To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [NAFEX] Grafting Black Walnuts
Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 16:18:54 -0400
Hello all:
This morning, I was grafting black walnuts. It feels pretty weird to
lop off the top of an actively growing tree and graft to the stub.
I bought some scionwood from a fine gentleman in Missouri (some contend
that all men in Missouri are fine gentlemen....but that is a different
thread). It was all pretty stout stuff compared to what I usually
collect in Michigan. I now know the origin of the description of a
green-thumb: "Can graft a broomstick to a fence-post and have it grow".
Wish me luck.
It is a little early to report success/failure but I remain filled with
hope.
Nuts are considered tough to graft. They require relatively high
temperatures to callus and heal. Corwin Davis (now deceased)
recommended that the prospective grafter watch the weather and hold off
until the weatherman predicted three *lows* of 60 degrees F in a
row....or higher. Actually pretty smart. It usually means cloudy
nights, i.e., high humidity. The daily highs are likely to be in the 80s.
The other gurus I consulted advised parafilm and to use brown paper
lunch bags to provide the best environment for callusing and early
growth. The bags, supposedly, lower the highs, raise the lows and
reduce the drying effects of direct sun. On the advice of Roger Miller,
I taped one of the sticks I pruned off to the base of the rootstock,
parallel to the scion. Roger has had the wind beat the snot out of the
emerging buds when the bag did not have any internal support.
The only reason I am going into this kind of detail is that some people
find it difficult to graft "easy" species like apples and pears. I
think they live in climates that are more hostile than Eaton Rapids,
Michigan. Lower humidity translates into lower night-time
temperatures. It may be that they need to wait for tree nights of +50F
degree nights before grafting their apples and pears. Aids like brown
paper lunch bags (internally supported with additional sticks) may be
the difference between +70% success and 0% success.
One thing that I find inspirational about the fruit EXPLORERS is that we
push the boundaries. We also share. I know that I would get much
support if I were to move to Eastern Montana or Western North Dakota and
wanted to grow fruit. The thing is that I know to ask for help. I
believe that there are many stoic souls out there in NAFEX land who are
bravely trying to graft and grow fruit trees in very hostile
environments....and they do not know the deck is stacked against them.
They think the failures they experience is due to their ineptitude.
NOT! They are not inept. They just need a few more tricks in their
tool-box.
[NAFEX] Grafting Black Walnuts,
Joe Hecksel, 05/27/2006