Sometimes it happens that the planted and grown tree turns out to be not the sort or its fruit of poor quality. What to do in this case, because you have spent a lot of time and energy to grow it? It is necessary to use the technology of vaccination, which will allow to grow fruits of other varieties on tree branches.
In the article you will learn when and how best to plant an apple tree, and also how to do it in the spring.
At what time are apple trees planted?
Depending on the method of vaccination, this can be done at different times. Inoculation of apple trees is mainly carried out in spring by a cuttings or in summer by a kidney. It is better for beginning gardeners to learn this by working with cuttings, since in the beginning one needs to practice in speed and accuracy of movements.
You can start planting apples in the spring when frosts pass, somewhere from the middle of April to the end of May. The procedure itself is desirable to do either in the early morning, or in the evening.
How to inoculate an apple in the spring?
For the spring inoculation of apple trees, it will be necessary to prepare such materials and tools:
- cuttings;
- sharp small garden saw ( pruner );
- acute grafting knife;
- garden var ;
- film and rope for tying.
In the beginning, after the first frosts or early in the spring we harvest cuttings, cutting off growing annual branches 30-35 cm long from healthy apples of the right sorts. Shorten the top of the kidney, and cut the bottom at an acute angle, so that the surface of the cut was three times the diameter of the cuttings. We store them until spring in the basement, putting them in wet sand, sawdust, or, wrapped in wet cloth, in the fridge. We will further call the stalk, and the branch of the tree on which we will inoculate - the stock. Tools and hands should be washed with soap. During the procedure, it is necessary to avoid touching the sections of the rootstock and bringing them by hand.
There are different ways to inoculate a cuttings, of which gardeners most often use the following:
- Copulation . It is done when the diameter of the stock and the graft are the same. So instill branches 1-2 years of age. There are simple and improved, i.e. with a "tongue". The latter allows you to fasten the elements more firmly. At the bottom and the bottom end of the scion, slanting slices 3-4 cm long are made, with "tongues" cut out by a longitudinal cut of wood. Connect the slices very quickly, for 1 minute.
- Inoculation in the lateral incision . Suitable for branches of different diameters. At the bottom of the cut is a short and oblique wedge, with which it is inserted into the incision, made in the side of the stock.
- Inoculation in the cleavage . Bottom cuttings are made 3 cm long slanting slices to the wedge. A special wedge is split into a section of the rootstock across, a pair of scions from the edges are inserted into the slot so that the cambial layers coincide with the scion. Then the wedge is removed, and the stock is tied with a twig.
- Inoculation per bark . Used for medium and large diameter branches. This vaccination is performed when the sap flow begins. Gently cut the apple tree branch, leaving a stump. The cut is smoothly cleaned with a knife. On the graft with 2-3 buds at the bottom, an oblique cut is made 3-4 cm long. It is cut along the bark into a rootstock and, pushing it back with a knife, is inserted into it with a slanting cut to the wood. If the branch is thicker than 5 cm in diameter, then you can make 2-5 vaccinations, evenly placing them along the circumference of the trunk. Later, when they get accustomed, we leave one of the strongest shoots, and the rest we shorten and completely cut off after 3 years.
Thus, vaccination of apple in spring is done by such an algorithm, spending as little time as possible (1-1.5 minutes):
- We cut the cut from below with a sharp knife.
- Cut off part of the rootstock, leaving 5 cm of length, and cut the cut smoothly.
- We perform the chosen method of vaccination.
- We wrap the film (mochalom) and tie it tightly with a rope.
- We put on top of the garden var, which will prevent drying and protect against ingestion of pests.
- To the hemp neatly tie a protective stick or bright ribbon, which will scare away the birds.
After 3 weeks, when the kidneys swell, the bandage should be weakened, and in the spring of the second year it is completely removed. Further care for the vaccination is to protect against breakage and the formation of a branch.
Knowing how to properly plant apples in the spring, amateur gardeners on one tree can grow different varieties of apples on each branch.