OhioJeremy
A good 3 year old buck
Simple question. After I graft the scion to the rootstock and it heals, can I then just plant it where it was planned to go? or does it need a year or longer til it can be planted?
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When can I plant my grafted apple trees
- Thread starter OhioJeremy
- Start date
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
It can be planted in its permanent location if you can keep the area around it weed free, protect it from critters and water it when you conditions require.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
That is how orchards do it. They graft them, let them heal in cold storage for a couple weeks and plant them. As Turkey Creek says, they require maintenance and protection which they get in an orchard environment.
My soils are not great. They are heavy clay. When I plant bare root trees in the spring, they are pretty slow. I find that the larger and stronger my trees are, the better they do in a wildlife environment. I do use weed mats and protect with cages, but that is about all the care my trees at the farm get because it is an hour and a half away and when I'm there, I'm over-tasked.
For years, I was growing trees from nuts and seeds in a root pruning container system, so I have plenty of root pruning containers available. My apples do best when I put them in these containers for a season (or two) and grow them on my deck. They develop much better root systems because of the containers and the trees seem to thrive. It is probably because they get much better care at home where I can provide supplemental water and fertilizer when needed. I also spray for insects when they are on my deck and I don't do much spraying of fruit trees at the farm. Because I'm using clonal root stock, there is not tap root to prune and I don't need to do the frequent transplanting that is needed when growing from nuts or seeds. Another advantage is that with my so-so grafting skills, some trees won't accept the graft. Since they are best planted when dormant, if I do all the work to plant and protect a tree at the farm and the graft fails, it is wasted. When a graft fails in a containerized tree on my deck, I just let the rootstock grow out (presuming it lives) , regraft it the next spring, and grow it for a second season on my deck.
I'm not saying this method is generally better. It all depends on your situation, but given how I handle trees and the farm and how far away it is, this method works better for me.
Thanks,
Jack
My soils are not great. They are heavy clay. When I plant bare root trees in the spring, they are pretty slow. I find that the larger and stronger my trees are, the better they do in a wildlife environment. I do use weed mats and protect with cages, but that is about all the care my trees at the farm get because it is an hour and a half away and when I'm there, I'm over-tasked.
For years, I was growing trees from nuts and seeds in a root pruning container system, so I have plenty of root pruning containers available. My apples do best when I put them in these containers for a season (or two) and grow them on my deck. They develop much better root systems because of the containers and the trees seem to thrive. It is probably because they get much better care at home where I can provide supplemental water and fertilizer when needed. I also spray for insects when they are on my deck and I don't do much spraying of fruit trees at the farm. Because I'm using clonal root stock, there is not tap root to prune and I don't need to do the frequent transplanting that is needed when growing from nuts or seeds. Another advantage is that with my so-so grafting skills, some trees won't accept the graft. Since they are best planted when dormant, if I do all the work to plant and protect a tree at the farm and the graft fails, it is wasted. When a graft fails in a containerized tree on my deck, I just let the rootstock grow out (presuming it lives) , regraft it the next spring, and grow it for a second season on my deck.
I'm not saying this method is generally better. It all depends on your situation, but given how I handle trees and the farm and how far away it is, this method works better for me.
Thanks,
Jack
Northbound
5 year old buck +
Personally I don't like to put my bench grafts out until frost chances are over for the season
chickenlittle
5 year old buck +
If you can baby it a little, go ahead and plant out. If the graft fails, regraft it next year. The more grafts you do, the more convenient it becomes to manage in a nursery bed.
Diesel5610
5 year old buck +
I plant mine in the fall after they go dormant. I would plant them after the graft has healed if I could baby them, but mine are all wildlife trees and don't get much TLC after planting with a weed mat, stone and a cage to keep the deer off them. After that I prune them every year.
OhioJeremy
A good 3 year old buck
What do you guys mean by baby them? The 3 rows they are going in I have access 7 days a week, literally 200 foot away from the house.
