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Time and method of grafting an apple tree experienced gardeners determine individually. The procedure can be done all year round, but the most favorable period is spring. There are many ways. Every gardener prefers the simplest grafting, which results in a large percentage of cuttings engraftment. To find the most suitable way for yourself, you need to try them all. It will be easier for a novice gardener to inoculate an apple tree in the spring in a split, from which it is worth starting the practice.
Optimal time for vaccination
If desired, planting an apple tree in the cleft will work all year round. However, only experienced gardeners can boast of such abilities. Each season has an impact on the ongoing biological processes in plants and trees, which determines the engraftment of the cuttings.
Spring
Grafting in the spring is considered the best choice. The season is characterized by the awakening of nature. The sap begins to move in the trees, which has a positive effect on the rate of engraftment. It is better to plant the apple tree with cuttings in the splitting with the onset of heat, starting from March to April.
A later period from late April to mid-May is best limited to budding. The process similarly involves grafting, only a kidney is used instead of a cuttings. The advantage of spring grafting is not only better engraftment. If the result is bad, the action can be repeated later, without making yourself wait for the next season.
Summer
The two summer months July and August are no less important for apple trees than the spring period. At this time, the second cycle of sap movement begins in fruit trees. However, grafting an apple tree into the split in the summer is unlikely to work, since there are already large leaves on the cuttings. Sleeping bud budding is considered the best method.
Autumn
The beginning of autumn is not the best time for grafting apple trees. In early September, in warm weather, only budding with an eye is used. Experienced gardeners have from September to October grafting an apple tree into a split on young rootstocks. The graft on an adult tree will not take root. In addition to grafting into cleavage, the method is used for the bark or in the butt.
Winter
You can plant apple trees even in winter, but they do it indoors. The procedure lasts from January to the end of March. Apple seedlings are subject to grafting, which are to be planted in open ground after a maximum of 20 days.
Cuttings of apple trees and rootstocks are stored in the basement, shed or cellar at a temperature of about 0aboutC. In a warm room, seedlings are brought in 14 days, and cuttings - 3 days before inoculation.
Positive and negative sides of the splitting method
Why many gardeners like grafting apple trees into cleavage, you can understand by reading the advantages of the method:
- Almost 100% result. A stalk inserted into the cleft will take root faster than with another method of grafting. In terms of reliability, only budding with an eye competes, but the process is a little more complicated.
- An inexperienced gardener can overcome a simple method of vaccination.
- It takes little time to inoculate into cleavage. This is important if the work is done in a garden with a lot of material.
- If the bark of the rootstock is damaged, grafting the apple tree into the splitting method is the only solution to the problem.
- The stock can be an adult wild game, as well as a fruiting apple tree.
The disadvantage of grafting an apple tree into a split is the formation of a wood build-up at the junction of the scion with the stock. Over time, the stalk will begin to develop, grow and the thickening will become almost invisible.
Preparation of materials and tools
To carry out the vaccination, it is necessary to prepare the stock and the scion. Cuttings are chosen from those varieties of apple trees that I would like to plant in my garden. The stock can be a young seedling or an adult tree. Moreover, not only a cultivated apple or wild game is suitable, but also a pear, mountain ash, hawthorn, quince. The best stock is a pear.
From the tools you will need a sharp knife, a saw and a pruner. To process the cut, a garden pitch is used, and the graft itself is wrapped with electrical tape.
The quality of the vaccination depends on the speed of work. The cut points should not dry out. The tool is used only sharply sharpened. A dull knife or pruning shears will remember the wood, spoil the bark, and you can not dream of engraftment of the cutting.
Work order
It is convenient to graft apple trees when the scion and rootstock are not thick. It is best to work with one or two year old material. Splicing thick branches is more difficult, as it takes longer to adjust the cut points. The procedure consists of the main steps: stock splitting, scion preparation, alignment and isolation of the spliced area.
Preparatory work
The apple grafting process begins with the selection of the stock. In a wild game or other suitable seedling, the trunk is cleaned of dirt, after which a cut is made with a sharp pruner. A stump with a height of 15 cm remains above the ground. To cut a thick trunk, a sharp garden saw is used instead of a pruner. If the stalk is grafted onto an adult tree, then the branch is cut down. The stock should be even, clean, with a healthy bark without defects or thickenings. To inoculate one cutting, the cut of the stock is performed with a slope, and the scion is installed at the top of the cut.
The difficulty of splitting depends on the thickness of the rootstock. It is easy to separate a thin branch with a sharp knife strictly in the center. The splitting depth is about four sapling diameters.
The splitting of a thick branch or hemp takes place using a different technology. On the bark of the stock at the site of the alleged cleavage, the bark is cut with a sharp knife. This must be done on both sides of the seedling along the diameter of the trunk. The incisions will prevent rough bark rupture by making the cleavage edges straight. A sharp knife blade is installed in the center of the stock. It should line up with the bark incision lines. With strong hand pressure, the wood is split in two. When the knife enters the cleavage depth of up to 7 cm, a temporary wedge is inserted between the two halves.
Preparation and splicing of a scion with a stock
Cuttings of apple trees are prepared in such a length that from three to five buds remain above the cut. The excess top is cut off with a sharp secateurs. The bottom of the apple tree stalk is cut with a knife in the form of a wedge. The length of the pointed part is equal to four diameters of the scion.
When young thin branches are spliced, the pointed wedge of the cutting is inserted inside the split until the cambium coincides. Above the split, for better splicing of the cutting, a cut strip of bark is left at the scion.
Two thin cuttings of an apple tree are inserted into a thick stump or cut of a branch. The graft is placed on both sides of the split. It is important to take into account the different thickness of the bark during this grafting. When splicing, do not try to combine it. It is more important to take care of the cambium match.
After combining the scion with the stock, the grafting site must be protected immediately.
Vaccination isolation
A small gap remains at the junction of the cuttings with the stock. For better healing, the entire area is treated with garden varnish. Gardeners prepare it themselves, but you can buy it at the store. The split is firmly pulled together with electrical tape so that the cuttings do not dangle. From above, the entire vaccination site is additionally covered with a plastic bag. The film will prevent the slices from drying out. A humid microclimate will be constantly maintained at the vaccination site. On a hot sunny day, the grafted apple tree is shaded.
Sometimes gardeners even wrap the stalk with a special tape. The method is not bad, but you need to carefully handle the kidneys so as not to break them off. The isolation is removed after the scion has engrafted, which is signaled by the blossoming leaves.
In the video, grafting apple trees in spring splitting according to all the rules:
Conclusion
Vaccination is a pretty interesting affair. If a bad variety of fruit tree grows in the yard, you can always plant cuttings on it and enjoy delicious apples in the future. And to search for a scion, it is enough to walk around the neighbors and ask to cut off one-year-old branches.
