Plum & Apple Grafts at 3 weeks. 4.11.15

Ember Plum Graft.  4.11.15

Redfield Apple Graft.  4.11.15

The first of the Fedco scion are out o dormancy.  I grafted these 3.21.15.  It's too early to say for certain, that they fully took.  I think they probably have.

The stems can contain enough reserve carbohydrate and moisture,  for some bud expansion.  I'll feel more secure when leaves are fully unfurled.

These are about 3 weeks.  Pretty good. 

I did bring these inside during the evenings, the past few days.  I read warmer temperatures encourage cambium merging and improve the rate of take.  That may also be why they broke dormancy.  The outdoor grafts on the in-ground trees, are expected to be slower.

Buds. Pollinating. Bud Grafts. 3.10.15

Crimson Pointe Plum.  3.10.15

Peach and Plum flowers for pollinating.  3.10.15

 Many of the plums and peaches are in full bloom.

Unkown Battleground plum.  Mid to late bloom.

Unknown #2.  Scattered bloom.

Crimson Pointe Plum.  Full bloom.

Toka.  Early, almost full bloom.

Oregon Curl Free Peach - Early, almost full.

Charlotte Peach - Early, almost full.

Q-1-8 Peach - Early.

Hollywood Plum.  Full bloom.

Shiro Plum.  Full bloom.

Methly Plum.  Only 3 flowers on the tree.

Genetic Dwarf Peaches.  All full bloom.

Stanley Plum.  Buds eginning to swell.

Gage Plum.  Buds beginning to swell.

Sweet cherries.  Buds beginning to swell.

Tart cherries.  Barely noticable swelling.

Apples.  Buds swelling.

Asian Pears.  Buds swelling.

Pawpaws.  Buds beginning to swell.

Persimmons.  Barely detectable growth bud swelling.

Mulberries.  No noticable swelling.

Shan Zha (Chinese Haw) - see photo.  I don't know if these are flower buds or new growth.

Shan Zha buds, almost open.  3.10.15

I cut stems from the genetic dwarf peaches, Hollywood and Shiro plums, to take to Battleground as pollen sources.  I used artist paintbrush to transfer pollen from those to peaches and plum flowers.

Many of the bud grafts from July 2014 are opened and growing.  They are a bit less vigorous compared to other buds on those trees.  I cut back the stems to about 1/2 to 1 inch above the growing buds.  It's a long wait, from July to March, to see if they took.

It's interesting that some of the bud grafts are blooming, such as the Hollywood, pink, buds on the unknown, white flowered plum tree.   I noticed several such buds bloomed.  I think it's OK, the stem growth will follow.

New sign for the yard - Washington State Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary.  I had to fill out an application form describing the places in the yard where wildlife can find shelter, the trees, potential pollen and nectar sources for bees and butterflies, no-spray area, some native plants although by no means all.  Now signs up on both parts of the yard.

Hollywood buds on unknown variety of plum.  3.10.15

Toka plum in bloom.  3.10.15

 On bud grafts - it looks like plums did the best.  The couple I did on peach tree did not take.  Only 2 of about 8 on lilac took.  On cherries, hard to say because not all buds are swelling.  Some have fallen off.  I think all of the plum buds took.  Some are growing, some have flowers.

Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary

Spring Tree Blossoms, Puttering. Container Fruit Trees. 3.7.15

Bonanza Peach in bloom.  3.7.15

Honeybees enjoying a sunny spring day.   3.7.15

 Today was sunny and warm.  Last week there was frost almost every night, but low was about 29F.   I don't think that is low enough to kill the plum flowers and peach flowers.

The Italian honeybees have been actively foraging.  I have not yet painted the Warre hive.  Need to do that soon.

The forsythia was grown from a cutting, then I moved the large bush to the Battleground place 2 1/2 years ago.  Nice display.

The Crimson Pointe Plum is columnar shape.  It makes a nice early showing of the flowers.  The fruits are good, small, but last year there were none.  The lowest branches were eaten by deer, but they don't browse about about 4 to 5 feet.

The Hollywood plum starts are growing.  The laburnum has not started growing yet, and the Forsythia is still blooming.

Forsythia.  3.7.15

Crimson Pointe Plum.  3.7.15

Trees and shrubs from cuttings, 1-2 years old.  3.7.15

Potted trees.  3.7.15

The potted trees were the new apricot variety, "Pixicot", listed as genetic dwarf.  I potted this tree, intending to grow in container and keep inside if blooms occur during frost days.  The Arbequina olive has flower buds.  I potted it up to a 2-gallon container.  The plan for the olive, is to spend winter in the sunroom and summer outside.

Puttering. 2.24.24

Shrub and tree cuttings, 1 to 2 years old.  2.24.15

Forsythia cutting.  One year old.  2.24.15

 Puttering.

I finished adding cedar wood chip mulch to the front border.  Now it should be maintenance free for a long time.  Maintenance free is good.

Forsythia cutting from this time last year is blooming.  Didn't grow much last year  Lots of roots.  I think it will grow this year.

Plum cuttings from last year are starting to grow.  No flower buds.

Two year old Laburnum / Golden Chain Tree cuttings, I removed from ground an potted for some TLC.   I think this is 2 years old, might be 3.  Buds starting to swell.

Potted genetic dwarf peach is starting to bloom.  If it frosts, I can move it inside.  Looks like growth is starting much lower on the tree.  Good.  I can prune it back for a more compact plant.  I kept it out of the rain all winter.  Too soon to see if that helped with peach leaf curl.  I am playing the bee with a paintbrush, to support pollination.  This is either Bonanza or Ponderosa.  I mix up the names, which shows my age.

Bee forage plots, seedlings have germinated.  Borage, Phacelia, Crimson Clover.   The borage will crowd and shade out all weeds and grasses in its plot, which is good.  I expect so will the crimson clover.

I transplanted lemon balm into the remaining bee forage plot.  Lemon balm / Melissa is considered great bee forage.  They ignored it last year.   I had it planted around seedling trees, but it's too vigorous and competed with the trees.  So today it's in it's own plot, much nearer the beehive.

Honeybees are out in force, for past 2 weeks.  This is good.  They survived the winter and did not swarm.   Which reminds me, I need to paint the new hive.  This time it will be a Warre hive, which I hope needs less effort to keep the honeycombs straight.

Within a few yards of beehive:  Linden, Sourwood, Melissa, Borage, Phacelia, bee-friendly Buddlea Blue Chip, lavender - minimal, and a few more yards away, Nings wildflower meadow.  more Lindens, maples, and others.  That won't be enough to keep all of the foraging at our place, but I hope it helps a bit.

Smith Fig, kept in garage all winter, growing.  I moved it inside with predicted 29 degree night, not is back outside.  None of the others is growing, even kept in garage next to Smith.  In-ground Smith thoroughly dead.  It is more suited for more southern climate.

 Or is that peach El Dorado?  Nothing to do with Bonanza?  I'll have to look it up.

Bonanza Peach.  2.24.15

Bonanza Peach.  2.24.15

Borage Seedlings at one week.  2.24.15

Crimson Clover Seedlings at one week.  2.24.15

Transplanted Lemon Balm.  2.24.15

Front of house, with beehive.  2.24.15

Smith Fig starting to grow.  2.24.15

Hollywood Plum Cuttings. 12.9.14

Hollywood Plum Cuttings, Root Growth.  12.9.14

Hollywood Plum Saplings.  12.9.14

Today I dug up the remaining Hollywood Plum cuttings.  These were hardwood cuttings taken, I think, in April.  They were treated with rooting hormone then stuck into the soil in the tomato bed.  They did not receive any special treatment, other than what the tomatoes needed.

I did the same with Shiro plum.  None grew.  And with an ornamental quince - not sure if any grew, need to check again.

I potted them up.  I don't know what I will do with 6 new plum trees.  Two have bud grafts of Shiro.  It's a wait until Spring to see if those take.

Fruit Update. 8.10.14

Fruit Bowl 8/10/14

Mulberries, Green gage plums, Shiro Plums, Hollywood Plums, and the first of the Oregon Curl Free peaches.  My bowl runneth over.  There are also blackberries but I ate all of them.

Plum bud grafts. Progress Report. 7.13.14

Prunus cerasifolia bud graft on unknown Asian plum.  6 weeks.  7.12.14

 I didn't expect the bud grafts to take off and grow this year.  At best, I hoped they would take, meld with the understock tree, and grow next year.

The Prunus cerasifolia bud graft, grafted as an afterthought and onto a less promising looking small branch, had grown the fastest.  At this point, one can only conclude it is fully melded with the tissues of the understock tree and is a solid graft.  I don't know how much growth to expect.  It would be nice to have bloom next year.  If not, it will be well on its way for the following season.

The Shiro bud grafts did not take off as fast, but two of the 3 have broken dormancy and are growing now.  Again, the most I hope for is to become established and grow next year, for bloom the following year.  I don't mind playing the bee and pollinating next Spring but at some point I want the trees to be self-sufficient in their pollination.

The 3-week buds are varied.  Some look like they have taken, and some I am not so sure of.  The photo is Hollywood plum at 3 weeks.  Again, the bud has broken dormancy and is growing nicely.

I expect that grafts in August will be less likely to break dormancy.  I might graft peaches and graft a plum or two onto some of the plum cuttings from last winter.

Asian Plum "Shiro" bud grafts on unknown Asian plum.  6 weeks.

Hollywood Asian plum on unknown Asian plum.  Bud graft at 3 weeks.  7.12.14

 I really didn't know this would be so easy.  I can't believe I can do this.

Bud grafting. Progress Report. 6.21.14

Shiro Plum Bud Graft at 3 weeks.  6.21.14

Shiro Plum Bud Graft on Older Wood, at 3 weeks.  6.21.14

Hollywood Plum Bud Graft at 3 weeks.  6.21.14

These are some of the plum bud T-grafts at 3 weeks.  I read they should be unwrapped at 2 to 3 weeks, so I did.

The Shiro graft on new wood looks very good.  Still green, plump.  So I'm confident it took.  The bud portion also looks viable.  I pruned the branch back some more, about 6 inches above the bud graft.

The Shiro graft on older wig - many 3 years old - is less  green looking, but maybe OK.  I think the younger wood is much better, when there is a choice.

The Hollywood graft is burgundy, so harder to see if it is alive or not.  I think is it alive.

The second batch of bud T-grafts look OK.

I think I'll wait for July or August before grafting more.

Sunroom. Budding. 6.17.14

Homework day.

Not bad.  The sunroom makes for a more tolerable time.  The tile floor warms up nicely, even on cloudy day.  Under the floor, is 6 inches of insulation, so it should be warm in winter, too.

I did take an hour break for garden project.  I grafted new buds from Shiro and Hollywood plums, onto the existing plum trees.  I imagine if they take, it will be 2016 when they first bloom and bear.  That will help with pollination, so I don't have to run form tree to tree with a little paintbrush.

I used Hollywood and Shiro because those are what I have.  I think they are good choices - easy to see the burgundy leaves of Hollywoodo, so I easily know those are grafted, and easy to identify which plums are the small bright yellow plums of Shiro, and burgundy of Hollywood, for harvesting.

It rained Sunday and Monday.  Today drizzled.  So the tree tissues were moist, the bark slipped easily, and the grafts were not too difficult for a novice.  I don't know if they will take and grow.  If not, there is July and August budding as well, and now I have more practice.

Puttering. 5.8.14

Hollywood Plum Cuttings

Sungold Tomato Plants 5.8.14

 Puttering around the yard.

The Hollywood Plum cuttings continue to have small leaves.  None of them has dried off.  The Shiro Plum cuttings' leaves all crispified and died.  I weeded around the living cuttings.  It is raining today.  If they stay alive, that's a bunch of little plum trees.  Hollywood is a very tasty, very richly colored plum.

Planted the 2 Sungold tomato plants today.  They doubled in size in a couple of weeks.  I hope the seedlings progress well too.

The Cincinnati Market radishes are interesting.  They are shaped like carrots, but the flavor is all radish, juicy and peppery.

Cincinnati Market Radish.  5.8.14

 The front yard trees all look pretty good.  I planted these Summer 2012.   This is the first bloom for the Mountain ash.   The Laburnum bloomed last year, but it was cut short by frost.  I don't know if the Greenspire Linden will  bloom.

The Laburnum was leaning with the wind, so it got a stake to straighten it.  That will need to stay in place for a year or two.

All of the trees have had some dilute doses of organic nitrogen in late winter and spring, for a boost.

Front Yard Trees.  5.8.14

Fruit Progress Report. 5.3.14

Hollywood Plum fruit set.  5.3.14

Shiro Plum fruit set.  5.3.14

 Fruit set so far.

Hollywood Plum.  Not a lot but better than I expected.  I did not hand pollinate this year.

Shiro Plum.  Much more than Hollywood.  I did not pollinate this one either.

Hardy Chicago fig.  Very few brebas.  Growth is good so far.

Petite negri fig / Petite aubique.  Generous production of brebas.

Hardy Chicago Fig.  5.3.14

Petite negri fig with brebas.  5.3.14

Puttering. Progress Note. 3.25.14

Chinese Chives.  Compare established with 1 year old.

Planted dwarf gladiolus today

 Today "day off" from work.  Mostly homework and rest.  Lot of homework, and needed rest very much.

 I did make "rounds" in the yard and garden.  I planted one type of bulb - really corm.  The Nanus mix is a dwarf type, hardy species of gladiolus.  Some writers describe gladiolus as deer resistant.  Others state deer will eat the flowers.  I'll give them a try.

My success with "Joy of Gardening" brand bulbs from Fred Meyer is mixed.  Their mix of Anenome blanda was all blue, not blue + white + pink as pictured.  They did all grow and they look nice.   Their mix of Hyacinthoides hispanica is growing but not with enthusiasm.  The daffodil variety mix was almost entirely all yellow trumpet, not the various yellow / white / orange cup on the picture.  Still they are interesting to try and I bought on impulse.

The established Chinese chives are much more vigorous compared to the seedlings.  The seedlings are one year old.  The established ones were divisions I planted last year, from plants grown many years ago from seeds.  Division and planting in new soil invigorated them.

Last fall I planted daffodil and hyacinth bulbs in the bearded iris raised beds.  Both are considered deer resistant and toxic to other animals.  They make a cheerful display now, long before irises bloom.  They will be done with the irises bloom.

Iris Bed #1 bulbs blooming

Planting bulbs in Fall is an act of faith, that I'll be around in the Spring.  And I am here so that feels good.

Among the daffodils in my yard, Jetfire is the first to bloom, then Dutch Master, then various.  Minnow is almost blooming.  Triandrus is almost blooming

The raised bed garden is looking green.  The potato wells look like rustic monuments that could have been among the Easter Island figures, or some Mayan tomb.  No potato plants visible yet.

Iris Bed #2 bulbs blooming.

Raised Bed Garden

Iris Bacterial Rot

 A few irises have bacterial rot.  Disappointing.  I've had that happen with a few in the past.  The rhizomes survived but were set back.  This is variety Edith W.  The rain is hard on them.  If a variety dies out, I'll assume natural selection is doing its thing, and not replace that disease susceptible variety.

I have 2 rows of snow peas.  All I needed to do was protect them with chicken wire.

The Quince cuttings have leaves and flowers.  Hardwood cuttings can do that, then die without producing roots.  We'll see.

The quince cuttings border a shallot bed.  There are also plum hardwood cuttings, Hollywood and Shiro.  They are blooming too.  We'll see about them too.

I was about to give up on Four O'clock seedlings.  I see one has germinated.  I brought it home for better light in the CFL light unit.

It feels good to have things growing.

Snow Peas Growing

Quince Cuttings and Shallots.

Four O'clock Germinating Seedling.