Important dates : Scion wood and bench grafting

AtomApple

5 year old buck +
Just trying to get a general idea for when to accomplish all these things. Please respond to the following:

1. I am in zone?
2. I cut Scion wood around this date?
3. I order my rootstock for delivery,to be able to bench graft on this date?
4. I plant them in pots or final soil on this date?
 
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Zone 5/6
I cut scion when I prune in Feb or March and store in a wine refrigerator. I store my rootstocks in a chest freezer set to about 40F. I don’t have a temp/humidity controlled place to store my bench grafts. I plant bench grafts out in my nursery about May 10, typical last frost date so the grafting is driven by that giving enough time to callous but hopefully not wake up at 65F in the basement. I want to bench graft 3-4 weeks before last frost so early to mid April. Earlier if that is when I have time to graft or I have too much to graft.
 
1. 4b East South East of you - on the Wisconsin side near Menomonie
2. Feb,March, - early April latest - any dormant cuttings Early to Mid March is a safe bet.
3. In the late fall - Nurseries sell out most desired root stock often well before scion harvesting
4. RS usually received by late April, cold stored in damp sawdust bedded on ice in a large cooler for a week give or take a few days ( no hurries)... they tend to start to wake up which I want (bud swell often some bud break). Bench Grafting done after a week or so from receiving, bedded back into damp sawdust/cooler with ice for a week or better. Union is given some time to heal while in the sawdust and cooler. Potted or field planted there after. By the end of that first week in May and start of the 2nd week ish they are potted. If I have a 100 or less I keep them by the garage door inside out of direct sun, then once we are basically done with the best chance for early frost I move them out to a fenced garden area under a white pine tree which gives good shade for better part of the day. Direct Field planted trees just go out after a week in the cooler.


Honestly its impossible to say exact dates only ballpark ones ... when I graft is mostly dependent on where I see the weather going and maybe a bit on when I think a late frost might hit. Your root stock will come from cold storage and you can put it back in and pick the time... If in transport for 4-5 days plus and in warm weather they maybe sweated out a bit and should be grafted a bit sooner as they have awaken. Which is a good thing. If you have a small number of grafts to do you could just graft and pot, keep indoors in the garage for a bit and move them closer to the windows if you have garage door windows - not direct sunlight. Then out under the eves then out into a nursery area as things warm up. With smaller numbers of grafts you have more options, larger numbers then you have other issues.

Its important to give them that time to rest and heal... dont touch just make sure the roots are kept damp. Small numbers can be just bedded in a 5 gal bucket - I do the cooler and it works great. But they need that heal time for the union to take. Banging and moving them around is not a good thing.


Have access to soil or soil mix that is not frozen for potting out. I have had to more than once buy top soil (35-50 bags) and potting mixes in the spring because of frozen solid piles of dirt. Even if that means doing a soil mix in the fall and putting it in 5 gal buckets and keeping in a garage. Our city has a free compost pile to take from and you maybe able to get into the unfrozen core of the pile. Tarping a pile in the fall will help also. Just one thing that i didnt think about at first till it was too late.
 
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Cavey, glad you posted about the soil mix. I thought I was on top of everything with fall purchasing of fencing, screening, metal name tags, metal conduit for fence stakes, landscaper staples, screening staples and weed cloth. Scions will be cut as weather permits starting this Thursday and running thru March as weather permits. However I hadn’t dug my composted wood chips which I use for holding root stocks before and after grafting. Dug up and filled three twenty gallon containers just now and will fill more tomorrow. Last year we lucked out and could dig wood chips whenever they were needed; that is not normal of course. Currently the south side of our wood chip pile is still not frozen. Snow is forecast for tomorrow so that will keep the pile diggable for maybe this whole coming week.

WE are in zone 5 with zone 3 and 4 temperatures. Last year I ordered rootstock around now and selection was limited. This year all rootstock was ordered in early fall, for next year may do in early summer depending on quantity to be ordered. Grafted rootstocks will be planted in an outside nursery AFTER all danger of frost is over. Planted some in early May last year that were leafed out. Had intentionally brought them from the cold barn to the warm barn before planting and they leafed out quickly, May not do that again. Many of the grafts were killed by the three unusual freezes that came after planting.
 
Thanks for the responses. My main reason for asking is that I am ordering my rootstock from Williamette, and they asked me when I want them delivered. I figured mid March to April was good. i was thinking most Scion was cut at the end of Feb or early March. I want to make sure my timing is good for optimal success rates.
 
Thanks for the responses. My main reason for asking is that I am ordering my rootstock from Williamette, and they asked me when I want them delivered. I figured mid March to April was good. i was thinking most Scion was cut at the end of Feb or early March. I want to make sure my timing is good for optimal success rates.
I just looked, my last years order was shipped on April 9th - took 4 days Im guessing to get here. I dont think you would want them in March
 
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