An unpleasant finding

[Bowsnbucks]

Well - After grafting and babying a half dozen trees that were planted in pots with premium composted soil mix, all the rootstocks but 1 have died. The scions budded out and seemed to be doing well, with 4 to 5 inch shoots. Good green color to them. But then the rootstocks seemed to shrivel up and croak. Then the scions wilted. The only one surviving is the ABC scion Sandbur sent me. That rootstock seems OK ……….. so far. Soil was kept moist, but not wet & they had plenty of light.

I've never had the rootstocks die like this before. I haven't a clue.

 

[DrDirtNap]

Same thing happened to me this year with my P18 Rootstock from Cummins. I lost several trees that were growing well. This picture is not very good but here’s what I was seeing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[yoderjac]

That picture looks like the issue I had this spring. It started indoors with apples. My grafts were much large, some had put on a foot of growth. I killed a quite a number of my apples and then the same disease hit my well established seguins that were several years old. The green leaves got limp just like that picture and nothing I could do could save them. I have no idea what the disease is.

Thanks,

jack

 

[Mortenson]

That's too bad. As you know, I lost plenty too. Been trying to find blame. All 8 of my pear rootstocks died. Of 38 apples, 16 are left alive.

 

[Diesel5610]

I have had the same exact thing happen with my grafts. I only have a few that have survived, hoping they don't get it too.

 

[sandbur]

I have had the same exact thing happen with my grafts. I only have a few that have survived, hoping they don't get it too.

And many of my topworks. ABC are still ok.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sandbur]

Is anyone using city water for these trees?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mortenson]

Yes.

 

[greyphase]

Each year most of my failed grafts are a result of the rootstock dying. I've never had a large number of apple rootstock die but my attempts with pears were miserable until I grew the pear rootstock out for a year and then grafted to it. My success was 100% when I did this. Ron Joyner of Big Horse Creek Farm told me that several years ago they had almost all the trees that they had grafted to MM111 die from rootstock failure while all the other rootstock they used grew OK. They have grafted thousands of trees and he had no explanation for it. I know it's very discouraging to watch a graft leaf out and then wither and die. Just the downside of this hobby we enjoy so much.

 

[Jimmy G]

Same thing here.all but one of my grafts woke up nicely and leafed out. Have had 10 or so now die, same way as yours. When I cut the parafilm off the graft was not healed at all.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I've grown out rootstocks before, just to see what they'd become. I got 3 ft. of growth on them in pots. I didn't graft anything onto them though. Maybe I'll try that next spring. I'll plant some rootstocks and let them grow for a year - then graft.

Bur - I do use city water, but our water softener / filter system takes out the chlorine, if that's what you were aiming at. The potting mix was premium stuff - dark, crumbly, composted, with vermiculite and sand in it. Pots have good drainage. Southern exposure sliding glass door location, plenty of light. After grafting, I stored them in our unheated garage ( about 45 degrees ) to heal the grafts, and they started to swell buds there, eventually showing green. That's when I moved them to the inside in our family room by the sliders. Baby nursery atmosphere there. The rootstocks still died, except for the ABC graft on B-118.

 

[Diesel5610]

I am using well water. These grafts are on both MM111 and Antonovka root stock.

 

[Jimmy G]

Well water here too

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I just checked the graft unions to see if they healed. All but one did heal. It was the rootstocks that crapped out.
Well ……….. I'll try again next spring. Even if I don't have any more spots to plant them at camp, I'll give some to some relatives who live out in the country and also hunt. But I'll make space for good crabs !!

 

[DrDirtNap]

I just checked the graft unions to see if they healed. All but one did heal. It was the rootstocks that crapped out.
Well ……….. I'll try again next spring. Even if I don't have any more spots to plant them at camp, I'll give some to some relatives who live out in the country and also hunt. But I'll make space for good crabs !!

I use well water also.
I find it darn interesting when last year I used B118 rootstock and had over 90% graft success with zero rootstock death and then this year I switch to P18 rootstock and have terrible success almost all due to rootstock death...go figure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jimmy G]

Hey bowsnbucks, what kind of rootstock?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Jimmy G - I had some on MM-111 and B-118 both.

 

[chickenlittle]

I have not kept too close of tracking on my pear grafts. Quite a few of the early leafing out scions are now dead. I pulled out about 20% of the OHxF87 over the weekend. Some late to leaf out ones now look nice. In another month, it should be all figured out. I expect I'll be under 50% for OHxF87 and Pyrus Betulifolia. Right now the pear grafts on service berry look all good after some leafed out recently but I may have used some of my best looking scionwood on those.

I knew pear had a reputation for being tough for bench grafting. I'd have preferred to T-bud but couldn't get summer budwood for many varieties. I purposely grafted multiples hoping to get one good of each variety. I don't really measure my success rate. Too many things vary from year to year and my technique changes. I just want a good one of each and will try again later if I don't. Unless I forget about that variety and decide I need to try something else.

On apples, I had some difficulties with everything I've tried. M106, M111, B118, P18, various G series. Just because I had bad luck one year doesnt mean I won't have great success doing the exact same combo next year.

I remember some guy saying on Facebook he always had 100% success with grafting. Yeah, right.

 

[Mortenson]

"On apples, I had some difficulties with everything I've tried. M106, M111, B118, P18, various G series. Just because I had bad luck one year doesnt mean I won't have great success doing the exact same combo next year." -- chickenlittle

That's somewhat reassuring to hear. Looking in my backyard nursery, all my surviving grafts were on B118, while the M111 grafts all died. Hopefully not foolishly, but all I ordered this year for apple roots are M111 and a few P18.

 

[Telemark]

I had a similar problem last year. Massive failure of M111 rootstocks. No idea what caused it, and not sure if any survived.