Beginners have a lot of questions about apple care and vaccination: why plant the apple tree, how to do it correctly, at what time of the year is it necessary to plant the apple tree? We will try to answer the most frequent of them.
Why plant the apple tree?
There are several reasons for this:
- Getting a new tree without losing the quality of the variety. The apple tree, like many other garden trees, does not preserve the varietal qualities of its "parent" when propagating with seeds, therefore, it is propagated by vaccination. After inoculation, the apple tree preserves all the properties of high quality and gives the same delicious and juicy fruits as the "parent" tree.
- Also, the method of "grafting" is used to produce fruits of a new variety instead of a low-value crown or to create a multi-tree apple tree in the absence of excess space in the garden.
- Restoring a damaged tree.
When is it better to plant an apple tree?
The best period for this operation is spring, the moment before the bud opening, when the tree only wakes up from the winter, in the so-called period of the beginning of the sap flow. Usually this is the end of April, when the average daily temperature is +7 to + 9 ° C. The most common ways of grafting apple trees in spring: improved copulation, application and rotation.
Is it possible to plant apple in autumn?
Grafting apple trees in autumn, when a tree is prepared for winter, is also possible, but it is necessary to conduct it according to all the rules. The autumn inoculation of apple trees should be done in September, with the expectation that before the onset of frosts, the graft should take root, otherwise it will die with severe frosts.
How to plant apple in autumn?
Early in the fall, they are vaccinated, as in the summer (this is usually an ocularization). The main thing is that the bark should go well. In September-October, you can use the method of rotation in the room. For this, a cleavage is made, cuttings are cut in the form of a wedge and inserted with a slight inclination of the lower part to combine the cambium, all this is fastened with polyethylene film. Then you need to put them in a container, and in this form to be carried to the basement, where they will be stored at low plus temperature until spring. Growth will occur quickly, and the seedlings in the spring will painlessly transfer the transplant.
How can I get an inoculation on the apple tree?
For this, take a stalk with two buds from the most productive plant. Must clean from dirt on the bark. Wash with boiled water all the tools, stalk, the place of grafting on the rootstock, then wipe clean gauze napkin. The knife must be sharp, as the incisions caused by such a blade will heal faster. It is necessary to observe the main condition - the coincidence of the cambial layers of the graft and the stock. There are a lot of methods of inoculation, here are a few basic ones: application, rotation, budding, bark, cuttings.
Stages of grafting apple trees "for bark":
- The main branch of the tree is cut in such a way that approximately 70 cm remains to the trunk.
- Clean the place with a knife.
- In the bark branches make a vertical incision up to 6 cm, so that the blade of the knife reaches the wood.
- The rootstock bark (parts of the stem to the site of inoculation) is pushed apart.
- Make an oblique cut on the cuttings of the scion.
- The lower part of the cut is sharpened from the side opposite the cut and inserted into the stem of the rootstock.
- The last step is to tie the vaccination sites with electrical tape (twine, film).
How to plant apple trees in late summer?
During this period there is active sap movement, buds are stuffed, the tree blooms, so the best way is to garnish. It is better to conduct it in the morning or in cloudy weather. It is simple in execution, differs by a high percentage of fusion. To do this, cut the kidney flap (part of the stem from the shoot in the nodal zone 2.5-3 cm in length and 0.5 cm in width) from the one-year shoot and insert it under the root of the rootstock into the pre-cut "T". After insertion, this site is tied in a downward direction with a polymer tape. The kidney should remain free. After one or two weeks, it is necessary to loosen the bandage. With a successful procedure, the eyelet will germinate next spring.