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Post by greenfinger on Jul 14, 2014 22:09:44 GMT -5
Today's storms downed my dying apple tree. I was planning, this fall, to wrap a few small branches to grow roots, creating new trees. Oh! Air layering. Now that it is downed, is there anything that can be done? Stick a few in a pot hoping for roots to develop? I really liked this fruit.
At the base of the downed tree is a 3 year old sprout, still standing. The baby received a skinned trunk, which I wrapped with vet wrap(?) for horses. I do not know if this is from a seed, the cultivar, or if there was even a rootstock that it may have sprouted from. It has not yet fruited.
Any suggestions?
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jul 14, 2014 23:37:43 GMT -5
greenfinger: Perhaps some emergency grafts onto the 3 year old sprout? Can't hurt to try and grow roots on some of the twigs.
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Post by greenfinger on Jul 15, 2014 5:23:57 GMT -5
As in cut off some twigs, dip in root hormone, stick in a nursery area? As with grafting, keep the twigs between 3/8 to 5/8"?
I have mo experience with grafting. I nave only read the theory. Praying for success...
Will try suggestions, Thanks Joseph.
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Post by steev on Jul 15, 2014 10:33:48 GMT -5
If the tree is newly felled, why not air-layer some twigs, unless the tree must be removed immediately?
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Post by greenfinger on Jul 15, 2014 10:47:02 GMT -5
No part of the tree trunk is still attached to the root system. It was becoming hollow. So do you think might be enough stores in the downed tree to keep something going to grow roots?
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Post by bunkie on Jul 15, 2014 17:38:46 GMT -5
greenfinger, how old is the tree? Here's a pics of our over 80 year old apple tree (it was 60 when we moved here 20 plus years ago) that has 3 different types of apples (grafted many moons ago), and split maybe ten plus years ago and yet produces wonderfully...the trunk is kind of hollow, but the branches apparently took root where they fell and started new trees. I've seen this happen before, but the trees were old like this one...GOOD LUCK!  |
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Post by steev on Jul 15, 2014 18:37:37 GMT -5
If you try some each way, you increase your chance of success. Maybe slash the twig, apply rooting hormone, then wrap to air-layer. I've never had great luck potting apple cuttings.
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Post by greenfinger on Jul 15, 2014 19:43:16 GMT -5
I've been told the tree used to be part of an orchard. Apparently the only one left. It was about 25 yeas ago when our house was put here by the original owners, so at least that old. It was about 22" diameter.
So this is what I've done.
On the three year old-ish sapling, (It's over 7 foot tall) I did two grafts. On two additional whips, I grafted one to each. I have 11 cuttings in moist potting soil. And a 10 foot, 2 inch diameter branch buried
6" deep, with whip style branches sticking up into the air.
Maybe?
The tree is in the front yard, I don't think my man would want it left there...
Thanks everyone.
Joy
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Post by billw on Jul 15, 2014 20:34:09 GMT -5
I've never had any troubles getting green cuttings to root in water. Some take, some don't, but if you cut a few dozen, you ought to end up with plenty to work with.
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Post by greenfinger on Jul 17, 2014 11:25:25 GMT -5
I'll try that too. Thanks.
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Post by MikeH on Jul 17, 2014 12:59:49 GMT -5
Today's storms downed my dying apple tree. I was planning, this fall, to wrap a few small branches to grow roots, creating new trees. Oh! Air layering. Now that it is downed, is there anything that can be done? Stick a few in a pot hoping for roots to develop? I really liked this fruit. At the base of the downed tree is a 3 year old sprout, still standing. The baby received a skinned trunk, which I wrapped with vet wrap(?) for horses. I do not know if this is from a seed, the cultivar, or if there was even a rootstock that it may have sprouted from. It has not yet fruited. Any suggestions? You might be able to bud graft depending on whether the bark is slipping. The attached video is excellent. To see what I mean, go to 1:03 of the video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0e2SuupqCM&feature=youtu.be&t=1m0s. This is absolutely critical since you must expose the cambium layer of the bud that you wish to graft. If you have any questions about what's in the video, feel free to ask and I'll try to help. You could try cuttings but apples are difficult to propagate from cuttings. Grafting has much better odds. With T-budding, you can pack a lot of grafts into a small amount of host branch. You also don't have to match caliper. |
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Post by greenfinger on Jul 17, 2014 14:27:48 GMT -5
bill w, should I have stripped the leaves from the submerged portion of my cuttings?
mile h, I'll take a look at it, I had thought though that bark slipping was only in he spring?
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Post by steev on Jul 17, 2014 21:58:14 GMT -5
The thing is that if the tree has any significant bulk, say 6" trunk or more, there is a lot of resource available in it to fuel rooting/sprouting.
Granted your hubs may not want it there, but a few months, to ensure its survival? Hmmm?
It can always be reduced to barbecue/smoker wood later.
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Post by MikeH on Jul 19, 2014 4:11:58 GMT -5
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Post by greenfinger on Apr 24, 2015 7:02:50 GMT -5
Update and questions: My tongue and groove twig grafts all failed. Water and potting soil rooting attempts failed. Buried branch failed. If my now 4-ish year old sapling bloomed, I missed it, there were fruit spurs on it. We had a freeze during pear bloom, so I may have lost that fruit too.  Good news, I found a sad little granny smith apple tree for $10! My price range! Having had a few months, I think I understand the bud grafting thing now. Thanks for that info. It will be two or three weeks till new bud growth, the trees have already leaved out. I plan to bud graft granny smith to the sapling previously mentioned. I have several additional whip sprouts from the fallen apple tree. Maybe if I plop a pot over one or two and dump in some potting soil, they should root, and can be cut off, transplanted, then bud grafted as well? Also, could I use straight beeswax for sealing grafts? Or do I need to buy a commercial product? (for the cases where a branch is cut off right above bud graft) |
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