Hey Guys,
I just ordered 20 apple rootstocks to arrive in the spring which I will graft to. Had a very high success rate of both bench grafts and field grafts this year on persimmons and I have the grafting bug bad now. Plus, I have young kids and want to get some trees in the ground at our farm so they will be dropping by the time they start hunting hopefully.
Here are my questions:
The trees arrive in march... do I:
1. put them straight in the ground in their final destination and graft them this spring?
2. put them straight in the ground in their final destination and graft them in the field next year?
3. Plant them in pots or a seedling nursery of some kind at my house now and graft them this year and then plant them in fall/winter after the grafts are established and they are dormant again?
If I plant them at home and not in the field yet:
What pots do I use for 1/4″ to 3/8" rootsock optimally?
Can I use grow bags?
Do they need to be in a seedling bed for best root development?
And finally:
I plan to use stakes, tree tubes, and weed mats once they are in the field. Anything else glaring I am missing to get them started right?
I just ordered 20 apple rootstocks to arrive in the spring which I will graft to. Had a very high success rate of both bench grafts and field grafts this year on persimmons and I have the grafting bug bad now. Plus, I have young kids and want to get some trees in the ground at our farm so they will be dropping by the time they start hunting hopefully.
Here are my questions:
The trees arrive in march... do I:
1. put them straight in the ground in their final destination and graft them this spring?
2. put them straight in the ground in their final destination and graft them in the field next year?
3. Plant them in pots or a seedling nursery of some kind at my house now and graft them this year and then plant them in fall/winter after the grafts are established and they are dormant again?
If I plant them at home and not in the field yet:
What pots do I use for 1/4″ to 3/8" rootsock optimally?
Can I use grow bags?
Do they need to be in a seedling bed for best root development?
And finally:
I plan to use stakes, tree tubes, and weed mats once they are in the field. Anything else glaring I am missing to get them started right?