John: I like your plan except I can't do a whip&tongue on that short of a stub. I've had very good luck with W&T but would need several more inches to work with. Then if the W&T fail, T bud in May on that same stub or a new sprout as soon as the wood turns from green to reddish. I'd do the W&T when the tree first starts to push leaves, probably March where you are. I've had great luck with T budding in May and forcing after 2 weeks if the bud takes. I'd keep more laterals and space them out up and down the trunk. It won't hurt to do two or three of each W&T and the same on budding if needed later. As long as you cut back on all remaining laterals, the tree will be fine starting out with 9-12 branches. Latter select the best of each variety.

I've always felt that I needed the good mechanical pull that a budding rubber provides, and to keep it from drying out I think it needs to be sealed with parafilm or wax. Parafilm is my first choice because it breathes a little. But it's not enough by itself to make me feel secure! I used the Ace rubber tape this year on clefts and felt like it worked really well. Rubber tape or bands or rubbers all seem good to me. I think that if you use the wide budding rubbers or tape and overlap thoroughly then the parafilm/wax precaution is probably redundant, but it's cheap redundancy and I do it. I use wide and long rubbers also because it's easier to wrap them off- you have so much to work with, and they're cheap enough that you can afford to cut off excess. Like MiHiGirl I'm in the Rockies, but not at a mile high! We're at 3200 ft, give or take a couple of feet. But it's definitely an arid environment: we get about 12-13 inches total precip per year.

Hi Tony, Beautiful pics. I see your photo of Snowqueen nectarine. Can I safely assume you grew that fruit & did not buy it at the grocery? Seems like a silly question, but... most reports I've seen say that Snowqueen is one the most highly-rated nects for flavor, but is NOT cold hardy beyond Zone-7, which is why I have not attempted growing it on my vacation property in Zone-6b. Are you growing Snowqueen in the ground in Zone-5A Nebraska? Did it survive this past winter? If you are successfully fruiting Snowqueen in Zone-5A, then all bets are off! How old is the tree? From where did you obtain it? Was the fruit richly flavored? Thanks in advance for whatever information you can share. Cheers, -Matt

turtleman49 after my last post I laid in bed thinking about just how mean some of my posts have been. No cussing or name calling but nothing anyone would call friendly. Not slanderous as I think any reasonable person given the same information would have jumped to the same conclusion. However I don't consider jumping to conclusions to be a good thing. People do things that may look contradictory on the surface which often are not. I was prepared to give a full and complete apology this morning. Then I read your new post and I'm torn. Part of me feels bad for how I have acted. Another part of me wants to address some of the things you have said. First I would like to reiterate my previous apology to you. I am sorry for ever saying anything derogatory to anyone about what I thought about your business without first asking you about it in private. Outside of this forum I have spoken to two people about your orders from DWN. Both were people who I had, had previous emails with and felt like I was giving them information that would save them money. That still does not make it right or excuse my behavior and for that I'm sorry. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me. Back on topic. turtleman49 Desert King is one of my favorite figs. As quoted; Yes, the breba crop (First Crop) of Desert King is one of my favorite figs. They are sweet and have an almost creamy texture and the seeds crunch in your mouth. The tree is however one of my least liked because of the mess. The second crop is a big mess. There are figs of equal quality that produce two crops and thus no mess. Having to pick up all the withered and rotten fruit is not fun. Desert King is supposed to produce two crops and it does. It's just that one will not ripen here and goes to waste. As for sales it only makes sense you would stock what sells. The big box stores stock all kinds of stone fruit trees that will not fruit here most years. It's what people want to buy so they stock them. RSI Growers is more thoughtful than most nurseries in stocking trees that will actually fruit here. Desert King only producing one of two crops being the one exception but an understandable one. As for your last two posts. I really would love to say something. It appears to be alright with you or you would not have posted what you did. It also appears to be ok with tracydr as she has not complained so I will answer. I am always looking for trees and I have been checking DWN for trees sold to nurseries in my state each season for years. It is true that you sell some varieties DWN does not sell. Citrus would be a prime example. However I have seen purchased in past orders most of the varieties sold on your site. Also contrary to your assertion I do see Peaches in your last order that are listed for sale on your site. From what you have said I can only assume you buy new trees for grafting each year and then sell trees you grafted last year on your site. Not the way I would do it as I would use a few of my own trees to make more grafts before I would buy more trees of the same cultivars. But hey, its your business and your money, not mine. As for number of trees I have never been to your place of business. Your site shows how many trees are in stock of each variety. I have never seen large numbers of any one variety on your site. However I can understand having lots and lots of trees and only having a few of each mature enough for sale or only listing a few of each for sale. From all I have heard your trees are larger and nicer than most fruit trees sold at most of our local nurseries. I can certainly see how that creates value. I like large trees as much as anyone and have been willing to pay for it. I can also see added value to using preferred root stocks for Arizona. With no information about root stocks in the tree descriptions at your site I had no way of knowing you were using root stocks that offered more value than those sold by DWN or local retailers. Root stocks are important and I always want to know what root stock is on any tree I purchase. You might want to add the root stock to your tree descriptions. For many it could be key to getting a sale. Lastly I have to hand it to you. For the size of trees you sell. It must take at least 2-4 years to grow out your pomegranate trees from cuttings and at least 2-3 years to grow out your figs from cuttings. I assume they are both on their own roots though as they are not commonly grafted. P.S. I'm not a young man. In my life I have seen some crazy situations where things were misconstrued and misunderstandings destroyed families and friendships. Only to find out years later there were true and totally logical explanations for everything and have everyone sorry for what they had said and how they had acted. Because of this I thought I would behave better and I did not. It is out of character for me. Please excuse me while I crawl under a rock for a few days. Perhaps when I come out the sun will be shining again.