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Just got my B118 rootstock from Grandpa's. It feels like Christmas but I got sap boiling too. Maybe I have too many things going Thanks to this site I have a ton of resources here and look forward to this new hobby (or addiction)
Hey Chuck, I see your in zone 3b brrrrrrrrrr. You'll be able to get good advice from some of our far north members. For some of us grafting is an enjoyable hobby for others (like me) it's a palm sweating addiction, always thinking you need just one more variety of apple or pear to complete your orchard.
I want to graft more of the late-hanging apples ( unknown variety ) that I sent scion to Greyphase from. ^^^^ I still don't know what variety they are - only that they hang and drop slowly all winter up into March. I can only use 1 or 2 of them because I'm about out of space, but I'll continue to graft in the future and supply some friends and relatives with some good apples. Hobby / addiction ??? It's still fun to mess around with each spring !!
I agree it's an addiction and am adding 8 new varieties of apple this year which will put me at about 110 varieties which is crazy. Some are similar and many are single trees but I really do have that many variety which is also a curse for spraying purposes
Tall spindle? To aggressive! How can you resist the beauty of the standard size stand on its own relics? I can't wait till my trees start dropping lbs of flesh. :)
BV - There IS something about the look of an old, full-sized apple tree that's been around for years. They kind of look like an old, weathered skeleton - leaning slightly the way the prevailing wind has shaped it. How many people and critters have they fed ??
For the graft itself the plumbers tape should seal it. I've used parafilm to wrap the graft for several years now with good success. I use wax on the end of the scion to keep it from drying out, but you could use wood glue or treekote wound dressing. I'm sure there are other things too.
I resisted the urge to buy root stock this year - until yesterday Cummins sent an email out offering 25% off root stock and released some of the new M7/MM106 size Geneva root stock G.969. So close....
A little melted bees wax in a double boiler can be painted on from the graft union to the tip of the scion. If you have enough to make it worth a bigger wax purchase you can melt enough to just do a quick dip from the scion to the graft union into. In less than a second you can have it sealed.
Grafted 35 trees last weekend on B-118. 16 Swamp Apple (a wild tree on the property that the deer love), 10 Enterprise, 4 Liberty, 3 Kerr and 2 Chestnut Crab.
A little melted bees wax in a double boiler can be painted on from the graft union to the tip of the scion. If you have enough to make it worth a bigger wax purchase you can melt enough to just do a quick dip from the scion to the graft union into. In less than a second you can have it sealed.
My pics show example of double boiler setup. This is a tip I got on the forum and used for the first time last year. I use a coat hanger to dip in the melted wax and paint on the tip of the scion and top and bottom of grafting tape.