Howdy. I've been mining this forum for a couple of years but haven't joined up until now. I might as well admit that I've got a planting habit, especially when it comes to edibles. If they're native edibles, that's even better.

Question- I planted an apple tree in November with a plan of grafting on some scions from a tree my wife's grandfather planted at his house in Tennessee. I got the scions in December and they're happy in my fridge. I've never grafted but from what I've read, I wait until the host tree's buds are swelling and then do the graft. Straightforward enough, but this is Oklahoma and nothing is ever straightforward when it relies on weather.

My apple's buds are swelling but surely we'll get another decent freeze before spring, right? If I graft now, will the grafts fail in a freeze?

Another question- I have a bed with good soil (well, a good clay/manure mix over a bed of shale) that used to have raspberries. The bed isn't in a good place for the brambles so I moved the berries. Now I'd like to fill that bed with sandplums. I know sandplums don't need good soil but will the good soil be a problem for them? That bed also holds water nicely without becoming a wet-foot problem.

Thanks for the help and I'm looking forward to being a part of this forum.