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jarpe

High altitude grafting in late summer

jarpe
9 years ago

This time of summer when new growth has nearly woodened (still some green colour in bark), is second season for me to graft conifers.
Results can be even better than early spring becauce there is no growing of shoots at the time when grafting wound is healing.
Only developement is attaching of surfaces and woodening of scion, new growth comes next spring.

I try to create nice decorative trees that have different form and color on top of them.

Comments (27)

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Grafting is made into hight of maby 5 meters. This time of year norvay spruce is very flexible and can easily be bent.

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I made 6 grafts on a top hoping that atleast one will take.

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    shading nets can be left there for whole autumn and winter. I take them off next spring in time of new growth.
    I hope i can take new picture after some 15 years with my son standing in front again as a grown up man and trees behind him look very different too. I grafted P.abies Inversa on top of left one hoping it in future flows down like waterfall. Picea pungens some blue selection on right.

  • severnside
    9 years ago

    Great info Jarpe. Good luck with your decorative treetops.

    When would you say is the last date for summer grafting before it is too late. Does it work for pines as well? I have one I may not have access to in spring so I'd like to try but don't know when I will get to it right now.

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Severnside, for me it would be about 10.of August. There havenôt been success for me after that. It is question of state of developement in new shoot. I believe that bark should not be totally hardened but still little greenish.

    I quess there must be enough juises flowing for wound to heal properly so that graft can survive the winter. ( I have experience only from picea abies and pinus sylvestris rootstock).

    Maby you can have success after mentioned deadline if grafts are protected from freezing, but i have no experience of such. I allways leave grafts outside for winter.

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is graft made few weeks ago. Pinus contorta variegated form grafted on contorta growing outside. Bark colour makes me imagine that `healing powersô are still very active.

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • sluice
    9 years ago

    The grafts look great, Jari. It will be interesting to see the P. abies waterfall in a few years!

  • severnside
    9 years ago

    Well your timing of this thread was perfect Jarpe. I asked work today if they could send me to collect a consignment from the place has another special mugo pine. I managed to grab a scion quickly as a lot of people were around and grafted it tonight. Had you not given this info I would have missed the early grafting season next year as I leave them this September. A pine I had given up on may now be a last chance success.

    Thanks!

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is a pic i took from my friendôs garden few weeks ago. He likes to play around with shapes and colours. I want to try something similar too.

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Another pic from friendôs garden at Kausala, Southern Finland. Brooms grafted to decorate privacy screen.

  • andreas75_gw
    9 years ago

    Hy!

    That with the brooms on the hedge is a really clever idea. If you dont want the hedge to grow higher or make long shoots that you have to prune down: Graft some brooms on the tops, and the hedge will never grow out of shape anymore :D!

    Greetings, Andreas
    - who is considering to do that on his Thuja hedge with T. occidentalis 'Danica'

  • severnside
    9 years ago

    Wow Jarpe, those pics are amazing, I missed them last time around. So if you wanted to make a tease on broom collectors you could prepare a forest with grafted brooms and tell them it's the best place to hunt for them. They might not notice the graft lines!

  • andreas75_gw
    9 years ago

    *laugh*
    Yes, that's good :D!

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Severnside, great idea! Then i could rent rooms for broomhunters that come in large numbers from all around to make discoveries. Ah!!!...damn!, we should have had this conversation privately, now all my potential customers have read this and business opportunity is ruined..:(

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is a link that presents some other pieces from the same artist.

    Here is a link that might be useful: combinations of forms in same plant

  • plantkiller_il_5
    9 years ago

    7ern,
    that is absolutely the funniest thing I have read on the forums
    jarpe,
    the grafts are "funny" too
    ron "never made a graft myself , so I shouldn't talk"

  • andreas75_gw
    9 years ago

    Hello!

    I did not know where to ask elsewhere and need desparately help :(!

    Uff, yeah, the worst case has come: i knew a old variegated Norway Spruce some 3 km away at an old iron mine.
    In every winter since 2010 i 've visited it to find scions for grafting. The qualitiy of the fallen branchlets was always relatively poor, so only one succeeded.
    And yesterday my wife come, say she has driven along the grove and means, it is so light up there... My heart really dropped, and like lightning we drove up there; and really: The new owners of the property have freshly lumbered all the old, nearly 120 year old spruces, including the variegated one *cry*...

    With a heavy rock in my stomach i rescued, what was to rescue, some of the nicest variegated parts from the treetop, and now i want to ask: Makes it any sense, to graft them now, to this late time of year?

    I had feared for a longer time, that the trees will be cut down one un- nice day when i came out there, but must it have to be in this probably really unfavorable time?

    Pfff...
    Well, do you mean a grafting makes sense now? And if, what wil be the best way to get them over the winter?

    Kindly,
    Andreas

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I hope you have them in fridge. I think you donôt really have a choice but to try it. Maby graft them and keep them from freezing Inside garage next to big window, cool temperatures till you raise temperature to 12 celcius in end of February and get lots of extra artificial light.

    very good idea would also be to send some to a pro like your neighbor Edwin. You could contact him via email. You find address at his website edwinsmitsconifers.


  • andreas75_gw
    9 years ago

    Hello Jarpe,

    oh, Edwin is a really good idea. I 've heard of him from a friend, Wolfgang Keidel, who ist a friend of Edwin.
    Ok, i will write him immediately and try meanwhile some graftings on every spruce- seedling i have.

    Yes, i have the scions in good shelter in a humid place with a wet towel over them.

  • severnside
    9 years ago

    Well Jarpe here is the mugo pine I grafted 11 weeks ago when I read this thread of yours.

    Prospectively called (upon success!) Pinus mugo 'Jarpe's Last Chance' or simply 'JLC' - if that is ok with you. I think it's apt because soon after this thread was made I lost access to the private estate where the scion plant was as the work contract came to an end. So it really was perfect timing and the last chance.

    At week 11
    {{gwi:600088}}

  • severnside
    9 years ago

    Btw how are your late summer grafts doing? Will they staying wrapped for winter? Mine has been outdoors in a warm and dry but humid August and September after two weeks in a humidity bag.

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Great, Severn!!

    I am deeply moved by the plant name and by all means use it if the plant keeps growing, looks very good so far.

    Part of my endsummer field grafts made into sunny treetops have failed since end of summer was little too hot, But fieldgrafings made into shadow aswell as norml graftings with potted roostock have made it nicely so far.

    My endsummer grafts will stay outside through winter in half shade. Snow will cover them and i propably dig them up in end of march next year when i start to warm up my greenhouse for new spring grafts.

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    See link for photos of my experiments!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Jarpe pictures

  • severnside
    9 years ago

    Thanks Jarpe, let's hope it makes it. So far so good.

    Your pictures are a wealth of grafting and great specimens! The golden ones are incredible, they're as bright as winter mugos which are among my favourite conifers. In your snowy landscape they really glow. Are all your grafts for your own experiments and enjoyment or do you propogate for other people and nurseries? I ask simply because you have so many. It reminds me of Dax with his industrial capacity. Then again, I'll probably have more and more each year myself.

    Please keep us updated with your golden wonders. They need to be seen.

  • jarpe
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Severn, from each form I like to graft at least 10 pieces if i can. I want to plant 3 to my own garden just to be sure i end up getting atleast one adult tree. Then i get couple of extra plants to trade. My grafting success is usually 50-60%.
    I also need extraplants to get scions of new interesting forms.
    It is very easy to get permission from landowner to collect scions when you bring some plants with you right away. I donôt prefer promising grafts from obtained scions because itôs too far in future for me to remember when time comes.
    I havenôt been selling any plants yet. But that day may come.
    I like trading scions (and even plants)within Europe with other hobbyists some times.

  • severnside
    9 years ago

    You certainly live the passion that we all have. That's brilliant Jarpe.

    I need to do some broom and mutation hunting myself. I have large conifer plantations an hour away so maybe this winter it's time to search.