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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] What time to graft apples?

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  • From: Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] What time to graft apples?
  • Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2009 07:58:37 -0400

I am not an expert. I've done a few grafts, with mixed success, mostly varying with the method I used. But my understanding is that a graft involves a race between the tissues healing together and dehydration. Different plants grow/heal well at different times of year (or under different conditions) so pome heals pretty well early in the spring, but stone fruits need warmth to heal, so early grafts often fail.

The guy who taught me to graft recommended Patriots Day (mid April) for eastern MA, but he also said the very first graft he did was when he accidentally broke a big piece off one of his father's shrubs, and he grafted it back together rather than tell his father. So it's certainly possible to graft something that's just been cut. I'd think for stuff like apples that callus and heal in cool conditions, but don't spread leaves (which spend water fast) until it gets warm there would be a pretty decent window.

Also, if you have the two plants already, you could do bud grafting. That's what all the nurseries do. I think it may require doing the grafting shortly after cutting the wood. The idea there is to wait until next year's buds have formed (buds that won't sprout this year, so no danger of leaf-dehydration during healing) and just graft a bud onto the stock plant. Several people here have suggested that chip budding works better than t-budding, and my experience with t-budding would support that - the bits of bark sitting over the bud grow in weird ways that seem to leave an open wound in many cases. I've had okay success when I bound everything tightly in place and protected the graft well form dehydration over the next winter, but the graft scar looks really ugly, and I wonder at the long-term strength of the union. I'll be trying chip budding next.

Best of luck,
Ginda
eastern MA, zone 6


On Apr 4, 2009, at 5:43 PM, walter6353@myfairpoint.net wrote:

Is there a definitive time that grafting of apples can begin? Knowing the earliest possible time might make it possible to cut a scion and walk over to another tree and graft it on, all on the same day. I'm hoping that there is a window of possibility for this, although obviously a tree can't be both dormant and budding at the same time. I've heard to wait until the bark "slips" but never really knew what that meant. Waiting for the buds to swell is another possibility, but bud swelling here often starts with just a few buds on a warm day and then stops until the weather warms again. Also, when is it too late to graft? _______________________________________________
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