KISS principle

[Dan Wombles]

Someone needs to enlighten me, as it seems like most on these threads make grafting trees a lot harder than need be, with planting in pots, moving them in and out of the house, etc.

I graft ~ 150 scions in late winter/early spring at my farm, dropping each finished one in a bucket of water as soon as it is grafted. Once all my grafts are finished, I immediately plant them in my outside nursery. I have an excellent survival rate without going through all of the extra work most are doing, and my grafts do not have to be buried again. As long as I keep weeds and grass under control, my grafted trees experience nice growth rates the first summer, and are ready to transplant late the next winter.

 

[kabic]

Maybe it has something to do with the length of the growing season in Northern Minnesota versus Pike County IL. Not really sure but that is my guess.

 

[Dan Wombles]

NH, couldn't you just keep scion and rootstock in cold storage until your weather breaks, and then graft and plant?

 

[SD51555]

You gotta know that just about everyone on this sight is completely insane when it comes to habitat stuff. Making this stuff complicated is what keeps us from going any crazier from everyday life.

 

[chickenlittle]

I did a mix of approaches. Most bench grafts were stored a few weeks and then planted in their final location. A handful were potted because there final location was not ready for them yet. Many bare rootstocks were planted and I will field graft them later.

 

[greyphase]

A lot of different ways to get to the same end, live healthy trees. Each persons situation (spare time, location) dictates what method works for them. If you end up with a live healthy tree your way is the right way..........for you. ;)

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I have the same situation as a couple of you guys. My camp is 2 1/2 hrs. away from my home and it's just easier to baby the grafts at home in pots for a year and plant them next spring at camp. I just take the pots to camp and only put in the ground once. I potted my grafts right away after grafting and stored them in my un-heated garage for 3 weeks to heal and eased them outside on the north side of my house a little at a time. So far - so good.:)

 

[Dan Wombles]

I'm 2 hours from my farm, and average going once every 2 to 3 weekends during summer. I prune off excess buds while there, which doesn't take very long. Since my grafts are planted immediately, they heal while in the ground, before they start budding. Sun does not harm them. As long as I control grass/weeds, success rate is ~ 90%.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Dan that's great. Hope we can achieve your efficiency some day. Maybe you need to give a seminar on this!!!! Good job

 

[SmallChunk]

If I was to graft again, that's the way I would try it. Graft and plop in the ground, see what happens. I didn't like moving the root trappers around and replanting them. Seemed like double the chance of failure