Re: [nafex] Grafting - nurse limbs and apical dominance

Thanks folks.

I guess this IS where the art of grafting comes in. It has been
difficult for me to find printed/ posted discussions of how to maximize
the effectiveness of nurse limbs...

Betsy



On 4/19/2015 6:40 PM, fuwa fuwa usagi wrote:
> Betsy,
>
> I just did several multigraft pear and apple trees for folks over the last three days. If I understand what you have written, I might suggest you do what I did which was a combination of nicking and notching along with a partial bark inversion.
>
> I run into this stuff when adding limbs to damaged espaliers and growing replacement limbs.
>
> It is more art than science this point. But it sounds like you want to keep your nurse limbs and simply let them leaf out to feed the tree and that is where the nicking, notching and bark inversions are very useful.
>
> All the best to you.
>
> fluffy
>
>
>
>
> --- lpittman@murraystate.edu wrote:
>
> From: Louis Pittman <lpittman@murraystate.edu>
> To: mailing list at ibiblio - Northamerican Allied Fruit Experimenters <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Subject: Re: [nafex] Grafting - nurse limbs and apical dominance
> Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2015 17:18:33 -0500
>
> Betsy,
> After years of fighting with persimmons, I don't want any side branches
> with buds higher than the graft union. I'll usually just break 'em over -
> leaving them attached - at some point so that any buds on the 'sap-drawer'
> are lower than the graft.
>
> YMMV. Apples/pears probably not so ornery as Diospyros...
>
> Lucky
>
> On Sun, Apr 19, 2015 at 2:32 PM, Elizabeth Hilborn <ehilborn@mebtel.net>
> wrote:
>
>> I am grafting to apple and pear rootstock suckers. The original grafted
>> trees are gone. Last year I stripped off growth on the shoots arising below
>> the graft, but had no takes. This year, I selected suckers with side shoots
>> which I left to use as nurse limbs in the hope that increased shoot vigor
>> would give me better results.
>>
>> Question- some of the nurse limb apices are higher than the apical shoot
>> of the graft. I have only found one source that suggests that one does not
>> prune the nurse limb until the graft takes. But I am afraid that the apical
>> dominance effect of the nurse limb will prevent my grafts from taking. My
>> only thought is to 'split the difference' - to tie nurse limbs down
>> horizontally.
>>
>> Does anyone have experience with this issue?
>>
>> Betsy Hilborn
>> 7a NC
>>
>>

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