 Friendship Tree in Sochi |
Vaccinations are not in vain considered the gardener's "golden key", they work wonders with plants. One of the unique trees is considered to be the Tree of Friendship, planted in Sochi: 45 species and varieties of citrus fruits - kinkans, lemons, tangerines and others - were grafted on it. Citrus fruits do not grow in our gardens, but you can still create your own unique tree by grafting new varieties into the crown of already existing adult trees.
Before starting vaccinations, you need to objectively assess the condition of the trees in your garden. If the height of the apple tree exceeds 4-5 m, the crown is thickened and poorly lit, the growth is less than 30 cm per season - the tree needs rejuvenating pruning, reducing the crown to 2.5 m, intensive nutrition and care. And only after putting the tree in order can you be vaccinated.
It is important to take into account the compatibility of the rootstock and the scion according to the biological rhythms of their life: summer varieties get along well on the rootstock with the main summer variety or early autumn, autumn - with autumn, winter - with winter. Successful combinations of the groups of varieties that are closest in terms of development and ripening are possible: late autumn with winter, late summer with early autumn, but not "over the head" of the intermediate period. For example, winter and summer varieties will not feel comfortable on the same rootstock, some of them will be oppressed and soon, for sure, will die.
However, in your garden you can experiment as you like. If you do not set the goal of obtaining a large harvest, then it is quite possible to create a miraculous tree that blooms and bears fruit during all periods existing in a given climate. At the same time, experienced gardeners recommend grafting summer varieties in the upper part of the crown, autumn varieties in the middle, winter varieties in the lower tier. The most delicate varieties are also grafted into the upper part of the crown or trunk, since the air temperature there in winter is much higher than above the snow surface. Often low-value varieties are re-grafted with good preservation of the boles.
Grafting with a bridge over the ring of damaged bark saves the life of young trees after winter damage by rodents. Additional grafting in the crown restores the lost branches of the ornamental tree and restores its beauty. Often, double grafting is used, including a stem former between the scion and the successful rootstock, if their compatibility is insufficient or completely absent. Inserts from clonal rootstocks, which slow down the growth of the scion, are often used as a strainer.
The mutual influence of the rootstock and the scion has been studied for a long time, some patterns have already been identified, and it is useful to know them so as not to waste time and money in vain. So, grafting plums on blackthorn or Altai Siberian spruce makes it possible to get undersized and very decorative trees. Shrub cherry, or steppe, serves as a stock for obtaining dwarf forms of cherry and sweet cherry. It is convenient and economical to graft a male branch of sea buckthorn into the crown of female plants - this will save space for purely male specimens of this wonderful culture. Weak pear trees can be obtained by grafting it on common quince, cotoneaster, black chokeberry (chokeberry), irga. But the risk of incomplete compatibility of these atypical combinations is great, and after a few years the tree may die (especially in the version with irga, which grows much slower than the grafted pear). A compromise option is to inoculate trees with an intermediate insert from plants of those species and varieties that are well compatible with both the scion and the stock.
 Vaccination methods: 1 - into cleavage; 2 - in the side cut; 3 - for the bark |
Fruit growers have long noticed that a pear grafted onto a quince produces sweeter fruits than a wild pear. Reverse grafting of quince on a pear fails. A pear, grafted onto a mountain ash, accumulates a lot of tannic acids in the fruits and becomes little or inedible.Pear grafting on varietal mountain ash is often successful. Aronia on mountain ash becomes almost a dwarf and begins to bear fruit earlier (like most dwarf forms).
If you plant it on a bole about 1.5 m high from the ground, you can get an elegant tree. On the other hand, a mountain ash grafted onto a hawthorn grows taller than usual.
The incomplete compatibility of the scion and the rootstock is indicated by the noticeable influx of the scion, the oppressed state of the tree, the abundance of growth on the rootstock.
The methods of grafting are classic and well-known to everyone: butt, for the bark, copulation, improved copulation, less often - budding (it is usually used in nurseries on seedlings). Grafting by cutting gives a faster result relative to the ultimate goal - fruiting. The main thing in the grafting technique is the purity of the material, quick smooth cuts without drying, the combination of the cambial layers of the scion and rootstock on at least one side (with a large difference in their size).
It is possible to graft new varieties both on young seedlings and in the crown of adult trees. The grafting time is spring, before and during sap flow, when the bark is well separated, but before flowering. Summer vaccinations are also practiced - at the beginning of July. For each type of vaccination, a certain amount of warm time is required before the autumn frosts, therefore, in our conditions, vaccinations are not done at the end of summer and in the fall.
When choosing a place for grafting, take into account the presence of space where a new variety of scion will grow, or deliberately thin out the crown so that the grafted stalk is well lit and well located.
In the first year after grafting, the scion is not allowed to bloom and bear fruit in order to direct all resources to development, strengthening the grafted shoot, therefore, the buds and fruits are promptly removed. At this time, they closely monitor the appearance of wild growth, remove it immediately, digging up the ground to the very roots of the rootstock. Otherwise, it can quickly drown out the grafted form and even completely replace it.
April-early May is the best time for grafting trees.
Many owners of summer cottages and household plots believe that the pear is a southern tree, and therefore do not want to experiment with its cultivation. And completely in vain. A pear, unlike an apple tree, does not have a periodicity in fruiting, it gives a harvest annually. As for its advancement to the north, modern breeders have done a good job: winter-hardy varieties of pears have been bred, suitable for growing in the northern regions. This progress is hindered by a lack of awareness, as well as a small number of quality tested varietal seedlings on the market.
The inability to buy a seedling for a gardener is not the main reason. If desired, seedlings can be grown by yourself. What do you need to know for this?
It is widely believed that the best pear stock in our zone is the wild Ussuri pear. I cannot agree with this. The best rootstocks for pears seem to me to be seedlings of cultivated pears (Tyoma, Vnuchka, Tonkovotka Uralskaya, etc.). many modern large-fruited Ural varieties are poorly compatible with the seedlings of the Ussuri pear. Pears work well on a cotoneaster.
 Common quince |
Currently I am researching the common quince (Сydonia oblonga) like a dwarf rootstock of a pear.
The Latin name comes from the city of Cydon (now Kanea) on the island of Crete. This genus includes only 1 species - oblong quince (ordinary) or Cydonia.
It grows wild in the Caucasus, Central and Asia Minor.
Deciduous shrub or small tree up to 8 m tall. Branches without thorns, young shoots pubescent, olive-green to red-brown. The leaves are round, oval or ovate, dark green above, tomentose, grayish below, entire, up to 10-15 cm long. The petiole is pubescent, the stipules persist for a long time. Single flowers (up to 5 cm in diameter) are very effective, white or slightly pinkish, abundantly covering the crown in spring for 10-13 days.Quince is decorative at the time of fruiting, when it is decorated with pear-shaped or apple-shaped, large, fragrant, yellow fruits, covered with thick felt.
It grows slowly, not frost-hardy enough, light-requiring, drought-resistant, undemanding to soils, tolerates even slight salinity, tolerates city conditions and shearing well. Propagated by fresh seeds, cuttings, layering, grafting. It is a good stock for pears (get dwarf forms), Japanese medlar, Japanese quince. Can be used in single and small-group plantings on lawns and forest edges, in hedges, taking into account its winter hardiness. In culture for a very long time.
As a weak rootstock for pears in the southern zone of fruit growing, a clonal rootstock of common quince - quince A (Anzherskaya), which is propagated vegetatively, is used. These rootstocks are well compatible with the vast majority of pear varieties, but they are recommended for use where snow falls before the onset of severe frosts.
