North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["tanis cuff" <tanistanis@hotmail.com>]

Please excuse my delay in joining the May 18 discussion of expectations of 
grafting results ("Grafting Question" in archives).  But I hadn't even 
finished mine yet.

I did a few apple & pear.  Cut own scion, and purchased some.  My own was 
harvested on the first day over 32F of a winter warm spell.  I worried about 
the purchased scion being harvested too late, or getting warm in shipping, 
or otherwise breaking dormancy.  All scion held well til grafting.  Stored 
in a little-used home refrig; the only fruit stored with it was cartons of 
orange juice.  (Re previous discussions on this topic, I understand ROTTING 
fruits & vegetables can break dormancy of stored scionwood.  Many home 
refrigs contain rotting vegetation.)

Rootstocks are various 3/4 standards, planted early '03 or before.  
Rain/irrigation has been generous.  All pear and apple scion varieties 
showed swollen buds w/in 2 weeks, but a few took 17 days to convince me.

The pears have grown so fast the tissue is pale and very tender.  I didn't 
expect any growth.  Using the method I described in "grafting basics" (March 
21 archives), I had trouble making clean cuts on the purchased scions, which 
were very healthy, thick, and tough.  I thought the faces of scion-- and the 
rootstock cuts!-- would be too rough to have good cambial match, and that 
the wood was too stout to pull together with the rubber electricians 
splicing tape.  But 90% of these grafts have grown.  (FYI, most of these 
grafts were technically "topwork" rather than grafts onto young rootstocks.)

Most of the purchased apple scion likewise was thicker than I like, but 
mostly grafted onto young 'stocks.  Thick scion has grown slower than thin, 
but 100% have grown.  Main concern is brown toasting of leaf edges on 
faster-growing scions.  I'm assuming scab, but haven't carefully studied.  
I'll report on it later in summer; also will tell how many scions were 
running on fumes.

Sometime ago there was discussion of how much time a graft procedure 
requires.  I managed 12 per hour for thin scions, half that for thick 
scions.

To scion suppliers: if this is a testimonial, please feel free to use it! If 
you want me to post your name, please let me know.  Thanks again!

tc, s.WI, hobby orchards in poor soil

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