I had about given up on the Franklin and considered top working, but last year it put out a real nice crop that trickled down into February. I'd plant more.
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- Thread starter sandbur
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I had about given up on the Franklin and considered top working, but last year it put out a real nice crop that trickled down into February. I'd plant more.
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
I have been told that you can bury a graft union deep and get roots to form above the graft. I don't do this as a general rule, but I did do it on about four cheap trees I got on unknown rootstocks. That was about 5 years or so ago. All of those trees look fine today and are well anchored. Please don't ask me to dig them up and check the roots...... 
Are these 80 trees concentrated to certain area or are they scattered around the property?
Pretty Scattered. This is my layout of what I expect to be this years producers. Red=apple/crabs, yellow=pears, orange=peaches, pink=cherries. Everything near the right edge is for family consumption, not deer, but they certainly benefit from those trees as well.
Will you continue adding more trees to these areas, or are you tapped out for space? I'm always looking for ideas on how to incorporate more fruit trees, but sometimes I struggle with layout. I'm often limited to the highest points in a field due to how wet the soils are.
Unfortunately I feel like I'm just getting started lol. A year or so ago I would have said I'm tapped for space, all my plots are pretty much surrounded and a lot or acreage is enrolled in CRP so I cannot plant there. Now I've planted all my plots into perennials and intend to fill them in with trees over the next several years. By then, CRP contract will be expiring and at least some of that acreage will not be re-enroll with the intention of planting more fruit trees. I just grafted up 80 more trees a few weeks ago (a good chunk of those are going to a neighbor) and intend to T-bud 50-100 more this summer.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
Topworking is done for this year. I tried to get some wax on every bud. Hopefully next week’s cold spell won’t hurt them.
If I am around long enough, we might be able to compare Dearborn’s Unknown, Prairie Sensation, Cherry Crush, and Swamp Donkey. All from this year’s planting or grafting.
Telemark
5 year old buck +
Depends why you grafted it. If you want the tree with other varieties in addition, it seems right. If you don't want the original variety, you can cut the top of the tree off in the winter.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
I hope I have that success by fall.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
If the grafts take, I might do that, or bring a taller ladder next year to graft a few more limbs. If they don’t take, I still have the rest of the tree.
This was grafted to Dearborns Unknown. A variety that I can learn very little about, other than some Canadian and Alaskan fruit growers thought it was lost until this grower in Montana still had it.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
Montana Fruit Company says it is hardy to -50 and probably similar to a large Rescue. Rescue may be a parent.
I presently have Rescue and it has fruited for me.
Telemark
5 year old buck +
If you do cut the top out, cut all the limbs off first and be careful. If a branch hits a graft on the way down it will snap it right off.
rocksnstumps
5 year old buck +
Think you will be ok. Just expect some slower growth compared to a fully top worked tree.
I have done similar on a seedling crabapple that was a bit of an oddity. At least 15 yrs old and bloomed every yr for the last dozen or so but never set fruit. No shortage of nearby other pollinators that set fruit themselves yr after yr.
So I got tired of non production and grafted several lower branches that I could reach standing on my Leopold bench under it. Let the top of the tree alone for several more growing seasons. Those bottom branch grafts all made it but would say they were a bit slow to grow and heal the initial cut branch end the first several yrs. I did bark grafts on all of them. Not anywhere close to the speed of growth that Native posts about his grafting efforts and how his branches heal over after 1 or two yrs. His location is a factor too no doubt.
Finally took a tall ladder up on the hill and topped the rest of the tree last yr and those grafts put on a good 2-1/2 ft of growth.
Scion variety contributes a fair amount to growth response as well. Chestnut crab is very vigorous BTW compared to some other Siberian crabs I was using.
