Grafting a plum onto a plum or another closely related species is an effective gardening method for quickly propagating fruit trees with the desired characteristics of yield, taste, and ripening period. It's important to understand the procedure, follow the correct sequence, use good tools, and properly prepare cuttings for grafting. Beginner gardeners are better off following the steps, using relevant instructions and videos. This increases the chances of the grafted cutting surviving and helps avoid annoying mistakes.
Why graft a plum tree?
Standard plum grafting involves inserting a scion (scion) of one variety into a prepared cleft in the rootstock (trunk, living stump, or pruned branch) of another variety. The junction is then compacted and sealed. This ensures the healthy growth of delicate subspecies, which are placed on a plant resistant to disease and external factors with a strong and resilient root system. Often, the rootstock is an easy-to-grow wild plum or a mature tree with a strong immune system.
In addition to the health-improving benefits, there are other significant advantages to grafting plum trees:
- cultivation of self-seeding;
- propagation of favorite or rare varieties;
- adaptation of fruit ripening times to the local climate;
- saving space on the site due to varietal diversity within one combined crown;
- obtaining dwarf-fruit-bearing shoots.
Often, spring grafting is the only option for preserving a tree or cultivar after critical damage to the trunk by rodents, wind, or frost during snowless winters.
What time of year should I graft a plum tree?
Plum trees can be grafted in any season except winter. Current and forecast weather conditions are taken into account to avoid temperature fluctuations, heat, frost, and precipitation. The health of the rootstock significantly influences the survival rate of the cuttings. If the tree is sick, it's best to feed it with organic matter, treat it with pesticides, and leave it alone until it fully recovers.
In the spring
The best time for grafting is spring. Thanks to intensive sap flow, trees gain strength and increase branch volume. Any damage to the bark and basal tissue heals quickly. Spring plum grafting is recommended for beginners, as it uses simple methods and is forgiving of obvious mistakes. The average survival rate is up to 95%. The timing of spring plum grafting varies by region. It's important that severe night frosts have passed. This is usually between the first ten days of March and mid-May.
In summer
Summer plum grafting poses a number of technical challenges for beginning gardeners, but it allows for the use of a viable scion and reduces the risk of unsuccessful overwintering due to the lack of vulnerable branch growth, which will only appear the following spring. Summer plum grafting has the least cosmetic defects at the junction. It is indispensable if spring-grafted scions die. The survival rate is 80-90%. The best time is June-July.
In the fall
Plum trees are grafted in the fall, from the first ten days of September until the end of October. During this period, sap flow and cambium cell activity gradually decrease. The residual nutrient mobilization is sufficient for the scion or bud to successfully implant. The main risks are early cold snaps or frosts, which are detrimental to the fragile rootstock.
Methods of grafting plum trees
Simple and complex methods of combining scion and rootstock are suitable for grafting fruit and berry trees.
In a cleft or with a cutting
The most accessible and straightforward method for grafting plum trees is in spring, early summer, or fall. This process consists of several simple steps:
- cut the rootstock evenly;
- split in the middle to a depth of 5-7 cm;
- insert the scion (1-2 cuttings, sharpened with a wedge) into the edges of the split;
- seal the wounds with garden pitch, plasticine, wax or PVA glue
To ensure a tight fit of the basal tissue (cambium), the rootstock incision is compressed by wrapping it with electrical tape, twine, adhesive tape, or duct tape. A trendy option is plumber's tape.
For the bark
Beginners can also graft plums using the "bark grafting" method, which is similar to the "cleft" technique. The difference lies in the preparation of the rootstock, which remains intact. Instead of splitting the core, vertical half-cuts are made along the edges of the bark, into which wedges are inserted. Then, the grafting is sealed and compacted.
You may be interested in:In the side cut
A one-sided variation of the "behind the bark" technique for grafting plum trees onto any branch. The cut direction should be opposite to the crown growth to ensure proper insertion of the pointed scion.
Budding
An alternative name is bud grafting. Instead of a scion, a bud—a small bud with a woody base—is used, inserted into a T-shaped cut in the bark of the rootstock. Budding is suitable for summer and periods of active sap flow. Dormant bud grafting is also practiced at the very beginning of spring.
Copulation
Another method of grafting is using scions. Its technological peculiarity is that the scion and rootstock have similar diameters. It has several subtypes. Simple plum copulation involves symmetrical cuts at the base and scion. The grafted parts are firmly secured.
Rules for selecting and storing scions for plum grafting
Cuttings for grafting should be ordered from experienced gardeners or prepared independently.
What should a quality scion be like?
Select the middle section of one-year-old shoots, free from damage and signs of disease. Branches are cut from the top of the southern or western crown. The tree is 3 to 7 years old. The thickness of the cuttings should be 5-8 mm (the thickness of a pencil) and 30-40 cm long. To perform the plum grafting procedure, one bud is removed (budding) or a scion with 2-3 vegetative buds is left. For copulation, it is necessary to select a scion with a diameter similar to the rootstock.
When to prepare scion cuttings
The standard time for harvesting scions is late autumn, after the sap has completely stopped flowing. Cuttings are also taken in late February or early March, before the buds begin to revive and swell.
How to store plum scions
The standard storage location for grafting material is a basement, cellar, or refrigerator with a temperature range of 0°C to +4°C. An alternative solution is a 35-40 cm deep hole lined with pine branches.
A bunch of cuttings is wrapped in fiberglass to protect them from rodents, placed in a hole, and covered with spruce branches, soil, and sawdust. The scion, collected in the spring, can be placed in a bag, piled with snow, stored in a basement, or placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. These recommendations also apply to apple, pear, and cherry cuttings.
Plum grafting
Many stone fruit crops are compatible with each other due to their similar nutritional, developmental, and fruiting characteristics. This ensures a high chance of success with initial grafting and long-term coexistence with high yields, no diseases, and no weakened immunity.
Plum on plum
This is the most appropriate method for grafting cuttings or buds within a single species. The scions will fully retain the variety's flavor characteristics, even when placed on a wild rootstock. If two or three varieties are used, a single tree will produce several varieties of fruit, varying in size and ripening time.
On felt cherry
Grafting plums onto cherries is a popular gardening technique for producing low-growing, early-ripening fruit trees with good cold tolerance. The success rate is 80-85%. Grafting methods (in order of effectiveness) include copulation, "behind the bark," and "cleft."
You may be interested in:For apricot and peach
Many gardeners and summer residents successfully graft plums onto apricots, despite the differences between the two varieties. The survival rate is 60-65%. But the results are worth the effort, thanks to the juicy, large fruits with a unique aroma, which is especially pronounced when replacing apricot rootstock with peach.
For cherry plum
Plum can be grafted onto cherry plum without much difficulty, as it is a closely related subspecies. For the rootstock, select a tree 2-5 years old with no bark damage or disease. The best method for grafting plum onto cherry plum is "behind the bark" or "behind the bud."
How to graft a plum onto an apple tree
https://youtu.be/n_RtzEZxvr8
Pome and stone fruit crops do not coexist well when they share a common root system. Successful grafting of plum onto apple is technically possible (copulation), but it offers limited long-term viability and is unattractive in terms of yield. Significant differences in growth rates and nutritional requirements quickly lead to scion suppression. For the same reason, plum should be grafted onto pear, quince, and hawthorn.
Recommendations for the plum grafting procedure
It's important to maintain species compatibility between the crops. The rootstock is often thicker than the scion, so the scions should be placed at the edges to ensure complete overlap of the cambial layers. The scion surfaces, tapered into a wedge, should be smooth and even to ensure a tight fit to the rootstock. Typically, the wedge length is 3-4 times longer than the scion thickness. Graft the variety carefully but quickly. This prevents oxidation of the joined tree parts. Avoid touching the cut surfaces with your hands to avoid infection. Any unnecessary scratches can be removed with gloves and a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate. The optimal time for grafting in spring and summer is a cloudy morning.
Grafting tools
Whether you decide to graft a plum onto a cherry tree or onto another tree, you will need a special set of tools:
- a small, sharp knife without burrs on the edge;
- garden varnish (wax, PVA glue, plasticine);
- strapping (electrical tape, twine, masking tape);
- covering and sealing material (film, plastic bag).
Properly preparing cuttings for grafting is impossible without a good cutting tool. Ideally, this is a budding knife with a smooth, unbeveled back or grafting shears. It is also recommended to use photodegradable garden film, which slowly dissolves under UV light and does not require subsequent removal from the graft site.
Is it possible to graft a freshly cut cutting in the spring?
Successful spring grafting with freshly cut scions is possible before the buds begin to emerge. Otherwise, normal bud development on unrooted scions without adequate trunk nutrition leads to the depletion of internal reserves and rapid death.
You may be interested in:When can I immediately cut cuttings for grafting plum trees?
The "cut and graft" approach is successfully performed in late spring or summer. This method utilizes exclusively the bud grafting technique.
Why are the best cuttings harvested in the fall?
A scion harvested in the fall not only undergoes winter hardening but is also guaranteed to be dormant. Accelerated bud development on a weak scion is simply impossible. By the time the bud breaks, the plum graft will have healed sufficiently to provide the necessary nutrition to the shoot and the buds it bears.
Caring for plums after grafting
Typically, plum trees are grafted on the north side to protect them from direct sunlight. If this is not possible, shade should be provided for the graft. The success of the grafting process is clearly evident after 20-30 days, when buds open and leaves appear. During this time, it is important to check the tightness of the joint, which quickly wears out under the influence of temperature fluctuations, precipitation, and wind. After leaf formation, the ligature is removed to allow free oxygen access. All new growth below the grafting site is regularly pruned from the plum, apricot, or cherry tree to ensure that nutrients reach only the desired scion.
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