The best grafting material for fruit trees is cuttings. These are shoots with buds that have grown in the current year. The gardener can prepare them himself. To do this, he needs to figure out how to properly cut and store such material.
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When to do garden work?
Two periods of the year are suitable for this event:
- The end of autumn is the beginning of winter. Cuttings should be harvested after leaf fall before the onset of frost. At this time, it is recommended to harvest cuttings of plums, cherries, cherries.
- The end of winter is the beginning of spring. Such work should be carried out after severe frosts subside. This period is suitable for harvesting pome crops (apples, pears).
In summer, branches can only be cut for green grafting. They should be used on the day of harvest.
Shoot cutting rules
To get viable cuttings, follow these general tips:
- Cut material for grafting from young fruit-bearing trees (the recommended plant age is 3–7 years).
- Choose annual shoots that grow in the southern or central crown. They take root better.
- Cut off the cuttings with pruning shears or with sharp garden shears. Do this by weight, gently holding the tip of the scion. Make sure that the prepared stalk is no shorter than 30 cm and no thinner than 7 mm. Otherwise, it may not take root.
- Avoid crooked, slender twigs, tops, and outgrowths with poorly developed buds. These are not suitable for vaccination.
Important: under no circumstances touch the cut points with your hands. This can lead to infection.
How to store cuttings in winter?
First of all, the shoots must be pasted over with labels so as not to confuse tree varieties. You can store them in such places:
- In the snow. This option is suitable for regions in which the snow cover lasts all winter. For cuttings, it is necessary to dig a trench 30 cm deep in the ground, lay it out with a spruce forest, lay the shoots, cover them with spruce legs and cover them with soil. When it snows, they need to throw a trench so that the thickness of the cover above it is 50 cm.
- In the cellar. Before placing the cuttings in the basement, they must be immersed in sawdust or sand in slices. It is important to keep an eye on the humidity level in the room to prevent the scions from becoming moldy during storage. If moisture begins to accumulate on the workpieces, they should be removed from the cellar and dried, and then placed back.
- In sawdust. Another option for the southern regions. You should choose the northern part of the site, pour wet sawdust on the ground, then put the cuttings on them and cover with a 40-centimeter layer of sawdust. Top this "fur coat" should be covered with dry hay or lumber.
In the spring, you can store the cuttings in the refrigerator. They need to be wrapped in a damp cloth, put in polyethylene and placed in a compartment with a temperature not exceeding 2 degrees.
How to prepare branches for grafting?
The shoots must be transferred from the storage site to a warm room one day before inoculation. The cuttings should be checked before use. The wood on their cut should be fresh and green, the scales on the buds should be smooth and tight. When bent, the shoot should be elastic. Such a stalk will take root well.
It is strictly forbidden to use damp, moldy samples for grafting. Their use can lead to disease and even death of the plant.
Do you know how to prepare cuttings for spring grafting?
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