Subject: RE: [NAFEX] bush cherry/voles/bridge grafts
Date: Tue, 06 Apr 2004 15:51:32 +0000
Is P.americana one of the suckering species? If these are selections, not
grafted, just cut off below the damage and they should regrow this year, and
you've "renewal pruned" the thicket.
But sorry, I've no good ideas for saving grafted stuff.
With the snow just gone from our orchard I was out examining things and
found vole damage beyond any other years'. We had a dozen evans cherries
(3' high, multi-branched bush style) that were completly decimated. I use
old window screen on trees to good effect, but.....
#1 How can one protect bush fruits from voles?
In walking the hay fields and closely cropped orchard, I often encountered
concentrations of 20 burrows to the square yard! and this goes on acre after
acre, so no poisoning or trapping or house cat regime could possbly control
such a reproductive explosion.
I had not protected other prunus varieties, like p. americana, because they
have never gone for prunus before. Same devastating story to my grafted
plums. They are still dormant, so I consider doing 18" bridge grafts, but I
have never sucessfully grafted p. americana until it leafs out......
#2 How can one bridge graft p. americana / plum after it leafs out......the
stripped bark means the top will soon die...?
thanks, Del
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