First grafting questions
- Thread starter Barndog56
- Start date
aerospacefarmer
5 year old buck +
Nice job barndog and Jhoss is right those tags seem to disappear but that will be a big map. Good luck
aerospacefarmer
5 year old buck +
I still have mine in the 5 gallon buckets and will plant in final spot in a few we,s I think or into root trapper bags. 12 out of 15 this year only 80% Figured I might as well go all in. Took the second scion of each of the 25 varieties from Grin and made a frankentree. It was an old crab apple tree we cut down and it grew back about 12 shoots. Thinned that back to just 4, and grafted away. Roots should have no problem supporting them as it had about 40 branches on those 4 trunks, now the 25 grafts. 
Looks awesome good luck.
I recently watched one of the videos from the guy Santa Rosa gardens, he mentioned the importance of pruning the multi-varietal trees to keep one branch/variety from dominating the others in terms of growth. Apparently if you let the most vigorous grafts grow unchecked it can impair the nutrients to the weaker grafts and they can die. I wasn't aware of that but I have a bunch of multivarietal trees which have 2-3yo grafts so I will be sure to keep it in mind, there's probably at least some truth to it.
I recently watched one of the videos from the guy Santa Rosa gardens, he mentioned the importance of pruning the multi-varietal trees to keep one branch/variety from dominating the others in terms of growth. Apparently if you let the most vigorous grafts grow unchecked it can impair the nutrients to the weaker grafts and they can die. I wasn't aware of that but I have a bunch of multivarietal trees which have 2-3yo grafts so I will be sure to keep it in mind, there's probably at least some truth to it.
Smokegobbler
5 year old buck +
Great GRIN research project! Looking forward to updates.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Barndog - Think about the TONS of apples that those trees will produce in the next 40 years or so. Well done.
So far 18 of the 25 varieties on my frankentree have leafed out, with 6 of them flowering. The root system should be more than strong enough to support the flowers and any apples that set. So I'm thinking I'll rig up a bamboo support for any scions that set a couple apples so the weight isn't too much for the graft union.
chickenlittle
5 year old buck +
Mostly looks like CAR. Should have little growths on the underside of the leaves.
Frankentree doing very well overall.
Lodi broke just above the graft union. I suspect a bird is responsible. It had 3 feet of growth.
I used full scions with several buds in hopes that some buds would grow branches and others would turn into fruit spurs, and grow apples next year. It looks to have worked for every variety.
Nova Spy has been the poorest grower, with two branches and a couple of spurs
Golden Delicious has been the best with 6 branches at least 2 feet long and a couple of spurs.
Arkansas Black has the most spur growth, with 5, along with a couple of nice branches.
Some overcrowding going on with all of that growth. I should have lots of nice scion wood after pruning it.
Lodi broke just above the graft union. I suspect a bird is responsible. It had 3 feet of growth.
I used full scions with several buds in hopes that some buds would grow branches and others would turn into fruit spurs, and grow apples next year. It looks to have worked for every variety.
Nova Spy has been the poorest grower, with two branches and a couple of spurs
Golden Delicious has been the best with 6 branches at least 2 feet long and a couple of spurs.
Arkansas Black has the most spur growth, with 5, along with a couple of nice branches.
Some overcrowding going on with all of that growth. I should have lots of nice scion wood after pruning it.
I did a thorough inspection of all my grafts yesterday. Farmlogs says we're 12 inches below our average rainfall so far, and only about a half inch more in the 10 day forecast, so it's been a rough year for new trees. Recently upped my watering to 10 gallons per tree through drip buckets, twice a week, and they're pushing out new leaves again.
Of the 27 planted directly into the orchard, all on B118, 9 of the varieties have not made it. Of those 9, 5 still have rootstock growing, so will be regrafted in the future.
52 were planted into a nursery area closer to home, of the 27 on B118, two varieties have died, with both rootstocks still growing. Of the 25 on M111, seven have died, with four of those rootstocks still growing.
Of the 25 varieties grafted to my frankentree, 2 have not made it due to broken grafts. One was due to high winds during a thunderstorm, the other I expect was due to a bird landing on it.
All 4 Liberty grafts have died.
The Empire in the orchard, and both in the nursery have died.
Spartan and William's Pride have both died in the orchard, and one in the nursery.
Spencer, Sweet 16, Braeburn, Golden Delicious, Golden Russet, Prairie Spy, Arkansas Black, Fuji, Honeygold, and Enterprise have produced vigorous growth on both nursery grafts and the frankentree. A handful of the nursery grafts are approaching 5 feet tall.
In light of the dry, hot summer, I'm happy with how things have gone so far. I think I'll be cutting back on how many I graft next year as it's been a lot of work.
Of the 27 planted directly into the orchard, all on B118, 9 of the varieties have not made it. Of those 9, 5 still have rootstock growing, so will be regrafted in the future.
52 were planted into a nursery area closer to home, of the 27 on B118, two varieties have died, with both rootstocks still growing. Of the 25 on M111, seven have died, with four of those rootstocks still growing.
Of the 25 varieties grafted to my frankentree, 2 have not made it due to broken grafts. One was due to high winds during a thunderstorm, the other I expect was due to a bird landing on it.
All 4 Liberty grafts have died.
The Empire in the orchard, and both in the nursery have died.
Spartan and William's Pride have both died in the orchard, and one in the nursery.
Spencer, Sweet 16, Braeburn, Golden Delicious, Golden Russet, Prairie Spy, Arkansas Black, Fuji, Honeygold, and Enterprise have produced vigorous growth on both nursery grafts and the frankentree. A handful of the nursery grafts are approaching 5 feet tall.
In light of the dry, hot summer, I'm happy with how things have gone so far. I think I'll be cutting back on how many I graft next year as it's been a lot of work.
