"Crazy" Chris's nursery

It's not hard, but it's making the time. I needed to graft some for the nursery this year, but didn't have the time. :(
 
Hope your Arkansas black come to life! Of all apples those are the most interesting to me! Can't wait to have some pickers
 
I had a Yarlington Mill that wouldn't budge. Finally I got the idea to cut the tip off and see if it was dead or still had cambium. To my surprise it still had cambium so I rewarded the tip and about 3 days later one of the buds started turning green and breaking a bit. I did it to 3 others as well that were not breaking and re waxed those also. It's only been a few days so I will see how they are doing when I get home that's why it's good to have 2 or 3 buds on graft also
 
Good idea Aero. I will give those that arent showing life another week and then check for life in the scion. Has anybody tried regrafting with dormant scion wood on a planted rootstock at this point in the season? I know I can T-bud later in the summer, but I do still have some scion wood in the fridge.
 
I did it with 8 about a month ago and 5 of the 8 are doing fine
 
A little update from my nursery. Some things are doing well and other things are a bust. I tried quite a few chip buds as a bench grafting technique, it definitely didnt work as well as the other grafting methods I tried. My first few grafts I used just Parafilm M as the binding for the bud, those all failed the Parafilm was not strong enough to keep the two cut surfaces together while they callused. I have a few scions that are just starting to break bud at this point, some of which are the Arkansas Black I referred to earlier. I did have a few scions from certain sources that were all duds. I am guessing the trees probably experienced some tip die back before they were pruned for the scions, and essentially I grafted a dead scion onto rootstock. My pears are struggling a bit. I ordered most of my pear rootstock from a single source and the rootstock had very poor root development. It is a challenge trying to provide enough moisture to those poorly rooted pears without drowning them while at the same time keeping them alive long enough to support top growth. Living in a western state I have had to deal with our strong winds as well it is challenging on new, tender growth. Success is happening as well though. Most of my apple grafts are going strong. My best ones have 9-10" of new growth like this one.



My bark grafts are looking very nice. This one already has 19-20" of new growth.
 
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well done Chris!
 
Hows your trees coming along Chris? Did your strong winds tear anything up? You still gonna have a handful of healthy trees to part with this fall?;)
 
Here is a photo as of 7/15/14. Things are growing well for the most part. I had a number of pear rootstocks from Century Farms in NC that failed to even keep themselves alive which is a big bummer, very poor root systems. I just T-budded 95% of the apple rootstocks that had bench graft failures. Barring any major storms I will be happy with my first year of grafting.

 
Looking good TC. Did you contact David at Century Farms??? He seems like a pretty nice fella.
 
I have talked to David about other issues I had with my order last spring, he was nice enough. Just wont be ordering from him again, I have found other growers with higher quality.
 
Well the growing season is starting to wind down. I promised some updated photos to a couple of guys so here are a few. I have been absolutely pleased with almost all the grafts that I planted in the ground. Most of the field grown trees are in the 49"- 54" range. Those in pots have not done nearly as well.



Luscious Pear


Liberty Apple bark grafted onto a 2 yr old Midwest Crab rootstock
 
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Typical graft at this point.


Already excited about next spring. Definintely learned a few things and will change a few things for next season. I do have a few trees for sale if anybody is still looking to buy for this fall or next spring.
 
Whoa TC. That's a dang nice bunch of trees you got there. You're definitely doing something right:).
 
Well having some of the best ag soil in the country around your trees roots doesnt hurt either! :)
 
Looks awesome. Well done.
 
Boy, that's a NICE looking patch of trees you have growing! They made some serious headway this summer. I have one lonely seedling ( apple or crab ) in a pot that went from a seed to 40" this summer. I thought MINE was doing good!!! Great job on the patch!
 
Your nursery looks great. You certainly jumped in with both feet. In a years time you have educated yourself well and practiced what you learned. Thanks for sharing.
 
TC, what are you using for a drip line and what are you using for ground maintenance?
 
Every time I look at your updates I want more fruit tree!!!! Lol
I have to remind myself how much I liked watering a ton of trees this summer an how I promised myself I would never do so many trees at once again haha!!!!
 
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