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Fruit & Orchards

hiring a guy to top work a plum tree

13 years ago

Every year I promise that next year will be the last for that miserable, unproductive, (But very healthy, spreading and with a privileged place in my orchard) Stark's Blue Ribbon plum tree

It ocurred to me today that I should maybe hire someone to "topwork" the tree like you-all talk about. (I know that brands me as a complete Nancy-Boy on this forum, but I have no grafting chops, and as I understand it, in top-working you saw off whole limbs at a time).

This would save me time over starting over, no? Also it would give me the benefit of that very vigorous and drought-tolerant root system?

If I go this route is there a commercial source for good scion-wood you can recommend? I'd prefer not to just simply duplicate another plum tree in my orchard.

P.S. Its of secondary importance, of course, but I really like the spreading habit of 'Blue Ribbon' can you recommend any good Euro plums of that nature hardy to z4 or 5?

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Comments (3)

theaceofspades
13 years ago
Top working is adding new varieties into an existing tree. There are three ways to add varieties to a tree. Grafting involves a new variety usually pencil thickness that is cut to join to the existing tree. Chip budding is cutting a single dormant bud off the desired variety and sliding it under the bark . Bark grafting is cutting a scaffold branch from an existing tree and sliding the new variety into the exposed bark.

kokopelli, I am growing a Fantasia Nectarine that I chip budded onto a peach tree late summer. The chip budded Fantasia bud had flowers that bloomed with now a nectarine and a branch that is growing on the peach tree. What I did was slice off a dormant Nectarine bud and make the same size slice in the tree that I want the Nectarine on. Wrapped the new bud in parafilm tape. Very simple, but there are no analogies in regular life so grafting does take some practice. I have two Georgia Belle peach trees. I wanted to change these for something better. I cut scaffold branches off both trees and bark grafted two new varieties onto each tree. New branches are growing fast. Chip budding can be done when next seasons buds begin to form about late July. Send me an e-mail through garden web I have lots of varieties to exchange if you are interested.
kokopelli5a
Original Author
13 years ago
Well, I know I wouldn't be able to chip bud. But bark grafting--maybe I could give it a go. Tree is pruned to open-vase shape. Would it be possible do you suppose, to saw off one branch next season and try and top work it one branch per season?
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theaceofspades
13 years ago
Looking at my Peach bark grafts some of which have grown three feet sunlight is the factor in bark graft growth. The other factor is the large established root stock. Cutting one branch may not be enough to let sunlight to grow a new branch. A shaded graft could grow only six inches. I cut 3 of 5 branches to change the trees but it made the grafts open to direct sunlight.

I said chip budding was inserting the bud under the bark, it is not, that is T-budding. Chip budding is slicing off a formed bud and making another same slice and wrapping. In a few weeks unwrap and the new bud should be seen healed on the tree. Next season that bud will grow. Cut the branch off above the growing bud and you have a new variety branch on the tree.

I strongly recommend practicing chip budding next month before sawing off your plum tree next spring!

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