yoderjac
5 year old buck +
I attended a grafting class (primarily for pome) today at Vintage Virginia Apples (Albemarle ciderworks) outside Charlottesville VA today. I'd guess there were about 40 folks in the class which was taught in an outdoor tent. I arrived about 0810 for a 0900 class. I got a chance to chat with Bill Shelton who is the owner for quite a while before the class and learned a lot from him. The cost of the class was $45/person. Included in the price was the grafter's handbook, two M111 rootstocks and 2 scions from the following list:
Albemarle Pippin, Arkansas Black, Ashmead's Kernel, Black Twig, Grimes Golden, Roxbury Russet, Stayman, Summer Rambo, Virginia (Hewe’s) Crab and Winesap.
I chose Arkansas Black and Black Twig. After class was over, they gave away any leftover scions and there were plenty. I grabbed a few more Arkansas Black, Black Twig, and Virginia (Hewe's) Crab. That should be more than enough for my top work this spring. I may have to get some more rootstock just for kicks.
The class was taught by Master Grafter Tom Murphy. They only taught the dormant whip and tongue graft but at least mentioned most of the others. I have previously successfully grafted jujube and persimmon with a whip and tongue which are much harder than apples, so I thought I had it down. As we were practicing, the staff walked around and evaluated our grafts and gave us some personal advice. I picked up some very useful personalized tips.
Most of my equipment was a good fit but I did pick up a few things here. First, I've always been good about keeping my grafting knife sharp but never even thought about pruners. He mentioned how important it was to keep them sharp and said if you can't, you are better off using the anvil type. After that admonishment, I did buy a sharpener for the pruning shears. I tried it out when I got home and it really did make a difference. The next equipment item was tape. For persimmon grafting I like electrical tape. The reason is that pressure is an important factor for bark grafting persimmons and electrical tape has some stretch. The downside is that it doesn't degrade and you have to slice it or remove it after the graft takes so you don't girdle the tree. For whip and tongue grafts pressure is less important, especially with pome. Tom likes to use freezer tape. It has no stretch, but he says the key with pome fruit is to keep inside moisture in and outside moisture out. Freezer tape has a moisture barrier in it that does just that. I'm sure parafilm would work as well for this, but freezer tape is easier and less expensive. Another advantage here is that it degrades naturally.
We had an interesting discussion about rootstock. He cautions against some of the newer rootstocks as they have not been "field proven" for long enough. I also specifically asked about growing crabapple seedlings and using them as rootstock. He says that for a full size tree that works very well and in fact, when rootstock was running low, he would dig up roots of full size apple trees and graft to them. He would then plant them with the graft below the ground. The grafted root would keep the tree going until it formed its own roots.
The class ran until about noon. I met folks who came in from NC, PA, and GA for the class. I didn't realize what a great resource we had locally. It was definitely a worthwhile experience for me.
Thanks,
Jack
Albemarle Pippin, Arkansas Black, Ashmead's Kernel, Black Twig, Grimes Golden, Roxbury Russet, Stayman, Summer Rambo, Virginia (Hewe’s) Crab and Winesap.
I chose Arkansas Black and Black Twig. After class was over, they gave away any leftover scions and there were plenty. I grabbed a few more Arkansas Black, Black Twig, and Virginia (Hewe's) Crab. That should be more than enough for my top work this spring. I may have to get some more rootstock just for kicks.
The class was taught by Master Grafter Tom Murphy. They only taught the dormant whip and tongue graft but at least mentioned most of the others. I have previously successfully grafted jujube and persimmon with a whip and tongue which are much harder than apples, so I thought I had it down. As we were practicing, the staff walked around and evaluated our grafts and gave us some personal advice. I picked up some very useful personalized tips.
Most of my equipment was a good fit but I did pick up a few things here. First, I've always been good about keeping my grafting knife sharp but never even thought about pruners. He mentioned how important it was to keep them sharp and said if you can't, you are better off using the anvil type. After that admonishment, I did buy a sharpener for the pruning shears. I tried it out when I got home and it really did make a difference. The next equipment item was tape. For persimmon grafting I like electrical tape. The reason is that pressure is an important factor for bark grafting persimmons and electrical tape has some stretch. The downside is that it doesn't degrade and you have to slice it or remove it after the graft takes so you don't girdle the tree. For whip and tongue grafts pressure is less important, especially with pome. Tom likes to use freezer tape. It has no stretch, but he says the key with pome fruit is to keep inside moisture in and outside moisture out. Freezer tape has a moisture barrier in it that does just that. I'm sure parafilm would work as well for this, but freezer tape is easier and less expensive. Another advantage here is that it degrades naturally.
We had an interesting discussion about rootstock. He cautions against some of the newer rootstocks as they have not been "field proven" for long enough. I also specifically asked about growing crabapple seedlings and using them as rootstock. He says that for a full size tree that works very well and in fact, when rootstock was running low, he would dig up roots of full size apple trees and graft to them. He would then plant them with the graft below the ground. The grafted root would keep the tree going until it formed its own roots.
The class ran until about noon. I met folks who came in from NC, PA, and GA for the class. I didn't realize what a great resource we had locally. It was definitely a worthwhile experience for me.
Thanks,
Jack