Vaccination is one of the most mysterious manipulations, which not every gardener fully takes possession of. But it is precisely this method that makes it possible to quickly obtain new fruit trees based on those that do not suit their characteristics. Due to the unique property of trees to grow together with each other, you can “plant” a branch of a cultured but tender plant to a wild apple tree with powerful roots that are not afraid of any weather disasters. As a result, a crown will develop that has all the characteristics of a scion. The most popular technique is splitting. This is a simple method that even a beginner can master.
How to choose the right plants
There are requirements that must be followed in order for the procedure to be successful. The first split vaccination is done on a tree that is at least three years old. The plant needs to get stronger. An old tree with a cracked trunk is also not the best choice as a stock. In addition, it is important to study the compatibility of cultures. You can’t plant an apple tree on a birch, you’ll only waste your time in vain. Rosaceae can be combined with each other, for example, to plant a branch of a pear on an apple tree and vice versa. In the same way they do with stone fruits, that is, cherries, plums and apricots.
What is the essence of the method
Of all the available methods, grafting into a cleft is best for rejuvenating an old garden. If the plants are not sick, have a good smooth bark, are not affected by a fungus, then even having lived in the garden for more than a decade, they can become ideal stocks for a new progressive variety. After all, agricultural technologies do not stand still, the characteristics, productivity and resistance to diseases are improving.
New life
Vaccination in a split is the best way to rejuvenate the old garden, increase its resistance to adverse climatic conditions. This procedure is performed most often in the spring, when the kidneys begin to swell. Before the start of the procedure, the entire ground part is cut off at the rootstock. All that remains is a feather. This is a great way in the case when the plant died from frost, the vaccine will save it and bring it back to life, however, in a new quality.
Next, splits are made with a depth of 4-5 cm. If you want two fruit branches to grow at once, and the diameter allows, then you can place two cuttings, opposite each other. But on thin trunks, this technique is unacceptable. Vaccination of an apple tree in a split allows you to get a new plant with excellent characteristics in just a few years. A powerful root system gives a strong boost to growth.
Basic Rules
Do not forget that this is a rather complicated procedure, and in order to perform it with excellent results, you need to listen to the advice of experienced gardeners. At first glance, there is nothing tricky here, however, grafting an apple tree into a split should be thought out and prepared in advance, otherwise the precious branches will simply dry on the rootstock trunk. We have collected the most important tips that will be useful to every gardener:
- Cuttings need to be cut in early spring, even before the first leaves begin to bloom. It is very important to start vaccination immediately, on the same day.
- Both the tree and the scion should be completely healthy.
- Prepare sterile instruments, dressings, and be sure to wash your hands. This procedure is, in fact, a surgical operation, so take it seriously.
- The faster you can finish all the necessary stages of the operation, the greater the chance of success. Light and air affect slices not in the best way, so if you hesitate, it is better to update them.
- Inspect the tree trunk again. Damaged by rodents, frostbitten, affected by tinder fungus is a bad option. You only spend time and effort.
- But what if you got cuttings suitable for vaccination in the fall? They can be stored until the first heat. To do this, they need to be carefully tied and deepened in the sand. For long-term storage, a cellar or refrigerator is good.
- But what about those who already have one grafted branch on the tree? The answer is simple: on the other hand, you can plant a second, but of a different sort. At the same time, be sure to note that the ripening dates of the fruits on them must coincide.
- The age criterion is most important for stone fruit. Cherry, plum, apricot is used as a stock for reaching 5-7 years of age. But pears and apple trees live longer, so the threshold increases.
- During the junction of the scion and the stock, make sure that the cambium layers coincide.
Care
This question worries most gardeners. Indeed, the procedure has been completed, and then what? How to evaluate its results? If everything is done correctly, then after three weeks shoots from the buds on it should appear on the stock. If this does not happen, then the stalk begins to dry out.
What is now required from the gardener?
- First of all, make sure that various pests, gnawing or sucking, do not appear. For a stock that is just starting to take root, this is death.
- Everything that grows from the rootstock kidneys below the vaccination line should be removed without any regret. During the first season, you must perform this procedure regularly.
- Grafted trees need to be watered and fertilized more than usual.
- The condition of the wound must be constantly checked and, if necessary, additionally lubricated with garden var.
- Sometimes gardeners plant several cuttings on one branch at once. In this case, you need to leave only one that develops best.
- The grafted cuttings are still rather poorly kept, and therefore can be damaged by birds. Therefore, they are tied with the arms of flexible shoots.
- The first season, we let the vaccine grow as it wants. At the beginning of next spring, we shorten the shoots and form a branch.
Spring vaccination of apple trees
It is the beginning of April that is considered the ideal time when the vaccine is split. Dates vary depending on the climatic conditions of the region, but it is not recommended to wait until the leaves bloom. Cuttings are best stored in the fall, when the first frosts have already hit (no higher than -10 degrees). Tied in bunches, they are sent to the basement, in a box with sand, where they will be stored until spring. The temperature should not exceed +2 C. There is one caveat here, it is necessary to choose branches with a diameter of at least two to four cm.
Vaccination of the apple tree in the spring in the split is carried out necessarily in good, sunny weather. Wind and rain can ruin the result. The stock is split with a sharp knife, after which oblique sections are made on the branches and inserted into the prepared slot. But the most important thing is the accuracy of the connection of the slices. The more precisely the layers match, the better the two plants will grow together.
In spring, the grafted plant must be watered well so that a sufficient amount of moisture is retained in the tissues. After a month, it will be possible to finally determine whether the stalk has taken root. Swollen buds and fresh shoots are a vivid confirmation that everything went as it should. Now the gardener will need to regularly pinch the shoots to stimulate the growth of new ones. This process is called crown formation.
It is important to know
Grafting trees into a cleft is not suitable for all garden dwellers. In particular, cherries and cherries practically do not take root in this case. The reason is simple - the branches are too thin, and the wood is fragile. Therefore, it is better to choose a different method. Do not forget to protect the vaccination site with plastic wrap. If the plant is located in a sunny, open place, then for the entire period until the vaccination will take root, you need to install an awning over it. As soon as the tissues grow together, it is possible to remove the shelter, but the dressing is left for a rather long time. It is best not to touch it until the young shoots are strong.
Other vaccination methods
There are many of them, so the gardener should be able to navigate in this variety. In this case, the choice will depend on the variety of fruit trees, as well as on the season, age and thickness of the stock and scion. For example, vaccination in the split is not performed in the summer. This procedure should be completed while the plant is in a state of forced dormancy. That is, before the start of the growing season. This is easy to explain, since the tree trunk must be completely cut away, removing all skeletal branches. Therefore, the end of May - the beginning of April, this is an ideal time.
In the first spring days, a vaccination for the bark is performed. This method should coincide with the beginning of the growing season or sap flow. At this time, the bark is well behind the trunk. But vaccination in the lateral incision can be performed both in spring and summer. That is, it is not enough just to master one technique, you still need to understand in which case it is advisable to use it.
Pear Inoculation
If there are a lot of apple trees in our gardens, then this fragrant beauty is much less common. The reason is simple. Varieties that bear delicious, aromatic fruits are mostly thermophilic. And that which grows in the middle zone or Siberia gives very mediocre fruits. But just this problem is solved by vaccinating the pear in the split. By the way, the apple tree can also act as a stock. If the grafted branch or stump is much thicker than the prepared cuttings, then this is an ideal technique.
In general, the procedure remains the same. A cut is made, then a split is made on the stock, into which the stalk is inserted. The rest of the procedure is repeated, the place of cut is wrapped with plastic wrap and covered with garden varnish. This technique allows you to grow a delicious, heat-loving pear on a Siberian, frost-resistant apple tree. This will give you a guarantee that the plant will not freeze in the coming winter.
We plant a plum
Surely, everyone on the site grows this culture. But rarely, anyone can boast that the fruits are really delicious. Usually it is a sour berry, with a dense skin. A delicate and fragrant plum freezes over most of Russia. However, do not despair, as well as uproot the tree. Its characteristics can be improved, and grafting plums into a split will help in this.
She will not be able to make friends with all the trees. Therefore, remember that only plum and apricot can serve as stock. Except for the plum itself, of course. However, they age very early, so it is better not to use trees older than 7-10 years as a stock. Experienced gardeners say that the best way is to get a split shot in the spring. This procedure is carried out early, even before the start of sap flow, and the survival rate in this case is the highest. The only condition is that the branch on which the vaccination is carried out is much thicker than the handle.
Harvesting plum cuttings for spring vaccination is a very responsible matter. The ideal time for this is early autumn, before frosts hit. You can store them in the basement or in the refrigerator.
We plant grapes
Another sore subject for any gardener. Despite all efforts, only wine varieties survive on the site. It does not matter, you only need to find varietal cuttings during the autumn pruning. We lay them in the cellar or in the refrigerator, wrapping with a clean cloth. Now they will pass the time until spring. It is important to choose the right time. Grape grafting in the split is carried out from late March to late April. At this time, the kidneys were already swollen, and new leaves did not appear. The temperature should be 15-20 degrees.
Execution technique
- The bush must be dug, remove the soil to the level of the first internode and clean the rootstamp.
- Now cut it with a file to make a stump. This will be our stock. It remains with a sharp knife to clean the place of cut.
- Now prepare the stalk. He will need to make a sharp cut.
- Make a splitting in the hemp and insert the wedge.
- It remains to place the handle in it and remove the wedge.
- If this is planned, then you can insert several cuttings. The vaccination site must be carefully rewound with twine and fixed.
- Fill the scion and rootstock with soil so that its layer above the upper eye is 5-6 cm.
Grafted Vine Care
After a week, you need to check the soil moisture. If the earth is dry, moderately pour warm water. Be sure to loosen the earth around the bush. Emerging weeds must be removed very carefully so as not to damage the adhesion site. It will be possible to judge whether the seedling has taken root in 2-3 weeks. With a successful outcome, new cells form, the first shoots appear. If he did not take root, then continue to care for the bush, the vaccination can be repeated the next year.