Grafting apricot on a plum: features, methods, timing, step-by-step instructions

Apricot is traditionally grown in the southern regions of the country, as it is a heat-loving plant. To promote this popular culture to the northern regions, it was necessary to increase winter hardiness. First of all, we had to take care of a hardy and compatible rootstock, which became a plum for the southern tree. The methods and rules for grafting apricots on plums are simple and accessible to a novice gardener.

Grafting apricots on plums in spring - the basics

Spring is the time when nature wakes up from winter sleep, plant juices begin to actively move from roots to crown, prompting the emergence of new shoots, leaves, flowers and fruits. In this condition, the grafts take root best, and wounds heal more easily and quickly.

Terms of vaccination

Cuttings grafted in early spring, when the buds soon swell, take root better. And by the end of the season they will have time to give good, strong, shoots that will confidently go into the winter. The exact dates cannot be recommended, they fluctuate depending on the region and the specific weather conditions of the current season. They usually start in mid-March in the southern regions and continue until the end of April in the northern ones.

Is it possible to water the apricot during flowering

With proper tree care, apricots yield a good harvest. One of the procedures that affect the condition of the tree is proper watering. The apricot itself is a plant that is well tolerated in various natural conditions.

The need for watering depends on several parameters:

the degree of soil moisture,
the age of the apricot,
climatic conditions in which the tree grows,
season of the year.

Gardeners say that it is necessary to water the tree before flowering. One of the options is considered to carry out the watering procedure during the flowering of the tree. In the case of watering an apricot, it is necessary to take into account what winter was and how humid the spring was. Since apricot is one of the first crops to bloom, it is necessary to take into account the weather conditions in which this tree grows. If the winter was not snowy, the spring is warm, with little precipitation, then the tree needs watering before flowering. If you see that the humidity is sufficient, then you should refuse to water the apricot.

And then it is worth watering the fruit crop after flowering, when the ovary is already expected to appear. However, if the weather conditions are still unfavorable, then the need for irrigation depends on the humidity of the environment.

How to plant an apricot on a plum in spring

Sometimes novice gardeners ask the question - is it possible to plant an apricot on a plum in the spring.

The answer is yes, you can. This is done often when it is required to obtain a frost-resistant plant with non-boiling roots. Apricot takes root well on plum rootstocks; gardeners have been successfully using this property for a long time.

In spring, the apricot is planted only by cuttings. They are harvested in late autumn and stored in a cold place (for example, in the basement) until the moment of inoculation.

As a rootstock, both young shoots aged 1-2 years and three - five-year-old specimens are used. In the latter case, it is better if the rootstock tree will already grow in a permanent place. Transplants at this age are associated with a slowdown in development and it is undesirable to resort to them, unnecessarily.

Of the large list of methods for grafting apricots on plums in spring, three are recommended. Copulation, split and under the bark. These methods are simple, available to a novice gardener and give a high survival rate.

Before starting the vaccination, it is worth practicing on a third-party biomaterial. For this, wild plants and shoots are suitable.

Step-by-step instructions for copulating vaccination

This method is used when the diameters of the rootstock and scion match, or when the difference is up to 10%. Copulation is used on diameters from four to fifteen millimeters.

The method consists in the fact that the ends of the spliced branches are cut at an acute angle and are aligned with each other in slices. Distinguish between simple, improved and copulation with a saddle.

This method is good for getting seedlings.

To begin with, choose a grafting site - even, with a smooth bark and a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the scion. The height of this place above the ground is determined based on local conditions. If the thickness of the snow cover is usually high, then the grafting should be at a height of at least a meter, and in some areas higher. In areas where snowy winters are rare, it is possible to inoculate at a height of 40-50 cm. All the buds located below are blinding.
Depending on the selected type of copulation, cuts of the appropriate shape are made:
For simple copulation, on the joined parts of the scion and rootstock, oblique cuts are made at an angle of 20-25 °, 3-4 cm long.
Improved copulation is characterized by the fact that cuts are made on the cuts, which are inserted into each other, ensuring tight contact.
For copulation with a saddle, a platform is cut out on the scion, which is placed on the end of the stock.
In any case, the junction is tightly wrapped with fum tape or electrical tape with the sticky side outward.

Important. The sections are aligned so that they touch the cambial layers. If the diameters of the rootstock and scion are not the same, then these layers must be joined at least from three sides.

Types of copulation: a - simple; b - improved; c, d - with a saddle; e - securing the vaccination with tape

Step-by-step instructions for cleavage vaccination

This method is used in cases where the rootstock diameter is from 8 to 100 mm, and may not coincide with the scion diameter. If the scion is much thinner, then several cuttings are grafted onto one cut. They do it like this:

The trunk in the place selected, as described above, is cut at a right angle. If grafted onto a branch, then the cut is placed as close to the base as possible.

In the center of the cut, at a right angle to it, a 3-4 cm deep split is made with an ax or a knife. In the case of a large scion diameter, two splits can be made crosswise or parallel to each other. The slot is wedged with a screwdriver or a chip.

A split 3-4 cm deep is made in the center of the cut with an ax or a knife

By inserting the pointed ends of the cuttings, make sure that the cambial layers coincide

Step-by-step instructions for bark grafting

The method is similar to the previous one with the first step and result. It differs in that the wood of the trunk is not damaged; instead, the bark is cut and folded back, behind which the scion is placed. The method is suitable for large-diameter trunks, it is recommended to evenly graft up to four cuttings on it.

The order of execution is as follows:

Similarly to the previous method, a place is selected and the trunk is cut.
Cut the bark together with a layer of cambium to a length of 4–5 cm. If there are 2, 3 or 4 cuttings, make the appropriate number of cuts. They are arranged evenly along the diameter of the trunk.
A step 3-4 cm long is cut out at the lower end of each cutting, then an oblique cut is made.
Gently bending back the bark, cuttings are placed behind it so that the cambium layers are in contact with each other.

Bark grafting suitable for large rootstocks

General recommendations

In whatever way the vaccination is carried out, the following rules are observed:

Tools (knives, pruning shears) are sharply sharpened before work.
Before use, the instrument is disinfected with an antiseptic. For this, a 1% solution of copper sulfate, alcohol or hydrogen peroxide is used.
The rootstock and scion sections are made just before grafting. The time from the moment of the formation of the cuts to the connection of the grafted parts should be minimal. Ideally, no more than one minute.
Grafted plants should be protected from direct sunlight in the first year of life. In this case, they will take root better.
The used garden pitch should not contain petroleum products such as gasoline, kerosene and the like. Preferred formulations using beeswax or lanolin.

Rootstock compatibility with apricot

For apricot grafting to be successful, you need to use trees that are no more than five years old as a rootstock. The trunk diameter must be at least ten centimeters. The ability of trees to reject such processes plays an important role here. The older the tree, the less chances that the scion will take root on it.

Important! It is better not to vaccinate on a diseased tree. It is better to choose a different rootstock.

Many are interested in the question: "What can be grafted onto an apricot?" If wild is used as a stock, then varietal apricot or peach can be grafted onto it. In this case, a crop is obtained that is resistant to drought and frost. What is the apricot grafted onto, and what is it combined with?

This culture can be grafted not only on a wild type of plant, but also on other stone fruit trees, namely:

Alych. This rootstock is very strong and auspicious. The fruits grown on such a tree have a sweet taste.
Plum. This rootstock is ideal for apricots. A selected frost-resistant plum variety allows you to grow a tree that will subsequently tolerate cold weather, and especially temperature changes in spring.
Tern. This stock is used only by experienced gardeners, because you need to know that this stock has the ability to sprout. It is best used for grafting thorny plants.
Cherries and cherries. Only some varieties of apricot take root on this rootstock, so it is not recommended to use it for these purposes. In this case, it is possible to graft an apricot stalk only if plum or cherry plum were first grafted onto the cherry tree.
Peach. This rootstock will also be good for an apricot. But there is one drawback - the peach does not tolerate frost well. Therefore, such vaccination is possible only in the southern regions of the country of Russia.

The apple tree is incompatible with the apricot tree

Therefore, you should not even try to plant stone cuttings on it. If the question arises: "Is it possible to graft an apricot on an apricot?", Then the answer is that in this case the compatibility will be one hundred percent. In addition, the fruit will grow larger, juicy and sweeter.

Any fruit trees should be planted on 4-5 year old rootstocks. When the thickness of the trunk is at least 4-12 cm. If the grafting on an apricot is carried out on a weakened, diseased, underdeveloped tree, it can be carried out at a later age. However, it should be borne in mind that the older the tree, the worse the survival rate is and the more difficult it is technically to perform this procedure correctly. Apricot can be grafted onto a large number of stone fruit crops, and a positive result is guaranteed.

Consider the options for grafting on different trees:

On the cherry plum. The most popular method for grafting apricots. Because cherry plum is the strongest and most fertile rootstock. The cuttings take root on it well, and in the future, the fruits have a pleasant aftertaste.
On the plum. Also a fairly common way. With successful engraftment, practically no build-up is formed at the vaccination site, which indicates good compatibility.Only semi-wild varieties should be taken.
For a peach. This vaccination is suitable for the south of the country.
For the apricot. The best and highest quality option.

Numerous studies indicate that grafting on the same tree varieties succeeds especially well. Therefore, preference should be given to grafting on an apricot, in this case the risk of incompatibility of the components is minimal, the stalk will take root much faster. The grafted plant, as a result, will be drought-resistant, winter-resistant, without overgrowth, and the fruits are sweet, large, with a bright color.

Important! It is better not to vaccinate on a diseased tree. It is better to choose a different rootstock.

Vaccination reviews

On the results of last year's grafting of apricot cuttings "in split" on the plum. The size of the growth is from 50 to 70 cm (flower buds are laid on the grafts). I planted an apricot for the first time. Vaccination sites are marked with strapping. I planted it in the crown or on a bole above 50 cm from the soil (a lot of snow in winter). Apricot cuttings grafted onto a plum have grown by 50–70 cm

Apricot cuttings grafted onto a plum have grown by 50–70 cm

Andrey_VLD

Originally Posted by kursk162 View Post Question - How long does a grafted apricot grow on your plum? No incompatibility? Grafted on blue plum (HZCH), blackthorn and Ochakovskaya Yellow. Grafts were in the crown and on the growth of these rootstocks. It is poorly grafted into the crown of the blue plum (HCG), gum and the slow development of the cuttings at the grafting site, but there is one graft per shoot (HCG), which develops well. In the crown, the coolant is grafted normally, develops well. But at the same time, the apricot itself makes up a smaller part of the foliage as a whole on the tree. Last spring, they bloomed, there were ovaries, but then they dropped, only one apricot remained on the branch, but it was not ripe, it was dropped. Growth vaccinations, i.e. with the complete absence of leaves of the plum itself, the coolant develops excellently for the first year, but in the spring it turns out that they completely died (2 cases, last spring and this one). On thorns, they develop well on the shoots, they did not graft into the crown of thorns. On the blackthorn I have been vaccinated for the third season, they have laid a lot of flower buds, but in winter there were frosts below minus 33, I will wait for the result of overwintering. Now I try seedlings of different shapes, while they sprouted on the balcony in pots and partly in the ground in the garden in the village. Yet our climate is not the most suitable for apricot. It is necessary to select options.

Andrey_VLD

The described methods of inoculation are simple and reliable, tested by agronomists and gardeners for decades. During the growing season, cuttings produce strong, healthy shoots that can withstand even harsh winters. By planting an apricot on a plum in early spring, the grower is confident of the result.

Nature cannot be deceived, but you can use its widest possibilities for your own good. For example, to collect from one plum tree in the garden not only plums of different varieties, but also apricots of your favorite varieties. Read more about grafting apricots on plums later in the article.

Failed attempts

Surely they are familiar to you. Buying ruddy apricots, you involuntarily think that it is good to plant a pit. And suddenly it will sprout. Some time passes - and a tiny sprout appears on the surface of the earth. This is the first victory, but it's too early to rejoice, because on his own roots he will not survive on your site. It must be said that it is also not suitable for growing as a houseplant. For this, special varieties are separately derived. However, while the seedling is gaining strength, there is time to think about what the apricot can be grafted onto.

What is tree grafting

Since when growing fruit trees from their seeds or seeds, the resulting plants, with rare exceptions, do not retain the positive qualities of their parents, it is necessary to resort to vegetative propagation. This is the name of the method in which a part of a tree with the necessary qualities, in the form of a cutting, called a graft, is grafted onto a donor tree, called a stock.

Rootstock supplies the scion with food and provides it with frost resistance. Graft however, exploiting the nourishing powers of the donor tree, it produces fruits with the desired properties known in advance. As a result, from one fruit tree, you can collect fruits of various varieties of the same species and even other fruit species that are compatible with it during the grafting process.

Is it possible to plant an apricot on a plum

One of the most striking examples of this compatibility is plums and apricots. After combining one apricot with another, grafting the apricot on the plum is in second place in terms of rootstock and scion of these stone fruits.

Gardeners highlight several advantages at once that grafting an apricot on a plum gives:
The frost resistance of plum trees significantly increases the frost resistance of apricot grafts.
Apricots grafted to plums begin to bear fruit almost twice as early as those grown from seeds.
Guaranteed preservation of varietal qualities, which is impossible when propagating apricots by seeds.

Minor disadvantages usually include a less guaranteed survival rate than when grafting an apricot onto an apricot.

How to care for a grafted cuttings

The success of the operation largely depends on the degree of interaction between the plant tissues of the rootstock and the scion. Therefore, it is necessary to properly prepare the necessary material in advance. In this case, it is worth making sure that the plant tissues are suitable for the procedure.

Cherries are best planted by cuttings. It is necessary to form cuttings at the end of autumn, before the onset of frost. The prepared material is stored simply in the refrigerator or in wet sawdust. Stone cuttings can also be frozen in frozen sawdust and wrapped in a wet cloth.

Dates of the procedure

Apricot can be planted on plums in spring and summer, and even in autumn, if it happens in the southern regions. However, it is best to do this in the spring, before the buds begin to swell. In this case, the best results of grafting are observed, since a long warm period after them makes it possible not only for the grafts to take root well, but also to gain strength for the plant before wintering. Depending on the region, these periods stretch from the beginning of March in the south to the end of April in the more northern regions.

Vaccination operations are preferably carried out in warm and sunny weather, since rain after grafting has a detrimental effect on the result.

What time to inoculate

It is best to plant trees in the spring. At this time, it is quite warm outside, but not yet dry or hot. There should be no rain for a few days before the operation. In spring, the plant sap vigorously circulates through the plant, which guarantees a high survival rate of cuttings. It is advisable to perform the procedure in early March or in the second half of April at a stable temperature.

If you did not have time to get vaccinated within this period, it must be postponed to the summer. At this time, the cuttings will also take root well, spend the winter and form an ovary next year. But it is better to remove the ovaries to give the branch the opportunity to grow stronger and develop completely.

There is also an autumn grafting, but more often it is used in southern regions with mild and late autumn, with winters without severe frosts. Autumn vaccination is carried out until mid-October. Low temperatures will not affect the cuttings. If they take root, they are wrapped in a warm blanket.

Methods for grafting apricots on plums

Of the many existing grafting methods, the most commonly used are:

copulation together with its improved version;
into cleavage;
for the bark.

Copulation

This grafting method is practiced using cuttings whose diameter is approximately the same as the thickness of the rootstock. If a difference occurs, it should not exceed a quarter of the diameter. With the help of copulation, thin trunks and branches with a thickness of 4 to 15 mm are usually connected.

And the grafting process itself goes like this:

A branch is selected as a rootstock, the diameter corresponding to the scion.
There is a smooth spot without buds on the rootstock.
The ends of the stock and scion are cut at the same angle of 20–25 ° using a special copulating knife.
Slices from 20 to 40 mm in length are quickly aligned with each other.
The connected stock and graft are tightly wrapped with electrical tape or special grafting tape.
With particularly high-quality copulation, serifs are made in the cuts in the form of peculiar tongues, which, entering each other when the rootstock and scion are connected, provide a stronger adhesion and thereby improve survival.

All manipulations associated with cutting parts of the stock and scion and their connection must be done as quickly as possible.... It is better if this time does not exceed 1 minute.

Cleavage grafting

This method is used in cases where the diameters of the rootstock and scion are from 8 to 100 mm. Two options are allowed: both diameters are the same, or the thickness of the scion turns out to be smaller.

The cleavage is grafted as follows:

The stock is cut at an angle of 90 °.
In the center of the cut or saw cut, a split is made up to 30 mm deep. In the case of a large diameter, 2 splits can be made at the rootstock, located perpendicular to each other.
The thicker end of the scion is sharpened in the form of a wedge.
Insert this wedge into the cleft as tightly as possible so that the cambium layers are connected in the best way.
If the cuttings for the scion are significantly smaller in diameter than the rootstock, several cuttings pointed wedge-shaped can be inserted into the split.
The grafting sites are lubricated with garden varnish.

How to plant trees correctly: step by step instructions

To learn how to plant a tree correctly and reliably, it is useful to watch a master class by experienced gardeners recorded on video.

This is how the correct grafting process on an adult plum proceeds using the improved copulation method:

In the spring, before the buds bloom on the plum tree, all growing towards the trunk, rubbing against the trunk and other unnecessary branches, which will impede the access of light to future grafts, are cut off.
After pruning, vertically growing branches are selected on the donor tree, whose diameter coincides with the thickness of the previously prepared cuttings of the grafted varieties.
On each pair, oblique cuts are made with a special knife, which should coincide with each other in length.
On each of the cuts, tongues are made, which are longitudinal cuts 15–20 mm long, starting from the middle of the cuts.
Then the rootstock and scion are tightly connected to each other. In this case, the tongues go over each other, which makes the contact of the vaccine objects more reliable.
Vaccination sites are tightly wrapped with electrical tape or grafting tape.

Video: how to plant trees correctly

We master the technique

Experienced gardeners know many ways to get vaccinated. However, not all are applicable to apricot. In addition to the type of tree, you need to take into account its individual characteristics, size and age. There are two main options:

Into the cleft. An incision is made at the site of inoculation, and a split to a small depth is made in its center. It should include a stalk. However, it is inserted into the butt, and not freely.
Copulation. This vaccination technique is not particularly different from the one described above. In this case, the young stalk is connected to the branch and tied tightly. On both, an oblique cut is preliminarily made. In this case, it is better if the diameter is the same so that they become a single whole.

Features of care after grafting

As a rule, after a competently carried out vaccination, no additional effort is required. Sometimes, in cool and rainy weather, it is advisable to put plastic bags on the grafted cuttings, which create an optimal microclimate.It is also useful to cover up vaccinations from the burning rays of the sun, which has a beneficial effect on the survival process. If the garden var used after the grafting process contains petroleum products, it is better to replace it with beeswax or lanolin.

It is not so difficult to get the opportunity to collect fruits of different varieties from one plum tree, as well as assorted apricots. This requires only a good stock with scions of the desired varieties, accuracy and patience.

Grafting an apricot onto a young shoot of another plant is often the only way to get the right sort of seedling for yourself. After purchasing a seedling on the market, there is no complete confidence in the result, which will become known only in a few years. Then the gardener begins to think about how to independently grow an apricot seedling by grafting a cuttings taken from, say, a neighbor, with well-known and satisfying qualities. And at the end of the site, a certain amount of young growth of a wild plum has accumulated, which cannot be removed. And the decision comes by itself - to plant the apricot on the plum.

Advantages of the method: what is useful for apricot

The main advantage of grafting for apricots is to increase the frost resistance of the tree, which is especially important when living in cold areas.

Benefits of grafting for apricot:

Improving the palatability of the fruit.
Increased productivity.
Increased immunity to disease.

The procedure differs only in the benefits for the tree. But for the result to be good, you need to know exactly how to plant the culture.

It is best to plant plums at the age of 3 years. This will help you get the first harvest in 2 years. If the procedure is not carried out, fruiting will begin in 5-8 years.

Grafting a tree from the Rose family helps to combine several varieties on it. There is no need to plant them in a row in compliance with the required interval. Through manipulation, you can save your favorite tree variety. In this case, the cutting is grafted onto a healthy tree.

Another advantage is the ability to grow an exotic fruit variety. The plum pinch is good for cultivating the wild if desired.

Is it possible to plant an apricot on a plum in spring

By far the best option is to graft an apricot onto another apricot. However, not all regions of our country can find a suitable donor tree. Therefore, gardeners have long and successfully used the method of grafting varietal apricots on plum trees.

Is it possible to plant an apricot on a plum

Sure you may. Moreover, it is the best option (except for grafting apricot on apricot). In general, stone fruits when inoculated are well combined with stone fruits. Apricots are often grafted onto the blackthorn, cherry plum, but most often - on the plum. Moreover, a plum as a rootstock - the basis on which another plant is grafted - is better to take a semi-wild one: as a result, a more frost-resistant and hardy tree will be obtained.

As a rootstock for an apricot, it is better to take a semi-wild plum to get a more hardy tree

The donor's age should be about four to five years, the trunk diameter is 4-10 cm. You can, of course, graft on older specimens, but remember that the older the tree, the worse the graft takes root (a stalk or bud of a grafted plant).

Is it possible to plant an apricot in spring

The answer to this question is also yes. Moreover, this is also the best option. Of course, if necessary, the apricot can be grafted in the summer, and in regions with mild winters - even in the fall, but the spring grafting gives the highest result. In the spring, before the buds swell, at the end of March and in April, grafted cuttings and buds take root best of all due to active sap flow.

To carry out the vaccination, you need to choose a warm sunny day, having previously looked at the weather forecast: it is undesirable, if it rains immediately after the vaccination, it is much better,dry weather for several weeks. But then how lucky.

Advantages and disadvantages of grafting apricots on plums

The method of grafting apricots onto plums has several advantages:

increasing the frost resistance of the apricot tree - the main advantages of grafting on the plum;
earlier fruiting (in the second or third year) than when planting with a bone;
preservation of varietal characteristics, in contrast to bone propagation. Usually, especially valuable, rare varieties are propagated in this way.

Thanks to the grafting of apricots on the plum, you can get fruits already in the second or third year.

The disadvantages of such an operation can be attributed only to the lower survival rate of cuttings in comparison with the grafting of apricot on an apricot.

Why plant an apricot: the purpose and benefits of the procedure

Apricot is a thermophilic crop, which is why many of its popular varieties have low viability in regions with harsh climates. Therefore, first of all, it is with the aim improve winter hardiness apricot, it is grafted onto a more frost-resistant stock.

Why else are fruit trees grafted, namely apricots:

You want to cultivate the wild and plant a varietal apricot on it.
You are not satisfied with the variety, and you want to re-graft it to a more suitable one.
You have a compact (small) area, and you want to have several varieties on one tree at once.
Want to speed up fruiting.
Save the tree (in case of damage to the bark by hares or mice).
Propagate the variety you like.

Grafting options for apricot plum

There are many (more than 150) ways of grafting fruit trees. There is no need to consider all of them. For a beginner gardener, it is quite enough to master the two simplest options - copulation and grafting into a split, both of which are suitable for grafting apricots on a plum.

Copulation

Copulation is a grafting with a cuttings. The method is used when the diameters of the scion and rootstock are approximately the same (a difference in diameters of no more than a quarter is allowed). Very thin trunks and twigs (from 4 to 15 mm) can be grafted by copulation.

Preparation and storage of cuttings for grafting

If you decide to plant an apricot on a plum, then first you need to decide on the time of vaccination. As mentioned above, it is better to do this in the spring. Then you need to attend to the preparation of the cuttings. Of course, seedlings for grafting can be purchased on the market, but it is better to prepare them yourself. This way you can be sure that you have exactly the kind of apricot that you wanted.

Cuttings for spring grafting are harvested in late autumn or early winter, before the onset of severe frosts:

Annual well-ripened shoots are cut from the selected plant.
It is better to take shoots that grew in the sun from the south side of the tree on the outside of the crown.
Cut shoots are cut into cuttings with three growth buds, there should be no flower buds.
If possible, cuttings with shorter internodes are selected.

For grafting, you need to choose one-year, well-ripened apricot shoots

After you have chosen suitable cuttings, they need to be stored until spring under certain conditions:

Slices of cuttings are coated with garden pitch.
Tied cuttings are placed in a plastic bag or container, leaving a gap for air to enter, otherwise they may suffocate.
Cover with wet sawdust or sand and store at a temperature of about 0 ° C in a refrigerator, cellar or in an area under the snow.

Prepared apricot shoots are stored in a cool place and taken out of storage immediately before grafting.

Cuttings are grafted in a dormant state, so they are taken out of storage immediately before the operation and checked for suitability for grafting. Viable cuttings must meet the following criteria:

the bark should be fresh and smooth;
the handle does not break when bent, it is elastic;
the cut wood is fresh, healthy green.

If everything is fine, you can proceed with the vaccination using one of the methods described above. It is important to remember here that the apricot cannot be grafted near the soil itself. If the stock is small, the distance from the ground should be about 30 cm, on a more mature stock - about one meter.

To create a better microclimate, a plastic bag is put on the grafted cuttings and tied so that it turns out to be a small greenhouse. The package is removed 2-3 weeks after the scion engraftment.

Video: harvesting apricot cuttings for grafting

Why is the rootstock of an apricot tree important?

Modern large-fruited apricot varieties are propagated by grafting. The correct type of rootstock is very important, with its help you can:

reduce the height of apricot trees;
to increase their frost resistance;
to reduce the risk of winter heating of the bark at the root collar - this is one of the main reasons for the death of apricot trees in the middle lane and other regions with deep snow and frequent winter thaws.

The grafted apricot trees begin to bear fruit 3-5 years after planting in the garden.

Choosing the right stock is the key to a bountiful harvest of apricots

Testimonials

On the results of last year's grafting of apricot cuttings "in split" on the plum. The size of the growth is from 50 to 70 cm (flower buds are laid on the grafts). I planted an apricot for the first time. Vaccination sites are marked with strapping. I planted it in the crown or on a bole above 50 cm from the soil (a lot of snow in winter).

Apricot cuttings grafted onto a plum have grown by 50–70 cm

It is better to plant the apricot on the so-called thorny plant. But in this case, the likelihood of overgrowth is very high. To reduce its formation, it is necessary to graft as low as possible, next to the root collar of the rootstock.

Olya

Plum rootstocks for apricot are not so simple. In January, I made two winter vaccinations of Northern Triumph and Kompotny. All of them moved in the same way in growth, but both of the compote plants unexpectedly dried up with a shoot length of 10–12 cm. And ST are still alive. I asked R.G. Nozdracheva. The answer was "INCOMPATIBLE WITH ROOT."

Shl. I will beg for apricot-shaped seeds (I forgot the name) for growing rootstocks.

Zener

I planted apricot on a plum 2 years ago. I took cuttings from my old apricots (my father planted them). I don’t know the variety, but the whole family likes apricots. Large, sweet, hanging well from the tree while ripe. We decided not to tempt fate, but to grow what we like.

I grafted into the split on the plum shoot with a diameter of about a centimeter. I vaccinated in the spring, after a couple of months I unwound the electrical tape, took root well. This year the first berries have grown - you cannot distinguish from the parent ones. The family is happy!

Sergey999

I want to share my first vaccination experience. Last spring I planted 10 apricot cuttings by Nikitsky red-cheeked. Cut the cuttings in advance in the fall. Grafted by copulation on plum shoots. A year has passed - ten out of ten have taken root! In the fall I will distribute to friends and neighbors)) I will plant two at my place.

Grafting of apricot on a plum stock in spring gives positive results, high survival rate. The seedlings are of excellent quality, winter-hardy, healthy. The vaccination process using the described methods is simple and can be performed by novice gardeners.

Selection and preparation of scion

Apricot cuttings are best harvested in the fall. In winter, young shoots can partially freeze out or simply hypothermic. The result will be bad from such a scion.

Harvesting, storage conditions and preparation of the scion

Cuttings for grafting are cut from annual branches 5 mm thick. The length of the scion is made from 10 to 15 cm. It is important that the stalk contains at least 5 - maximum 10 live buds. The cut branches are saved so that they do not enter the awakening phase until spring. The scion is stored in a refrigerator or cellar, where the air temperature does not exceed + 2oC.It is also impossible to allow the temperature to drop below 0 ° C in the storage place of the cuttings. The graft will die.

If you store apricot cuttings in high humidity, the bark will begin to rot and the buds will disappear. The beginning of the process is difficult to determine in appearance. In the spring, before the start of vaccination, the stalk is examined for delight. The lower bud is cut off from the scion, separated with a knife for examination. Green indicates vitality.

Advice! Before grafting, the quality of the apricot cutting is checked by bending. The twig should easily roll up without crunching into the letter "P" and unbend again.

Gardeners practice soaking apricot cuttings in water the day before grafting. The graft will be saturated with moisture, wake up, metabolism with the stock will begin faster.

Preparation of tools and material

The main grafting tool is a sharp budding knife. It differs from the usual one by the even sharpening of the blade on only one side. This allows you to make perfectly even cuts at an angle.

A branded tool is expensive. If you are not professionally engaged in vaccinations, the budding knife can be made from an ordinary penknife with a blade length of 5 cm. Sharpening is done on a fine-grained grinding wheel. The cut quality is tested on any thin branches of the tree.

Pruning shears are used to harvest cuttings in the fall. The tool must have sharp blades, otherwise it will crush the twigs.

From the materials you need a garden pitch. The vaccination site is wrapped. You can buy a special tape or simply cut strips of plastic wrap. Among novice gardeners, electrical tape is popular, used by electricians to insulate wire. It can also be used, only with a sticky layer outward. If the tape sticks to the graft, it will rip off the young bark when unwinding.