article on the MN apple program

[Turkey Creek]

Cut your scions in late February into early March. Keep them in a ziplock bag in the fridge with a damp paper towel. Do not keep them in a fridge that contains fruits and vegetables. Ship them the same way, ziplock bag wrapped in a damp paper towel. You want last seasons growth for scions. It is nice if you can find some variation in scion diameter, makes matching rootstock easier. On older trees the best growth tends to be on the upper branches on the south side of the tree.

 

[greyphase]

Hey guys, I just looked at some apple trees that have been producing for years in a COLD northern Pa. mountain valley. I took some pix and I have to get my neighbor to help me put them on here for you guys to see. I stopped to ask if I can get some scion wood in the spring, but nobody home. I'll stop again next week when I get back upstate. I mentioned this attempt by me to get scion wood on another thread ( I don't remember which one ). These trees still have apples hanging on them as of today, Dec. 3rd. If they tell me I can get scion in the spring, I'll ship some to a few of you guys if you'd like. I just need to be told how to pack & preserve them, how long to cut them, do I cut IN last year's growth or just below it in 2 yr. old wood. I'll do some research on that stuff, but welcome any advice. I'm even gonna try grafting just because these trees have a good number of apples still hanging. If they can survive all those years in that freezer of a valley, they should make a good deer apple. Anyone interested, if they become available?

BnB

I'll try a piece of scionwood if you obtain any. I'm always looking for old apple trees that are still holding their apples this time of year. Here's a pic of my "sinkhole" apple tree growing in the horse pasture taken a couple of days ago. It's an old muti-trunked seedling tree. I used to find mushrooms under the old apple trees that grew here when I was a kid. The old trees are gone now replaced by their seedlings.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

JimTimber - That mountain valley probably got down to -18 last winter. We don't get -25 or -30 like you guys out there do.

I know there are guys in N.Y., Pa., Vt., Oh., Mass., Mich., Va., N.H. that might have similar temps, so they may be interested in scion from those trees. I don't know what variety of apple they are, but they ARE hanging. The trees are at a couple seasonal hunting camps and if they're closed up for the winter, I may not know if I can get them until March when the people come back up to camp for fishing. I hope someone's around this coming week. One of the trees is at a residence, I believe.

Greyphase - I'd be happy to ship you a few if I get permission. How long ( length ) do you cut scion wood? If I get permission, I'd be cutting on a Sunday and I'd ship the scion on Monday to you. These trees don't get much care - you can tell by the lack of pruning - and I doubt they get sprayed due to the occasional use of the camps. That's what made me all the more interested in them. If they're still producing good crops w / minimal care and are late hangers too - I think they're worth a shot.

 

[greyphase]

A couple of pieces 6-8 inches long would be good. It may be hard to find this years growth on an old tree. I've pruned old trees and waited a year and got water spouts off them the next year.