Walking around. Lindens, Herbs, Plant Starts, Persimmons, Ginkgo, 5.21.16

I planted this Greenspire Linden as my birthday tree in September 2012.  The tree was an end of season sale at Home Depot, with roots encircling the container.  I pruned off the encircling roots, dug in the dry soil, filled twice with water, and did some light pruning to one leader a the top.  I watered twice monthly the first summer, once monthly the second summer, and little or none, last summer.

This Linden has become a nice looking tree.  Much taller and more full.  There are 3 other Greenspire lindens around the yard, started smaller, planted later, but still growing nicely.  They all have many flower buds.  I planted these especially for the honeybees to have an excellent pollen and nectar source.

I also planted a Redmond American Linden, which was smaller, but has grown fast and is covered with flower buds now, as well.

Around the yard, Lavenders are blooming.  Honeybees are foraging the lavenders.  Chamomile is growing nicely, started from seeds this winter.  There are quite a few volunteer nasturtiums growing.  I have some other spots where I might plant some nasturtium seeds.

 The Saijo and Nikita's Gift Persimmons have flower buds, with the Nikita's Gift covered and Saijo with just a few.  The Yates American Persimmon has taken off and growing fast.  Any stems that stick out from the fencing are eaten quickly by the damn deer.

Blue-grey Lavendar.  5.21.16

Chamomile.  5.21.16

 Grape cuttings started late winter have a small amount of growth.   The largest are past the stage where they could be growing just on stored nutrients, so must have roots.

The ginkgo tree that I moved in January this year is looking good.  The leaves are smaller than expected for an established gingko tree, but OK for one in it's first Spring after a big move.

I have a bucket with onw 1/4 inch hole drilled in the bottem.  If there is no rain for a week, I fill the bucket with water, let it drain, move it and repeat, then move to a third location and repeat again.

Volunteer Nasturtium.  5.21.16

Saijo Persimmon Flower Buds.  5.21.16

Yates American Persimmon, in ground about 2 years.  5.21.16

Nikita Gift Persimmon Flower Buds.   5.21.16

Price Grape Cuttings, a few month old.  5.21.16

Ginkgo tree transplanted Jan 2016.  5.21.16

Kitchen Garden Progress Report. 3.17.16

Container Planting of Radish and Spinach Seedlings.  3.17.16

 I did a lot of gardening today.

Large half-barrel size containers with greens and favas are coming along nicely, roughly one month after planting.  Pictured, radish and spinach.  Favas are also growing nicely both in containers and in-ground, and scallions are more than a foot tall - Eqyptian Walking Onions.

Grape cuttings look good, about one month.  I am starting Interlaken and Price.  These will get extra TLC this year to achieve planting size as soon as I can manage.

Grape Cuttings at One Month.  3.17.16

Favas Germinating at one month.  3.17.16

Apple Scion, Fedco.  3.17.16

 Fedco apple scion came yesterday.  I stored in refridgeratore overnight.  Scion includes Milo Gibson, Sweet-16, Baldwin, Newtown Pippin.  Some were very small.  I multigrafted 3 existing trees, and also created one from a one-year plant of semidwarf stock taken from the stump of a prior apple tree.  That last was a rind graft, because the scion was so much smaller than the rootstock.  I used Mil Gibson because it is rare and unique.

The seedling gemetic dwarf peach is blooming at 4 years.  Others at same age and younger are not blooming.  I'm designating these as "gremlin peaches" because the trees are so tiny, suitable for container.  I don't know what they will be like.  They need a designation because it's too much typing to continue stating "seedlings of genetic dwarf peaches".

I planted herb seeds indoors in seed starting soil, in reused, washed seedling 6-packs.  I started seeds for greens in the outdoor half barrels.  As pictured below.

Rind Graft, Milo Gibson Apple on unknown semidwwarf rootstock.  3.17.16

Seedling Gremlin Peach at 4 years.  3.17.16

Seeds planted indoors.  3.17.16

Seeds planted outdoors in large containers for greens.  3.17.16

Propagation Projects, Progress Report. 3.3.16

Pink Ornamental Cherry, whip / tongue 3.3.16

Single Pink Ornamental Cherry, whip / tongue  3.3.16

Ginkgo whip / tongue.  3.3.16

Ginkgo whip / tongue  3.3.16

 These are some of my plant propagation projects.

On the past 2 days, I grafted scion from ornamental cherries onto wild cherry root stock.  The root stocks were volunteers in the yard, likely sweet cherry or descendents from sweet cherries.

It was difficult to identify scion that was not already too far along.  The main tree is an ancient - in suburban terms - double flowered, fringed, pink Japanese cherry.  Very beautiful.    From the rootstock of that tree, are growths that bloom much earlier, pink prolific single flowers.    That one is even more advanced, fully blooming.  There were some 1-year growths that have mildly swelling buds, so I used one of those.

If the flowering cherry scion don't take, I can alllow growth of the wild cherry root stocks from below the grafts, and try T-budding this summer.

I've already posted on the ginkgo tree grfts.  The buds might be swelling a little.  Hard to say.  The trees are no further along.  I tiny patch of green is visible in some  buds.  It takes imagination to see that.

Grape Cuttings.  3.3.16

Genetic Dwarf Peach Seedling.  4th year.  3.4.16

Sedum From Stem Cuttings, Overwintered Outdoors.  3.4.16

Buds are swelling on the grape cuttings.  Those are from February.

The seedling genetic dwarf peach has pink flower buds.  I don't know what will happen.  If the flowers take, then the peaches may be small, due to not being on a vigorous peach rootstock.  If dwarfing rootstocks make for normal size fruit, them maybe own-root peaches are no smaller than their grafted counterparts.  This is an experiment.

The large varietiy sedums from stem cuttings last fall are growing nicely.  I kept a few inside - they dried out and died.  The starts that I kept outside for the winter are growing.

Grape Cuttings. 1.10.15

 Today I took some grape cuttings.

These are from 14-year-old grape vines at the old place.   They are too big to move to the new place.

I like the "Price" and "Interlaken"  varieties.  The others are OK, but I like these the best.  I want to grow them with TLC to either bearing size for next year, or close to it.

This starts with the cuttings.  In the past I have just stuck grape prunings into the soil in the garden, and they grew.   However, those are slow and take a few years to reach bearing size.  The first year, only a few inches of growth.

With some TLC, I may get a few feet of growth.

To start - cut prunings.  About 1 foot to 1i8 inches.   Stout strong first-year stems.  If possible, nodes a few inches apart, as many nodes as possible.

At least 2 nodes, better if 3 or 4.  Cut bottom end, flat, about 1 inch from node.  Cut top end, at angle, about 1 inch from top.

I used Dip-and-grow.  I don't know that it's necessary.  I've grown grape cuttings without it. Also, the container is old, maybe several years.  But I used some anyway.

Then LABELED, inserted into potting soil with lowest nodes about 3 or 4 or 5 inches down.   Leaving them outside on the deck, north of house so they don't get sun and overheat.

The late Lon Rombaugh was far, far more experienced than I am.  His method is more detailed, probably more successful and better.  My method is amateur but works for me.  The main difference is he puts more effort into callousing the root end, by warming them.  If I have a chance, I may do that in a couple of months, with fresh cuttings, as a back-up plan.