Whip and Tongue (Field Graft)

[Treesuitsc]

Looking to try to whip and tongue some smaller wild persimmon as well as some apple rootstock. I love bark grafting but would like to try other grafting methods.

For clarification I have some apple rootstock growing in air pruning pots. I also have several persimmon seedlings I want to whip and tongue.

I have some questions but not sure who to ask and even how to ask in a way that makes sense.

- When do I collect the scion wood? Is it the same as scion collection for bark grafting?

- Can you take the scion wood and then graft (whip and tongue) immediately on the rootstock?

- I know to wait until the bark slips (leaves the size of squirrel ears) for a bark grafting. Is that the same as whip and tongue?

 

[yoderjac]

You need to collect your scion wood when it is dormant. You need to store it in a ziplock bag in the crisper in your fridge until grafting time. The earlier you collect it, the more time there is for it to go bad in your fridge. The best place for it in the winter is on the tree. However, you don't want to wait until dormancy begins to break. The only difference in collecting scion wood, is that for bark grafting, you don't have to match the diameter to the rootstock. For W&T you do.

You can take scion wood just before it breaks dormancy and W&T immediately. However, yoWu will need to be sure the roots don't freeze and the tops don't break dormancy until you are ready to graft. I found W&T grafting to be more difficult with the rootstock in pots. One technique that worked for me was to buy the rootstock, collect apple scions, and W&T them. I would then put them in 53gal RB2s with promix and put them indoors under lights. After the last threat of frost, I'd begin acclimating them to the outdoors. I would keep them on my deck in the root-builder containers for the first growing season. I would then plant them in the field after they go dormant.

W&T with apples is usually done earlier than bark grafting persimmons. You want to W&T grafted apples to be in the ground or an air pruning container about time for buds to break.

 

[weekender21]

Collect scion wood while dormant, now through March in most areas.

For grafting to root stock, I’ve had good luck in ~April. Maybe I’ve just been lucky but I haven’t been too specific on timing. Most nurseries ship rootstock based on your and their grow zones. I try to graft and plant within a week of receiving my root stock.

I’m a rookie, this is my fourth year grafting small batches.


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