For experienced gardeners, grafting is a convenient and reliable way to propagate a variety you like, add a pollinator, increase the frost resistance of a fruit tree, and simply diversify your variety collection. This procedure scares beginners with seeming complexity. Indeed, vaccination is not the easiest operation, but even knowing the characteristics of the grafted plants, suitable methods and dates, even a novice gardener will master this science and cope with the task.
Cherry plum vaccination terms
The best time to vaccinate cherry plum is early spring. Grafted at the end of March or in April, before budding, the cuttings have the greatest survival rate. Vaccination can be carried out in the second half of summer, and in the southern regions even in winter, but the percentage of fusion during these periods is much lower. The fact is that spring sap flow promotes the survival of the cuttings. It is also important that the gardener can quickly verify the success of the operation. If after 2 weeks the buds swell on the scion, then everything worked out. Otherwise, you can try again in the summer.
Adult fruiting plum - garden decoration
The main methods of vaccination
There are many ways to vaccinate fruit trees. Their use depends on various factors - the size and number of cuttings, grafted crops, the time of the operation and the experience of the gardener.
More often than others, budding is used, normal and improved copulation, and vaccination for bark or splitting.
Cowling is the inoculation of one kidney cut off with part of the cortex. This is perhaps the most effective way - the grafted kidney easily takes root, while the stock is almost not injured, and in case of unsuccessful vaccination, this branch can be re-grafted. This method is especially valuable with a limited number of cuttings - after all, only one kidney is needed for the scion.
Vaccination procedure:
- A T-shaped incision is made on the rootstock on the north side and the bark is slightly pushed back with a knife.
- On the scion, a kidney with a shield is cut off - the knife at the same time runs parallel to the handle.
- A shield cut off from the scion is inserted into the rootstock incision and wrapped tightly with a film, bypassing the kidney.
After splicing, such a vaccination takes the form of an eye or an eye, hence the name - budding.
Cowling allows you to get several scions from one shank
Copulation normal and improved - grafting grafts, used for thin rootstock. The only drawback or inconvenience of this method is that the stock and scion should be of the same diameter. The rest is easy. In the usual copulation on the stock and scion, the same oblique sections are made, combined and wrapped with a film (Fig. 1). If improved, an additional tongue is cut out on each slice (Fig. 2). When combining slices, the tabs engage, forming a kind of mount.
Spring vaccination with copulation gives good results
Vaccination for bark or splitting is the easiest way, so inexperienced gardeners usually start with it. The grafted graft with this method is cut in the form of a wedge and inserted into the crevice of the stock.
Split vaccination is an easy and reliable way.
The success of the vaccination is largely dependent on the tools used. The knife must be sharpened so that the cut can be done in one motion. A blunt tool will not be able to get a flat surface, and a scion with a stock will not get a tight touch. For these purposes, it is advisable to purchase a special grafting knife in the garden center.
A grafting kit with knives for different grafting methods will make gardener work easier
To fix the vaccine, you need a film. You can use ordinary food-grade polyethylene, cut into long strips 2 cm wide, or with electrical tape, but you need to wind it with the adhesive side out.
To seal open sections, you need a garden var. They cover the top of the scion and cuts of the remote branches.
Video: cherry plum - how to vaccinate correctly
What are vaccinated with cherry plum
Cherry plum, especially in the northern regions, is a rather difficult crop to grow. This thermophilic plant can suffer during frosty winters or during sudden changes in temperature. Such weather disasters are not reflected in the crop in the best way. Vaccination will help to cope with the situation, the main thing is to choose the right stock.
The most successful are vaccinations between related plants, and the closer the degree of relationship, the better. Ideally, when varietal cherry plum is planted on cherry plum seedling, cultivated plum, on plum shoots and so on. Vaccinations between different stone fruits are also possible, but survival is not always 100%.
Cherry plum, grafted onto felt cherry, took root and bloomed the next year.
Cherry plum is a stone fruit plant, which means that it is better to plant it on a related tree. Cherry and apricot are suitable for rootstock, and peach in the southern regions, but in order to increase the endurance of the plant, it is better to plant plum, turn, thorns or cherry plum on the local ones. Always, if it is possible to choose a stock, preference should be given to plants grown from seed or from overgrowth.
Preparation and storage of cuttings
Scion cuttings are harvested in late autumn, after leaf fall. On the south side of the tree - this is where the strongest and most mature branches are located, cut annual shoots 35-45 cm long with short internodes. On the handle there should be at least 5 developed kidneys. The remaining leaves are removed, and the branches are tied in bunches by varieties and tags are attached with the name. You can store them in the basement at temperatures from 0aboutC to +2aboutC or in the refrigerator, pre-wrapped with a damp cloth and placed in a plastic bag. When enough snow falls, you can transfer the package with cuttings to the garden and dig it in, throwing a small snowdrift on top.
For a successful vaccination, cuttings must be cut from a healthy fruit-bearing tree. The thickness of the cuttings should not be thinner than a pencil, but too thick shoots are also undesirable.
Harvested cuttings are laid out by grades, signed and put away for storage
How to plant cherry plum on a plum
Cherry plum pollinators are needed for fruit setting; therefore, it is advisable to plant several cuttings of different varieties. If grafts can be found for grafting of different fruiting periods, then the grafted tree will increase the harvest time. However, it must be remembered that such scions live for no more than 10 years, since the immune systems of varieties are different, and if one branch sets fruit and another is preparing for flowering, then the tree is stressed. The best stocks for cherry plum are Canadian, Chinese and Ussuri plums.
Cherry plum is best planted on a plum seedling. Vaccination in the crown is also possible, but over time plum tree may overtake plum stock in growth and the tree will take on an ugly shape.
As a stock for cherry plum, a young plum, up to 5 years old, is suitable. The vaccine is best done in late March or early April, in dry, warm weather. It is important to carry out the procedure before the buds begin to bloom on the plum and cherry plum. On one rootstock, it is recommended to do several vaccinations in different ways - this will increase the chances of a successful operation.
Vaccine plum plum was successful
Inoculation of cherry plum in a split
For spring vaccination of cherry plum on a plum, the method in the split is the most successful. Even inexperienced gardeners cope with it.
You need to start by choosing a graft for scion (cherry plum) and rootstock (plum) branches. If it is possible to select shoots of the same diameter so that, after joining, the cadmium layers coincide, success is guaranteed. But even with a thick stock, grafting usually succeeds if the layers of cadmium are correctly combined at least on one side.
Procedure:
- Choose a stock and shorten its secateurs to the desired length.
- With a sharp knife, in one motion make a horizontal cut on the stock.
- Having set the knife perpendicular to the cut, split the rootstock branch to a depth of 3 cm. This should be done carefully, slightly shaking the knife so as not to deepen the notch.
- Point the bottom of the scion on opposite sides in the form of a wedge. In this case, you need to arrange the slices in such a way that after the vaccination, the lower kidney looks out. Each slice is done in one motion. The length of the cut part should be about 3 cm.
- Insert the scion into the cleavage of the stock, carefully driving it to the desired depth.
- Connect the edges so that the cadmium matches at least one side.
- Wrap the vaccine tightly with a film or electrical tape, screwing the last adhesive side out.
- Trim the prune for 3-4 buds, and remove all the branches below the graft below the graft. The places of cuts should be covered with garden var.
- Wrap the vaccine on top with one layer of agrofibre and put on a plastic bag - this will protect it from sunburn and moisture loss.
The method of splitting gives good results with spring vaccination of cherry plum
After 2-3 weeks, when the leaves begin to bloom, the shelter can be removed. It will be possible to remove the film or electrical tape only after the scion has grown by 20–25 cm. The shoots appearing on the stock should be removed so that all the plant's forces go to the nutrition of the scion.
There is another option for vaccination in the split. In the case when a thick branch or a tree stump is taken for stock, then two scions cut by a wedge are inserted into the cleft, as in the first case. It is important to consider that the thick rootstock and bark will be thicker than the grafted graft, so you need to combine layers of cambium. The vaccine is tightly wrapped with electrical tape, as described earlier, and open sections are covered with garden var. Often, such a vaccine helps save a dying tree in an injured aerial part.
When grafting two cuttings into a split, it is important to combine the outer edges of the stock and scion
What is vaccinated on cherry plum
As a stock of plum, cherry plum is the most suitable crop for stone fruit. Most cuttings grafted onto this tree take root well, and subsequently produce sweet and tasty fruits. Most often in central Russia, plums, cherries, cherries and apricots are planted on cherry plum. In the southern regions, peach and nectarine are added to all these crops, although peach and almond are the best stock for them, but cherry plum is also a good option.
Apricot grafted on cherry plum increases endurance and improves the quality of the fruit
The vaccine for cherry plum will add endurance and frost resistance to cherries, plums and apricots, but under the vaccine will grow over cherry plum - this is perhaps the only negative. Apricot, regardless of the rootstock chosen, takes root worse than other crops, therefore, it is necessary to vaccinate such a handle especially carefully and accurately.
Video: plum vaccination on cherry plum
For a long time it seemed to me that to plant trees is the lot of experienced gardeners and I can not cope with such a task. So I didn’t even try to do it. But it so happened that out of several apple trees planted in my garden, only one survived, and the most worthless - winter variety and the fruits on it were, one might say, inedible. And here, if you want, you don’t want, but you had to learn the vaccine - the tree is good, strong, and it takes up enough space. After reading the literature about different methods, I chose for myself what is simpler - vaccination in the cleft. To begin with, I decided to practice on the branches of grapes - they are completely left after pruning. At first, it was not even possible to make an oblique cut. The main thing here is a knife, convenient and very sharp. That's when I got the right tool, things went more fun. I planted three different varieties on this apple tree and everyone took root. I didn’t procure cuttings for the winter, but took them in the spring from my neighbors and immediately vaccinated them. It turned out - everything is possible. One subtlety that experienced gardeners told me about is that in no case should you touch the rootstock and scion grafts with your hands. Vaccination is an operation, so sterility during the procedure should be like in the operating room. After that, I had experiments with plum and cherry plum - most vaccinations took root, although not without loss. Now, when my hand is already full, apricot is in turn - I will try to plant Ussuri and felt cherries on the plum. I think everything will work out.
Vaccination is a difficult but interesting activity for a gardener. Perhaps not everything will work out the first time, but the skill will come with experience and knowledge. The main thing is to start and not be afraid to experiment. Having failed - to try again, apply different methods and once, growing apricots on cherry plum, or sweet cherries on the plum, you will feel like a gardener of a new level.
