Puttering in Orchard. 10.28.15

Hollywood Plum Development, 2 years from cutting.  10.27.15

Ember Plum, Hollywood Rootstock.  10.27.15

Vandalay Cherry Flower Buds.  10.27.15

 I traded Ember Plum for Hollywood.  Ember is now in ground, Hollywood in container.  The TLC treated Ember is much larger and more sturdy.  Nice look at the roots for both. 

I still intend to grow a Hollywood Plum tree but can use this one for rootstock, and a larger one in-ground.

Three-year-old sweet cherry trees have promising flower buds.  Next Spring we should get a taste.  They got very little water this year and grew much larger anyway.  Sweet cherries are well adapted to this climate.

Vandalay Cherry Flower Buds.  10.27.15

Home Orchard Plans for 2016. 10.27.15

Raining today. 

Thinking about next year.  Replace some trees that died, and plan for a couple that might, and replace a couple of non-
performers.

Esopus Spitzenburg Apple

Deaths:  
North Star Cherry.  2 years old.  Apparently voles.  There is no bark on the roots.
Big Asian Plum.  From the size and rings, at least 10 years old.  Apparently mining insects.  There were tunnels under the bark.

Non-performers.
Honeycrisp on M27.  Karmijn on M27.  I think this rootstock is way to limiting, and the trees can't grow worth squat.  These are planted near each other, and can be replaced by one larger tree.  I can use the Honeycrisp for scion.
Indian Blood Peach.  Maybe 8 years, only 4 foot tall, no fruit set, ever.

Opportunities.
I have 3 Hollywood Plum trees in containers, and one in-ground, started 2 years ago.  The container trees are larger due to TLC.
I have 1 Ember Plum, 8 foot tall whip, grafted onto Hollywood rootstock early 2015. 
I have potential scion sources, existing Toka plum, Hanska grafted onto on unidentified plum tree, Honeycrisp and Liberty apples on M27.
I have an unidentified plum grown as accidental cutting from the tree that died.  It's a good plum, large, meaty dark purple flesh.

Concerns.
Toka Plum.  Bark on trunk is highly damaged.  I don't know, by what.  I want to preserve the variety.  Use scion from existing tree,  on Hollywood Plum rootstock.

Montmorency Cherry

Plan.  Subject to change at any whim.

1.  Make a new Toka Plum, grafting from existing tree onto Hollywood Plum rootstock. 

2.   Move the unidentified plum cutting to a better location.  Maybe were the North Star Cherry died.

3.  Remove Indian Free Peach.  Replace with Surefire Cherry, new tree.

4.  Remove small Hollywood plum.  That one needs more TLC, transfer to container.  Replace with Ember on Hollywood rootstock.  I can  do that this fall.

5.  Make a Hanska Plum on Hollywood rootstock.  Grow in container to give it TLC until it is a good size.

6.  Buy scion for another plum variety - Superior?  Graft onto the 3rd Hollywood rootstock and give it TLC.

7.  Replace the M27 trees with Nadia Cherry / Plum hybrid.

8.  Try whip / tongue grafting to top work remaining branches of Almaden Duke cherry with Ranier and Lapin sweet cherries.  The T-budding didn't work so well.  A couple might have taken.  This tree has 2 rootstock suckers.  Maybe I should graft onto those, and cut down the original tree.

9.  I have the first apple that I grafted, but mixed the labels.  It is either Sutton's Best or Esopus Spitzenberg.  Either way, I can give that a try.  There is a second graft on that one, again mixed up.  Either Liberty or Jonagold.  I might graft onto that tree, a 3rd and 4th variety.  I can use the Honeycrisp, and might use scion from Fedco for another.

Hanska Plum

10.  I have rootstock, semidwarf but unsure which.  I can graft onto that and keep it in container for TLC.  Options, Pristine, which is early and very good, or something new from Fedco. 

11.  I think I will buy Sweet 16 from Burnt Ridge.   If so, it will need a location. 

12.  Oregon Curl Free Peach might also not make it.  The Peach Leaf Curl didn't kill it.  Canker might.  If so, I think this will be a good spot for a plum.  If  Toka doesn't make it, that will also be a spot for one of the new grafts getting TLC.

That seems like a lot.  I could easily use up the entire 2 acres, but I can't take care of that many.  This year I was not able to water enough, which might have contributed to a couple of deaths and some of the non-thriving trees.  Definitely Montmorency cherry and Saijo persimmon were stressed, but they look like they will make it.  The multigraft apples on the other side of the road, had very little watering but lived.  They are still young.  One is Chehalis + Akane + Jonagold + Summerred + Fuji, the other is the one described about with 2 semi-unknowns.

There is also a Jonagold on M27 in a flower border that contains 3 young columnar trees.  I think that will come out, and a new columnar that I grafted last year will replace it.

All images on this page are public domain, via U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.  They either illustrate varieties I have, or might obtain, or I used as general illustration for that species.  Illustrations are late 19th and early  20th centuries.

Home Orchard Society Fruit Tasting Show. 10.18.15

Great fruit show last weekend.  Home Orchard Society.  I volunteered at the membership table for the morning.  Didn't know what I was doing but everyone was nice.

Seed Starting in Fall. 10.20.15

Seedlings.  10.20.15

 Sometimes after a rough day, I putter around the seedlings and it gives me some peace.  So many people are such anal orifices.   Plants are just plants.

Days are getting shorter.  Nothing I can do outside after or before work.   I can putter with seedlings.

I've never done this before, with daylilies.   I did grow some native plum seedlings over the winter, a few years ago.

When the daylily seeds have stratified for one month in the refrigerator, I place them at room temp in their paper towel / zipper bags.   Check the seeds every couple of days.  Many sprout within one to two weeks.  When I see sprouts, I transfer the sprouted seed to a 6-pack containing seed starting medium.  Some of those have sprouted and grown large enough that I move them up to a starting pot with potting soil.  When in seed starting medium, I water with 1/4 teaspoon of tomato miracle grow per gallon of water.

Seedlings.  10.20.15

Some were too close to the lights, resulting in a few light-burned leaves.  Not enough to set them back significantly.

So far, 3 apricot seeds have germinated.  Of Daylilies, I now have 1 dozen seeedlings from pod parent "Happy Returns", and 6 seedlings from pod parent "Chicago Apache".  There are germinated seeds from "Ice Carnival" and one from "Vigaro-labeled" NOID.  Each pod parent was hybridized with a contrasting variety, diploid to diploid and tetraploid to tetraploid.

There is also a cactus that was rootstock for a pink grafted cactus.  The scion eventually died, and the rootstock grew new branches.  I cut off a branch, to start a new plant.  Tentative ID Hylocereus undatus but I could be wrong.  If correct, that is "Dragon fruit" cactus.

Bearded Iris Fall Bloom. 10.17.15

Bearded Iris "Sunny Disposition"  10.17.15

This bearded iris reblooms fairly reliably each fall.  I don't care for fall blooming iris because the rains have usually started.  Rain on these flowers makes them look like wet nose tissue paper.  This year it's not raining at the moment, so we get a pretty nice flower.