North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[sherwindu <sherwindu@comcast.net>]

Firstly, sorry for the new thread, but I do not receive nafex emails
automatically
by my choice, and I haven't figured out yet how to reply directly to postings.

I think my earlier message about 'Post Grafting Care' may be related to the
questions of James Erdman.  I also have had poor success in recent years in
grafting apple, pear, and plum trees onto rootstocks.  I was recently told 
that
it is not advisable to transplant a tree that was grafted that same year and 
put

into a pot.  The roots should be given a chance to fill the pot (at least one
season)
because trying to remove them from a pot will result in most of the soil 
falling
off
and possibly disturbing the plant.  After the roots have somewhat filled the 
pot

at a successive season, removing the plant will be more likely to keep the 
root
ball intact.  So, once a grafted tree is potted, it should be kept there for 
at
least
one season.  I'm not sure this is what your problem is, but it may have
contributed
to the loss of your potted plants.

As concerns the grafted trees you set immediately into the ground, I don't 
know
enough details about what you did to draw any conclusions.  I'm not sure who
supplied your rootstocks, but I have purchased some that had scrawny little
roots
on them, and they subsequently died.  You did not mention the temperatures
outside
when you planted the grafted trees.  My understanding is that if the
temperatures get
over about 65 degrees, that will be too warm for the grafts to callus over.
Also, the
strong sunlight can dry out a graft quickly, so perhaps extra measures should
have
been taken to cover the graft and keep it moist.  A plastic bag with some wet
toweling
and that covered with a paper bag may have helped, if that were the case.

All this is strictly conjecture, because I don't know all the details of what
you did.
Certainly, losing 20 grafts is not a chance occurrence, and there should be an
explanation for that.  That said, I can't even explain why my own grafts are
doing so poorly.

  If you are cutting all the branches and buds off the rootstocks, I think you
could leave
   a few small growths, in case the graft doesn't take.  That might insure the
rootstock's
   survival, although it will also take some energy away from the graft union.
It's a
    trade-off, I guess.

                                           Sherwin Dubren