Every gardener dreams of having as many good varieties of trees as possible on his plot and getting a stable harvest while spending the least amount of land. For this purpose, spring grafting of cherries is carried out on existing or newly planted young plants.
Cherry grafting
The principle of grafting onto cherries other varieties or adjacent stone fruits, such as cherries or plums, is to graft varieties that are susceptible to frost and poorly oriented to the climatic conditions of the area on a zoned winter-hardy tree. Thus, the graft takes on the properties of the main tree, due to which the frost resistance of the variety increases, as well as resistance to local growing conditions. Cherry-to-cherry grafting is most popular in the spring, as it itself does not tolerate frosty winters.
You can use both young and adult plants for grafting in order to renew them. The stone cherry is used as a scion and is suitable for other stone fruits such as sweet cherries, plums or more cultivated varieties.cherries. The following methods are used for this:
- Eye behind the bark, pressed against the trunk.
- Side cut.
- In splitting.
- Improved copulation.
Preparing the rootstock
Rootstocks, which will be used later, should be no more than 1 cm thick. Shoots for this purpose are harvested immediately before the grafting process. For this, he althy and already beginning to bear fruit trees are suitable. A branch cut is taken with formed buds, about 40 centimeters in length.
If the rootstock, which is planned to be used as a graft, has already blossomed leaves, then they are removed along with the petioles, and also get rid of the grassy top.
Cherry grafting in spring with a cutting is done in April, when sap flow begins in the trees. At this time, the bark from the tree is easily detached, and therefore all methods are used that involve removing the bark from the main trunk and bringing the graft under it. These processes must be completed before bud break, otherwise the rootstocks do not take root well.
Shoots intended for grafting are harvested even after the end of leaf fall and stored until it is carried out in dark, cool rooms, digging most of them into coarse sand, sawdust or peat, which is regularly moistened. In this case, the temperature of the content should not exceed three degrees Celsius.
Also, shoots can be harvested in the spring, for this, in the second half of March, before the buds begin to swell, the necessary rootstocks are stored in the refrigerator, at a level where the temperatureranges from 1 to 3 degrees. To do this, you need to place them in a layer of cellophane, after wrapping them with a damp cloth or newspaper. Periodically moisten the matter in which they are wrapped and do not allow drying.
Subtleties of the process
Cherry grafting in the spring is done with a sharp knife that can cut without damaging or fluffing the tissue of the trunk. It is important to remember that open cuts oxidize rather quickly, so the whole operation must be carried out quickly, which ensures better rootstock engraftment on the main trunk.
The grafting site must be wrapped with plastic wrap, and electrical tape can also be used for this purpose. Open cuts of the ends must be covered with a layer of garden pitch, which will protect them from drying out, and therefore from dying off. The best option would be to cover this entire structure with an additional layer of film or paper from winding.
Spring vaccination
One of the popular types of grafting is spring grafting. Rootstocks for this method are harvested in the fall or in the first month of winter. Take cuttings with a length of at least 50 centimeters. For this purpose, branches more than a year old are used. They can be stored, in addition to the methods described above, also by snowing. This method consists in the fact that the cuttings are tied into dense bundles, wrapped in plastic bags, and when snow falls, they are covered with a layer of at least half a meter. Such a snowdrift is covered with sawdust or peat. Place these storages on the north side of the house,so that the snow does not melt for a long enough time. The optimum air temperature in this case is at least 2, but not more than 10 degrees below zero.
Grafting cherry on cherry in spring
For grafting, the most suitable trees are those grown from the stone, called "wilds". They are the most adapted to local climatic conditions and hardy enough to transfer these qualities to the varieties that will be grafted.
Among stone fruit breeds, most cultures take root well with each other, but it is customary to divide them into two groups:
- Plum. These include: blackthorn, plum, apricot, peach, almond felt cherry.
- Cherry. This group includes cherries, sweet cherries and their hybrids.
Within these groups, you can safely graft from one variety to another. This may be a grafting of cherries on cherries in the spring, a photo of such an example can be seen below.
The most popular among cross-groups is the grafting of plums on cherries in spring.
Timing
It is very important to respect certain deadlines for doing work such as grafting fruit trees. The success of the entire event depends on this. The start of sap flow usually falls in early to mid-April, depending on how early the spring is and when the buds begin to form and swell. At the same time, the average daily temperature is still low. However, depending on the weather, the timing of vaccinations mayextended until May or June. The most important criterion in this case is how much the buds on the scion have blossomed, since they should only be in a dormant state. At the same time, the tree on which it is planned to be vaccinated can be both dormant and in full bloom. Thus, we determine the timing of grafting cherries from the beginning of April to the end of May.
Several different varieties can be grafted onto one main plant. For these purposes, methods of grafting pollinators are also used, which increase the yield of the main variety.
How to graft a cherry in spring
Grafting is performed at a distance of 20–25 cm from the main trunk. This distance is optimal, because if you graft directly on the main trunk, then branching will interfere, you will have to remove most of the shoots. And if you vaccinate higher, then when pruning trees, you can accidentally remove it.
The most profitable is the grafting of cherries in the spring on young seedlings older than two years, which are not suitable for their varietal characteristics. To perform such manipulations, the best option is to choose a branch that is wider or equal in diameter to the cutting.
In the event that the diameters of the cutting and the main branch are the same, the grafting is carried out using improved copulation. To do this, the same oblique cuts are made on the main trunk and scion, which should ideally match each other, and it is also necessary to provide for the presence of a tongue. Afterafter they are adjusted to fit as closely as possible to each other, they are connected and tightly tied.
If the width of the main stem is greater than the diameter of the handle, then the same actions are performed, but in the main stem, cuts are usually made along the lateral line. After fitting the sections of the cuttings with recesses on the main trunk, they are tightly connected to each other and tied.
The strapping should be as tight as possible. The better the cutting is fixed, the greater the chance of its survival. All parts of the cuts made, which are open, are coated with garden pitch. For the first time, they are tied with paper or cellophane so that the sections do not wind and heal well.
Further care
After the graft has taken root well on the main plant, it is released from the cellophane cap and allowed to grow freely in the air, but for some time it is necessary to ensure good fixation to the trunk, as it is not strong enough and can be damaged by strong winds or when awkward movement. To do this, you need to put a kind of tire on the place of fusion and wind it well with the main trunk and with the graft.
It is also necessary to take care of the elimination of young shoots extending from the mother tree, which will take the vitality and nutrition of the graft.
Additional feeding
When the cherry is grafted in the spring, the timing and methods of its implementationdirectly depend on the established weather and the stage of blossoming of trees. However, this is not all that determines the success of the final result. For better engraftment and development of young grafts, trees must be fed with nitrogen fertilizers. They will greatly enhance growth. In autumn, it is necessary to feed them with potash or phosphorus fertilizers. They will provide better frost resistance and protect vaccinations from death.
With the right manipulations, already in the second or third year, young grafts will begin to yield, which will significantly reduce the waiting time. From plants planted in the ground, the harvest is not expected earlier than after 5 years. It will also significantly save space on the land, since one tree can produce up to five or six varieties without taking up large areas for their planting.
