Methley Plum x Bruce Plum x Texas Star Peach grafting!

[Montray Davis]

Why not apple - Pink Lady is a good one!?

It would be nice if I could add apple but they aren't compatible with peaches and plums

 

[alp]

You cannot graft different types of fruit. Peaches, plums, apricots etc. are stone fruit and have a single seed. Apples are not stone fruit because they are multi-seeded.

Ooops! Now I know. Thank you, @Chuck ! When is the best time to do chip grafting please?

 

[Chuck]

Ooops! Now I know. Thank you, @Chuck ! When is the best time to do chip grafting please?

I don't know about in the UK but here it is done in July-August

 

[alp]

I don't know about in the UK but here it is done in July-August

Thank you. Some Welsh person suggested September in the UK. I tried it before and it failed. Might try again.

 

[Montray Davis]

Thank you. Some Welsh person suggested September in the UK. I tried it before and it failed. Might try again.

You should definitely give it another go .

Idk about the specific type of plant you're growing but grafting in fall/winter worked out just fine for me. I've never been successful grafting during the summer .

 

[Jesse Glessner]

Montray: Check with you local Nursery about grafting your trees. Many fruit trees and other plants are grafted, but, the grafting is performed on a different Root stock - for many different reasons, more vigorous, more deterrence of diseases, etc. - and it is possible to graft like you're doing but there is a possibility that production of fruit may not be as good as Nursery stock. Oh, and do your checking in a real Nursery, not just a big box store garden supply place.

 

[Chuck]

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fruit-nut/files/2015/04/plums_and_stone_fruit_2015.pdf

 

[Montray Davis]

Montray: Check with you local Nursery about grafting your trees. Many fruit trees and other plants are grafted, but, the grafting is performed on a different Root stock - for many different reasons, more vigorous, more deterrence of diseases, etc. - and it is possible to graft like you're doing but there is a possibility that production of fruit may not be as good as Nursery stock. Oh, and do your checking in a real Nursery, not just a big box store garden supply place.

Thanks for the info !

This is more of just a fun project than it is fruit production. Even if the grafts don't work out well, the primary tree I think should be fine as it has been. I have 4 plum/peach/nectarine trees so even just a bit of fruit on each tree is probably more than I need. Not to mention I just got some kiwi vines and grape vines.

This will be a neat experiment though.

I've grafted each variety onto each tree so I am interested to see how each fo them will do. Hopefully at least one gives me a full crop. We'll find out soon ! ^_^.

 

[Montray Davis]

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fruit-nut/files/2015/04/plums_and_stone_fruit_2015.pdf

Geesh, it seems like hardly any of the stone fruit grow well in Texas.

What fruit varieties do you recommend for Texas that can be grown on a very large scale ?

 

[Chuck]

Geesh, it seems like hardly any of the stone fruit grow well in Texas.

What fruit varieties do you recommend for Texas that can be grown on a very large scale ?

In the Austin area? None. Peaches are the only exception and they will be iffy. The large scale stone fruit area in Texas is around Fredicksburg, and the weather with the exception of this year, has just about done them in too. Many of the farmers are changing a portion of their trees to a lower chilling hour variety. But this year any changes made will be for naught. East of Austin in the deep blackland prarie soil pecan trees do well but to the west in the hill country large scale production of anything is not happening with the exception of certain types of grapes in a few locations.

 

[Chuck]

Geesh, it seems like hardly any of the stone fruit grow well in Texas.

What fruit varieties do you recommend for Texas that can be grown on a very large scale ?

I take back my previous post. Although not a stone fruit, a few varieties of pear grow well in the Austin area. The ones that grow best are not the eating type though. They are for cooking and canning. The big disappointment in eating type pears are that most are susceptible to fire blight. You could grow pears of the correct variety on a large scale in the Austin area but, the only drawback to that is the market. Is there a market for them? I don't know if there is or not. Something else that grows really well in Austin are pomegranates, and there is a market for them.

 

[Montray Davis]

In the Austin area? None. Peaches are the only exception and they will be iffy. The large scale stone fruit area in Texas is around Fredicksburg, and the weather with the exception of this year, has just about done them in too. Many of the farmers are changing a portion of their trees to a lower chilling hour variety. But this year any changes made will be for naught. East of Austin in the deep blackland prarie soil pecan trees do well but to the west in the hill country large scale production of anything is not happening with the exception of certain types of grapes in a few locations.

Very useful information!

Do you think that even with the Stone Fruit fruiting poorly, would I still be able to get enough to suffice a single family? I live alone actually, so more like two ro three people occasionally in case some friends comes over.

What about Avocados? Will they grow well once established (Not taking into consideration soil.)?

I guess what boggles me is the fact that nurseries, home depot, and wal-mart would even sell fruit trees that do poorly in this state as outlined on Aggie Culture. smh.

I saw a bunch of Nectarine trees for the first year (but perhaps I just never really looked or came too late) at my local Home Depot. I bought one and see that they all had a ton of flowers -- so I believed they could thrive really well. But now it has dawned on me that it's because they were probably grown in a state suited for Nectarines up until it was shipped to Texas. What a bummer.!

I suppose my best bet is sticking to tropicals then. I have a heated green-house in my Backyard so cold is not an issue for me. I'm also going to add grow lights in the winter for additional heat and to make-up for lack of sunlight.

 

[Chuck]

Very useful information!

Do you think that even with the Stone Fruit fruiting poorly, would I still be able to get enough to suffice a single family? I live alone actually, so more like two ro three people occasionally in case some friends comes over.

What about Avocados? Will they grow well once established (Not taking into consideration soil.)?

I guess what boggles me is the fact that nurseries, home depot, and wal-mart would even sell fruit trees that do poorly in this state as outlined on Aggie Culture. smh.

I saw a bunch of Nectarine trees for the first year (but perhaps I just never really looked or came too late) at my local Home Depot. I bought one and see that they all had a ton of flowers -- so I believed they could thrive really well. But now it has dawned on me that it's because they were probably grown in a state suited for Nectarines up until it was shipped to Texas. What a bummer.!

I suppose my best bet is sticking to tropicals then. I have a heated green-house in my Backyard so cold is not an issue for me. I'm also going to add grow lights in the winter for additional heat and to make-up for lack of sunlight.

For home use sure, without a doubt. But you said large scale. You will find most success with peaches, then plums and all the rest go downhill from there. In Austin you can forget avacados because of winter temperatures. As for Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Walmart etc go, NEVER buy any plants there. They do not take into consideration the climate that the store is in. I hope your greenhouse is tall. Tropicals like mango get really tall. And a 10 foot tall avacado is not a large one. I don't know how large your property is but if I were you I would forget about trees. If you have enough room for an inground garden or enough room for a lot of large containers I would stick to the basics like vegetables. Just about anything else is a long term commitment that requires quite a bit of space.

 

[Montray Davis]

For home use sure, without a doubt. But you said large scale. You will find most success with peaches, then plums and all the rest go downhill from there. In Austin you can forget avacados because of winter temperatures. As for Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Walmart etc go, NEVER buy any plants there. They do not take into consideration the climate that the store is in. I hope your greenhouse is tall. Tropicals like mango get really tall. And a 10 foot tall avacado is not a large one. I don't know how large your property is but if I were you I would forget about trees. If you have enough room for an inground garden or enough room for a lot of large containers I would stick to the basics like vegetables. Just about anything else is a long term commitment that requires quite a bit of space.

I was interested in purchasing some land to do a larger-scaled project, but I am not so sure now..

Regarding Avocados, I'll likely over-winter them in the greenhouse which should never really be below 50-60 F so if cold and size is the only issue, I think I can work around that. I'll likely heavily prune Avocados even if that means fruit every other year. I'll just get another one and rotate. Much like I plan on doing stone fruits. The Mango is mostly for ornamental purposes. I'll cut it back too, each year. If I get fruit then yay -- a bonus.

I suppose I should stop shopping at Home Depot!

Thanks for all of your help! I just moved to Round Rock from Central Austin so I'll give the stone fruit a year or two and see how it goes. I have plenty of space left for my veggie beds which I just started filling with strawberries and pineberries!

Take care, Chuck! You're always extremely helpful.!

 

[Montray Davis]

Actually, I have another question!

What if I have stone fruit with low chill hours and I over-winter them in a garage after they've neared their required chill hours?

For instance, I have a Plum that requires 400 chill hours. After about 400 chill hours into winter, I bring it into a garage that is about 50-60 degrees? Would that be fine ? I know it sounds like a lot of work, but, I have nothing better to do loool

Here is a Cherry that requires only 400 hours. https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/Lapins-Cherry-Tree.htm I really want a Cherry tree really badly! Do you think this method could work for a small personal crop?