Harvesting apple cuttings - the first rule of successful grafting

Every gardener, whether professional or amateur, at least once in his life has come across the grafting of fruit branches. Since the most common fruit tree in our gardens is the apple tree, it is most often grafted. In order to carry out everything successfully, you must strictly follow all the rules. In most cases, a favorable outcome depends on properly prepared apple cuttings for grafting.

When to harvest cuttings

Apple cuttings for grafting can be started at different times.

Most often, preparation is carried out in the fall (end of November). The most suitable time for harvesting is the period after the cessation of sap flow in the tree. This period begins after the apple tree has completely shed its leaves and entered a state of dormancy.

Some gardeners claim that harvesting can be done at the beginning of winter. For winter preparation of cuttings, the period from the beginning of winter to mid-January is suitable. After January, thaws may occur, and this will significantly worsen the survival rate of the cutting (it may not take root at all), which was cut during this period. There is an explanation for this phenomenon. It is believed that in this case, the movement of plastic substances to the tops of the shoot occurs when the sun warms up. They move to branches. Cutting such a branch and grafting it to the stock will be ineffective due to the fact that it already lacks the nutrients that are necessary for the grafting elements to grow together and callus build-up. Also, during the winter period, freezing of young shoots may occur.

Other gardeners claim that for effective grafting, apple stalks can be harvested in December or February, as well as in March. But in this case, the weather conditions should be taken into account. The air temperature at the time of cutting must be at least -10 degrees Celsius. It is this temperature that contributes to the best hardening of annual shoots. If harvesting is carried out at the beginning of winter, then it should be carried out after the first frost. If the winter was not very frosty, and the wood on the apple tree is not damaged, then the cutting can be harvested at the end of February or at the beginning of March.

Also, the scion can be prepared in the spring. In this case, young shoots are cut before the budding period. If the buds on the shoot have already blossomed, then they are not used for inoculation. In some cases, harvesting can be done during the March pruning of the apple tree.

Some gardeners suggest harvesting the cutting just before grafting.

Grafting of apple cuttings can be carried out both in winter and in the spring... The time of harvesting the scion directly depends on its time. If the grafting is carried out in winter, then the scion, respectively, is prepared at the beginning of winter, and if in the spring, then either at the beginning of winter or in early spring.

For winter-hardy apple varieties, both the preparation of the scion in the fall and in the winter is equally suitable.

Of all the harvesting periods listed above, 100% of the grafting result is obtained by harvesting cuttings at the beginning of winter.

A video showing the spring or winter harvesting of the scion can be found below.

How to procure

In order for the grafting to go as it should, it is necessary to choose the right time for the preparation, and also to carry out the preparation itself with high quality.

To do this, you must adhere to the following instructions:

• you should choose in advance the trees from which the graft will be taken;
• in order for the stalk to take root well, you need to use only young, healthy, as well as fruitful branches of the apple tree;
• the scion is made from annual shoots. If it is impossible to use annual shoots, two-year shoots are used;
• branches should grow from the lighted part of the bark;
• cutting begins only after the end of the growing season or before bud break;
• cuttings are not harvested from branches that grow vertically (from tops or wen);
• at the end of summer, the tips of the buds should be pinched on the selected branch. This is done so that the shoots, after grafting, ripen well. But you can also use regular branches;
• ripe shoots with a diameter of at least 5-6 mm are best suited for the scion; they should have an apical growth bud and leafy lateral buds;
• do not make the scion too short (about 10 cm);
• crooked, thin and damaged branches are not suitable as a scion;
• it is necessary to cut off the shoots below the growth neck with a piece of two-year-old wood up to 2 cm. Otherwise, the scion may deteriorate during storage.

After the scion has been cut, it must be collected in bunches according to varieties (if several trees are grafted with different varieties at once). Before that, in order for the cuttings to be stored for a long time and give a good harvest after grafting, they must be wiped with a damp cloth and sorted by size. Then the bundles need to be tied with wire and be sure to hang a tag on which to indicate the variety, cut time and the place where these cuttings will be grafted in the spring (tree variety).

Video "Harvesting cuttings for grafting an apple tree"

All stages of harvesting cuttings can be additionally viewed in the video.

How to store

Once the shoots have been cut and tied, they should be laid for storage. To do this, they are placed in a clean plastic bag and placed on the north side of your house or barn.

The following methods of storing the scion are distinguished:

• bundles can be stored outdoors. In this case, you should clear a small piece of land from snow, put the scion there and cover it with snow on top and tamp it;
• cuttings can be stored in the refrigerator. In this case, they must be wrapped first in a damp burlap, and then in paper. After the bundles are placed in polyethylene. Periodically you need to look at the cuttings to prevent them from drying out or developing mold;
• sections can be stored in wet sand, peat, sawdust or any other suitable substrate (oldest and proven method); storage temperature should be positive, but low. It is periodically necessary to moisten the substrate. In this case, the cuttings are kept fresh and swollen;
• The scion can be stored in a basement at temperatures from zero to +3 degrees Celsius. The beams are placed vertically downward with the cuts, and from the sides they are spudded with sand or sawdust. The moisture content of the substrate must be maintained throughout the winter.
• also rootstocks can be stored in a suspended state on the veranda, balcony, tree. But in this case, they must be well insulated with a clean and sterile bag. They should be checked periodically to prevent the slices from sprouting.

Sometimes, when the cuttings need to be preserved before spring grafting, they are buried in the ground in the garden. The pit depth is one shovel bayonet. From above, they are covered with spruce legs from moles, and then they are thrown with plant residues and a mark (for example, a peg) is left.

By observing the above requirements and instructions, you can achieve a successful vaccination, and the scion will bear many fruits.