Need help/opinions ASAP…possibility of fruit trees breaking dormancy?

Derek Reese 29

Derek Reese 29

5 year old buck +
I’m in north central PA and haven’t pruned my trees yet. It’s supposed to get into the 50s tomorrow and the next three days then be above average temps for a few days after that…would like to go ice fishing today, but if the trees are gonna break dormancy I’ll skip the ice and do the pruning today..thoughts on the possibility I procrastinated too long?? Thanks!
 
Seems to me that the more modern opinion is that you can prune almost any time. I wouldn't stress over it. I'd be surprised if your trees actually budded out. I also think that it takes more than a few warm days (think length of day) to get them going.

At the very worst, you might consider doing a lighter prune. In my experience, apple trees are tough as hell. Enjoy the warmer weather!
 
Stubborn1VT said:
Seems to me that the more modern opinion is that you can prune almost any time. I wouldn't stress over it. I'd be surprised if your trees actually budded out. I also think that it takes more than a few warm days (think length of day) to get them going.

At the very worst, you might consider doing a lighter prune. In my experience, apple trees are tough as hell. Enjoy the warmer weather!
Click to expand...
My thought was to save some of the pruned wood for scion too so definitely didn’t want them to have broken dormancy if I’m trying to graft them onto something else later…
 
I got the same warm spell coming up here in NY. I'd run out and grab the scions you want today and ice fish.

While dormant buds are best, I do think there might be some value to the scion wood getting some sap flow into the wood. PRevents drying out and maybe give much needed nutrients.

The dormant pruning theory is for the tree to focus it's energy on the wanted branches. The tree will be expelling some energy onto waking up those unwanted buds. Not sure if the cuts need some time to dry up / heal before you loose nutrients to any bit of sap flowing out of them. Never seen that though.

I try to keep scion wood in the fridge cut at a good time and leave a unwanted branch or twostill on the tree. if my rootstock order comes in while the tree is dormant, I use the fresh cut. Seemed to work pretty good last year. I was maybe around 85% take.

Far as scion wood and buds go. If you got a nice cool place in the 40's low 50's the freshly grafted tree can heal the graft union, thats the way to go. Dont want that scion to wake up before the rootstock can feed it. Did this last year and think this helped more than using fresh off the vine scion.

I am trying cleaning my scions with a light bleach solution and hydrating them in water before I graft. Not ones I am giving away, but my own grafting wood. Seems to be a popular professional grafter thing to do. Got 28 to graft might do 1/2 n half. 10 m111s, 10 siberian, 5 anty, 3 b118. Got a few trees with that grey / black dirty muck coating. on the wood surface
 
Got about half of them done ..def goes alot
Slower when saving scion for future grafting..got alot of what I wanted to save done except for some pears..might do more this week or just hold off
 
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