Late last fall on our new farm a bear tore my appx 12 year old, very productive, Honey Crisp tree right down to a 3’ tall stump (5-6” dia). The previous owner planted it and let it develop a narrow-angle crotch about 3’ from the ground. Then he removed the cage, and the rest is history. I’ll post pics when I can.
Anyway, I figure I‘ll still have a very vigorous root system under that stump this spring, and I remembered reading about grafting onto stumps. I also happened to be out pruning my Honey Crisp tree at home. Got me thinking. I researched it a little bit on the internet.
Can anyone give any advice on trying to graft my home tree onto that stump? My biggest question right now is, should I harvest water sprouts from my home tree and put them in the refrigerator now? My home is zone 4b and snow is mostly gone but the farm is 3b so it’ll be awhile before the 3’ drifts are melted down.
I’ve never grafted anything in my life and am only just a very interested beginner in fruit trees……..but I feel like I don’t want to “waste” that stump if I could learn something new on it, in spite of no experience.
thanks for reading!
Anyway, I figure I‘ll still have a very vigorous root system under that stump this spring, and I remembered reading about grafting onto stumps. I also happened to be out pruning my Honey Crisp tree at home. Got me thinking. I researched it a little bit on the internet.
Can anyone give any advice on trying to graft my home tree onto that stump? My biggest question right now is, should I harvest water sprouts from my home tree and put them in the refrigerator now? My home is zone 4b and snow is mostly gone but the farm is 3b so it’ll be awhile before the 3’ drifts are melted down.
I’ve never grafted anything in my life and am only just a very interested beginner in fruit trees……..but I feel like I don’t want to “waste” that stump if I could learn something new on it, in spite of no experience.
thanks for reading!