seldom graft after mid summer and they are still usable at that time. Just thought it would be interesting to see the few that was still showing some life.
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That is a long time. Probably wouldn’t make it to the spring but if local temperatures are still in the mid 60s or above there is a chance grafting might work. I’ve had some luck grafting in Oct with temps 60s to mid 70s. Did some more experiments this year grafting mid Sept and early Oct of peach, plum and autumn olive.
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The scions got their chilling and are now growing. The fridge is probably 40+ at times but even 38 eventually pushes growth on some fruits.
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I had a discussion about storing scions with Cliff England (after seeing his walk-in cooler). He mentioned to not use the family fridge, since all the opening of the door and the other fruits will have an impact. He recommended double bagging and have a dedicated dorm type fridge.
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Sounds like good advice. Thanks
I’ve only used my food fridge (a separate fridge for scion is waaaay off-budget for me) and haven’t had any trouble. I do make a point to triple-bag my scions and store them in the most temperature stable part of the fridge, though. And I’ve considered buying some ethylene absorbers as well.
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