Nick Kasco up in Washington is posting frequent videos, of tasting of various plumbs in his very extensive orchard. Many are varieties I am not familiar with. He is also tasting, early apples and pears. Just an FYI, plus you get a visual on the fruit which I find interesting and helpful. Just type in Nick Kasco in the youtube search and his channel will come right up.
Nick Kasco has had videos of comparing feshly picked fruits and if I recall correctly he shoots these alone. For raising fruit trees in areas that are too wet in the ground for most fruit trees and be successful at it requires smarts. I have not seen 2025 results but eventually I will. The one plum each of us have in common is my favorite flavored and textured combined. It's Lydecker and it may not peak on tje BC border as well as here for me. I think that because I know home orchardists in Edmonton up north that can't get the same from that one as I get.
If Nick is reading then I'll also note for him that the plum is slow in years to peak into fruiting and that here in wet weather PNW the roots need to mature in years to feel comfortable getting plums. I bought two brand new from the Dakota states and it took at least 8 years for the first fruit. The very first year it managed about one plum per tree and then came the ill period. I do very little to protect trees other than summer shade them and winter cover the branches from rain.
And he sells scion wood. I'm hoping to remember to order Yakima from him. The scion that was supposed to be Yakima that I have is a Japanese plum that I haven't identified 🙁
It's great to see a review of the fruit from the actual tree that will be the source of the scion wood. I know its the real thing.
I have been loving my Howard Miracle so much that I bud grafted it to other trees. It's not as productive as some other varieties but it sure tastes good. It tastes and looks almost like a peach. We'll see if it works.
I also found a variety of Asian plum that is tasty and much later. I am calling it Aloha Late Gold for the color, harvest time, and location where I found it. I tried to bud graft it. I'll let you know how that works.
John S
PDX OR
I
Chris M said
I have given up on grafting. After sever years of trying I haven't gotten a single graft to take. I just have to buy saplings.
I wonder if you've taken the opportunity to practice cambium matching and/or budding with any experienced local folks, who've been successful at grafting the sorts you've been trying? Another set of eyes and suggestions is rather invaluable in this endeavor as well...
I have had no luck with that. The agrarian sharing network is around, but they are very insular and clique. I have reached out several times to multiple people , but they are uninterested in including me or even communicating with me. I tried and online grafting class for apples from Seed Savers, but none of those grafts took either.
Chris M said
I have given up on grafting. After sever years of trying I haven't gotten a single graft to take. I just have to buy saplings.
I understand where you're going with that.
Are you planning to buy saplings, already have them, or where do you purchase them?
Propagation of fruit trees is mainstreamed by grafting with the exception of figs and many other obscure things such as possibly easy to root grapevines as such. The question automatically comes forth about the kind of which arises from saplings or even how much of a variance in nature is there compared to the original form or parent tree.
Well ...in my experiences of trialing sweet cherry seedlings between the cultivars 'regina' and 'kordia' (the latter also known as attica) all of the offspring end up in as far as I can tell -no discernible differences in the fruit. Over many years one of my three saplings has a much larger girth at the bottom, and another ripens in mid-season instead of the last of the season, but the fruit qualities among all three remained very true.
I have heard from others that think chance seedlings of cherries can be variable and smaller than parents. Self fertile cultivars should certainly be avoided due to illness relating to recombination of a normally out-crossing species, but what about anybody's input from seedling (or saplings) from you as far as true-to-type in plum crosses??
By the way I have one of my cherry type clonal root sprouts from one that is invasive as such available should any come here and dig it, but I'm afraid it's from the largest and thicker tree.
Chris M said
I have had no luck with that. The agrarian sharing network is around, but they are very insular and clique. I have reached out several times to multiple people , but they are uninterested in including me or even communicating with me. I tried and online grafting class for apples from Seed Savers, but none of those grafts took either.
Nothing will substitute for in person observation, practice and feed back. I don't have any experience with the ASN other than knowing that network, amongst others, used to gather materials at the close HOS events to supplement their event the week or so following, so I don't know the format involved with the propagation event there. The HOS event had a 'grafting for donation' area with volunteer grafters. Sometimes folks having an interest sort of looking over the shoulders of the "clients", trying to get a focus on what just exactly was going on there. Maybe a question would get asked, and if so, likely an answer with the example able to be scrutinized by the interested. I don't know if the ASG has that specific sort of event placement or if you'd have to corner a sequestered individual and pull up a chair with your grafting knife in pocket and a bunch of practice grafts under your belt, and entreat said subject of your earnest pursuit. People get busy and focused on all the things in their personal list of priorities, might not be able to feature how to school a newbie fits into their script, but may consider helping out on the fly if they're already sitting there whittlin'. (DO NOT whittle)
HOS had a yearly scheduled class in the early Spring, teaching hands on bench grafting using the whip and tongue method in a classroom setting at Clackamas Community College. The advantages therein are: More mechanical stability, holding, while and after wrapping or binding the joining; and more potential margins or points of potential cambium contact. But Cleft Grafting might be easier to learn and can be just as successful if you are careful matching the cambium of the rootstock with that of the scion. The first time I volunteered to accompany the HOS Arboretum Manager and another volunteer to assist in a long standing relationship with the science teachers at Sandy High School to teach apple grafting to 5 classes of junior and senior H.S. students, I was freaking on the prospect of thirty-five to fifty kids at a time w/grafting knives trying to w&t graft w/o lacerating digits. Turns out we were going to cleft graft with appropriate enough plywood shields. There must be thousands of trees grafted in the area served by Sandy H.S. in the course of over 4 decades. Of course not all are successful, or survive early tree-hood care. but a goodly percentage are suspected. Bud grafting was taught at the HOS Arboretum at Clackamas C.C. in the summer as well. Hands-on, then a potluck.
If you are willing to commit to commute and/or have other business up I5, Oregon City, at the compatible times, the Arboretum has continued in operation as the Home Orchard Education Center, under the care of Tonya Lordy. Tonya teaches numerous classes pertaining, including grafting. I think there are usually several scheduled grafting sittings made available among the offerings (Tuesdays and Saturdays). You can browse or signup for that news letter to find out when classes might be scheduled, costs etc. See if that might work into your planning, barring anything local. Don't give up, the learning curve is not steep. Hey! even H.S. students who didn't particularly want to could do it with a little coaching.
I remember being in some of those classes that I was helping to teach and listening to Jerry Shroyer and Jafar and thinking, "Whoa, that's why that thing didn't work very well." Then I went and fixed it. There are a lot of details. If I lived closer, I'd show you.
John S
PDX OR
Idyllwild
simplepress
jafar
Marsha H
Viron
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