Content
Cherry is one of the traditional crops for Russian gardens, as it is distinguished by its excellent resistance to stress, disease and unstable temperature conditions. There are many reasons to plant cherries. Among them: improving taste, increasing yield indicators and accelerating ripening. Grafting cherries in spring for beginners will not be difficult if you follow simple rules and recommendations.
Do I need to plant cherries
It is necessary to plant a culture so that the tree becomes immune to parasites and diseases, as well as to improve the taste of berries. Grafting in horticulture is the transfer of part of one tree to another for mutual splicing and obtaining a new culture. You can plant any variety you like, without the need to purchase a seedling on the market or in a nursery. If the tree is grafted correctly, it will bear fruit for many years.
Cherry grafting methods
There are various ways to plant cherries. The simplest and most accessible for people taking their first steps in gardening are grafting into cleavage, copulation and budding. The essence of budding is reduced to the relocation of axillary buds to the stock. The material for inoculation is given the name "peephole". It is necessary to carry out the operation with a special budding or sharpened disinfected blade. You will also need to stock up on PVC tape. The algorithm for performing the procedure is as follows:
- A good kidney is selected and cut off together with the shield (part of the bark). The shield should be about 200 mm in length, it is laid out on a layer of damp cloth so that the cut surface does not dry out.
- Part of the stock is provided with a T-cut.
- The peephole is inserted between the flaps of the incision and pressed so that only the kidney is visible from the outside.
- The structure is wrapped with electrical tape, placing the adhesive side outward, so as not to damage the bark when removed.
The vitality of the crop and a number of important indicators, such as fruit taste and yield, depend on the choice of the optimal grafting method.
Some gardeners recommend building small plastic wrap greenhouses around the grafted cuttings. However, the sun's rays can burn the vaccine, so it is worth weighing all the risks before making such a decision.
The split option is not difficult. Whole cuttings are used as grafting material. The following tools are required: a knife with a sharp blade, a file and a garden pruner. To plant a cherry in a split, you need to follow the following sequence of actions:
- The cutting is prepared, on which there are 2-3 normally developed kidneys. The lower end is processed with a knife until a double wedge appears. The thickness of the shoot should be several times less than the cut length indicators.
- If the diameter of the stock is too large, a cut is made at the required height.With an equal thickness of the rootstock with a scion, they resort to using a garden pruner.
- An incision is made at a depth of 4.5-5.5 cm along the diameter of the saw cut. To prevent the cleavage from closing, a special peg is placed in it.
- A stalk is cut into the split with a cut to the maximum permissible depth. If the rootstock is too thick, the cutting is placed at the edge so that both cambium and bark match.
- The rootstock is tightly wrapped with electrical tape (non-sticky side) in order to ensure a perfect fit of the rootstock with the scion.
- The split from the front side is covered with a garden varnish to achieve complete tightness.
It is possible to inoculate cherries from a shoot by a simple copulation method if the diameters of the scion and rootstock are identical. For this manipulation, you will need: a knife with a sharpened blade or a special knife for copulating, a garden pruner and duct tape. From a piece of pipe made of metal or plastic of a small diameter, a tool is made for adjusting the angle.
You can plant cherries using the simple copulation method according to the following algorithm:
- The handle is inserted into the tube until the lower end is slightly peeking out.
- With the help of a knife, a cut is made along the line of the end of the pipe.
- The rootstock is shortened at the required height with a garden pruner. Then a tube is put on it to make an identical cut.
- A stalk is applied to the stock using the cut-to-cut method so that the tissues match. The docking place is wrapped with adhesive tape.
The advantages of simple copulation are the availability and high survival rate. The disadvantage of this method is the lack of strength in the fusion area. Cherry has a fragile wood, therefore the most reliable method that guarantees a decent result with proper execution is budding.
What is better to plant cherries on
You can plant cherries on different crops, but not all experiments are successful.
Gardeners are experimenting with different rootstocks: plum, cherry, blackthorn, sweet cherry, apricot. The most popular and reliable stock tree is the wild cherry.
Cherry grafting on cherries
Intraspecific grafting is quite common, and allows you to graft a varietal crop on wild cherries. The tree becomes resistant to dry weather, coccomycosis and increased carbonate content in the soil.
Cherry grafting on bird cherry
Bird cherry is a crop resistant to parasites and unstable temperature conditions, so you can plant cherries on it in almost any garden area. However, the vast majority of varieties are grafted exclusively on a variety called Antipka.
Cherry grafting on plums
Planting cherries on a wild-growing plum means changing the taste of the fruit for the better, making it sweeter and increasing its size. The maturation period is significantly reduced, resistance to stress and immunity against a number of diseases inherent in stone fruit are increased. If the plum is chosen as a rootstock, it improves the growth and nutrition indicators, and the cherry, in turn, has the most favorable effect on the taste of the berries.
This crossing allows you to achieve an extraordinary taste and aroma of the fruit and guarantees an early harvest.
Grafting cherries on mountain ash
Despite the fact that the mountain ash is part of the Pink family, it is unlikely that it will be possible to plant cherries on it. Experiments are not forbidden, but most likely time will be wasted.
Grafting cherries on blackthorns
To plant cherries on thorns, you have to tinker thoroughly, because the stock is distinguished by a large number of root suckers, the fight against which is a very troublesome task.
Cherry grafting on cherries
Even a novice gardener will be able to plant cherries on cherries. This should be done to increase frost resistance and get rid of a number of problems inherent in stone fruits. The site for intraspecific inoculation should be located at a level of 15-22 cm from the ground.The best method is heavy copulation with a cut of about 40mm.
Cherry grafting on cherry plum
There are different opinions about what the consequences will be if you plant a cherry on a cherry plum. Some gardeners believe that such a manipulation significantly increases productivity and stress resistance. Cherry plum is known as "Russian plum". It got this name due to its high tolerance to negative temperatures. However, cherry cuttings do not take root on it in the best way, so the operation requires certain knowledge and practical skills from the gardener.
Pear and apple grafting
Planting cherries on a pear or apple crop is not a great idea. It is very difficult to achieve positive results, most likely the harvest will be small, and the tree will become very vulnerable to parasites, diseases and temperature abnormalities. Attempts to combine stone and pome fruits usually lead to negative results.
Cherry grafting on apricot
Apricot is not the best choice as a rootstock for cherry culture. This combination is characterized by a low percentage of accretion, and the resulting tree will have fragile branches.
What time can you plant cherries?
The optimal time of the year for planting cherries is the spring, when the sap flow is most active.
The difficulty is that it is very difficult to achieve their safety until spring. It is necessary to create ideal conditions under which the branches will be able to maintain moderate humidity, but at the same time they will not rot and freeze, and will not wake up ahead of time. The deadline for grafting cherries in the Moscow region is the last days of April. It is better to plant cherries using the advanced copulation method.
How to plant cherries correctly
There are various methods for planting cherries correctly.
Budding implies grafting with an eye (one bud), and copulation with a graft, when the rootstock and scion have the same thickness
Both options can be realized by means of a side cut behind the bark or in the buttstock. For beginners, cleft grafting is considered the best method. This method is the simplest, and does not allow serious mistakes. To plant cherries in spring step by step, you will need cuttings up to 16 cm in length with a couple of three buds and the following algorithm of actions:
- They take a stock (branch diameter - up to 6 cm) and make a saw cut, after which they clean it with a sharpened blade.
- A split is made with an ax or a sharp blade in the center of the rootstock branch, the depth of which should vary between 9-10.5 cm. In case of a too dense split, you need to move the blade in different directions so that the cuttings are placed in them.
- On one side of the cutting, you need to make a couple of cuts from the side to get a wedge. The depth must be identical to the cut length.
- After removing the hatchet, instead of it, you need to insert a small-sized chop made of wood or a screwdriver, which will prevent the sides of the stock from closing. The stalk is placed in the cleavage area so that the cambial layers coincide.
- The screwdriver must be removed without moving the scion. If the scion is thinner than the rootstock, a couple more cuttings are placed in the cleft.
The top of the stock is tied with adhesive tape. The area of the upper even cut on the grafted cuttings and the grafting site are covered with a special pitch. Then they take a plastic bag and build a small greenhouse in which the grafted stalk is placed. This ensures that the required moisture level is maintained in the vaccination area. It takes root after 11-15 days, after which you can get rid of the package that acts as a greenhouse. It is not recommended to remove the adhesive tape until the scion and rootstock are completely fused.
How to plant cherries correctly in spring
The grafting of cherries in the split in spring is done using material purchased from the market or chopped in the spring yourself.
Cherry cuttings
Harvesting cherry cuttings in the spring is carried out according to the following algorithm:
- The mother tree is inspected for normal shoots that have appeared in the growth of last year. They are distinguished by a shiny glossy, thin and reddish bark.
- Make sure the shoot contains only sharp-tipped buds. For fruiting cherry crops, last year's growths with rounded buds are best suited.
- To cut the shoot, you need to use a pruner, which removes the buds from the tops and chop sticks up to 31 cm in length. Each of the cuttings should have 4 buds.
It is impossible to carry out the procedure in too hot or rainy weather. The most preferred time to plant a crop is on a cool, cloudy day. It is not recommended to plant cherries with buds; it is better to carefully remove most of them before splicing.
How to vaccinate cherries in summer
Summer grafting of cherries with green cuttings is considered more problematic and difficult than grafting in spring. It is possible to plant cherries in a hot period only on a culture without defects with a trunk of 6 cm in diameter and above.
Cherry care after grafting
The vaccination site is wrapped with electrical tape or plastic wrap, making a couple of turns with a rope on top. Do not wrap tightly, as this can harm the tree.
After the first buds have bloomed, it is worth getting rid of the binding material, leaving only a layer of electrical tape
They remove it when the first leaves begin to fall. After swelling of the kidneys, pinch off the weakest, leaving 2-3 of the strongest. Thanks to this trick, the tree will not lose sap, which will have the best effect on its development.
Experienced gardening tips
When harvesting cuttings, it must be borne in mind that annual shoots are strewn with buds. They prefer long shoots with few flower buds.
If a candidate for rootstock is found in the forest, then the transplanted tree should be able to root and adapt to its new location. It will be able to turn into a full-fledged stock only after a few years. It is possible to plant cherries during flowering only if you have certain experience and skills.
Conclusion
Grafting cherries in spring for beginners will not be difficult if you follow a certain technology. You need to plant cherries without delay so that the slices do not have time to oxidize. When grafting with a handle, it is important to monitor the correct alignment of the cambial layers. Knives, secateurs and other tools must be disinfected to minimize the risk of fungal infection.
