I'm only a novice at grafting, but here is what I have learned thus far. Last year I was so excited that I grafted onto my apple trees in late February / early March. Way too early here in Wisconsin. Two out of three of my scions died, while one of them did take but most of the buds on it died. No doubt there was a cold snap or two, and/or the scions dried out before the sap started running. This year, I have used growing degree-days (GDD) to figure out when to graft. Based on Wikipedia, apple trees typically bloom after at least 80 GDD Fahrenheit, base 50 F (or 50 GDD Celsius, base 10 C). You can look up the GDDs for other plants besides apples at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growing-degree_day. Based on this data, I actually wanted to take advantage of some of the growth that occurs prior to bloom at 80 GDD. So I'm experimenting by having waited until half that, or 40 GDD Fahrenheit, before grafting. We just hit 40 GDD here in my town in the past few days. I've got about half my scions grafted so far in the past three days. The buds are swelling with green tips on all of my trees right now, so I think this is far better timing than like I did last year where I grafted while the trees were still dormant. Also, I have heard it said from a very experienced orchardist that the best time to graft is when you see the first dandelions. Well, just three days ago I spotted several dozen dandelions in a small patch about two blocks away from my house, so now I feel more confident than ever that this is the right timing in my area. I might logically conclude that it is likely safe for anyone to graft after approximately 40-50 GDD. This applies mostly to apple trees but I would guess it could probably apply to most any tree. You can find out the current GDD in your area at http://www.weather.com/outdoors/agriculture/growing-degree-days. Simply input your zip code, base temperature 50 F, start date January 1, end date today (or whenever), and it will spit out the GDD. Of course, I won't know my success rate for a couple months yet, but I think my theories as substantiated by an experienced orchardist should be fairly close to the mark. If you don't trust my theories, you could wait until 60 or 80 GDD, as by then the sap is most certainly flowing and you should have no trouble at all getting your grafts to take, as leafing and bloom will be in progress by that point for most types of trees.

Has anyone ever successfully grafted an heirloom tomato onto the stem of an eggplant? A friend has trouble growing tomatoes, they die back as they start to set fruit. Tried new soil, raised beds, etc. but nothing is working. I noticed a black walnut tree about 25 ft away. Maybe that's it. I thought I'd try something unusual this year. BW will probably kill the eggplant too. *****'' There's lots of information about using tomato grafted on to eggplant root stock, and it's been done a lot, but NOT for reasons associated with Juglone, the toxic substance associated with Black Walnut trees and Butternuts, etc. And yes, if it is a juglone problem the eggplant rootstock would be killed. It used to be said that the soil was free of juglone beyond the dripline of the tree, but it's now recognized that the feeder roots of the BW can and do extend way beyond that. But you said that riased beds were used and the problem still existed. As long as there were no feeder roots under the raised bed that could be a source of juglone to the plants there shouldn't be any problem. So you might want to ask your friend about that. Carolyn

I'm also considering buying from Magic Garden Roses this year. Last year I bought from Treloar, and while they did send me two freebies (DA Mayflower and a Flirtatious), I note that a couple of the bareroots I received appear to have come with a virus - the leaves have curled all year (though dont show patterning like mosaic...so who knows).and it also concerned me that several of the bareroots i was sent had canes that were splitting/damaged upon arrival. Hmm. Look I'm no expert, so I'm not saying these plants were DEFINITELY virused, i'm just saying i dont know...and I dont like feeling unsure/iffy, so am not keen to take the punt with Treloar again. What I do know is that Magic Garden Roses openly mention virus issues on their website (saying they graft onto 100% virus-free rootstock) so therefore I feel we can assume MGR care about not sending you virused roses). that coupled with the fact MGR offer you the option to buy in pots from them, whereby you then receive a plant with some amount of foliage so you can immediately ascertain the plant's health (unlike bare-roots, where you're waiting several months to see how the leaves/canes etc grow out). Anyway, that's my 2c worth on why i'm considering MGR this year, despite the fact I'll be paying the heavier freight costs since i'm in northern nsw. worth it for me, not to have 'doubts' about whether i've inadvertently introduced some virused roses into my garden.

I just want to let everyone know that Yuzu, while it may not be considered the best fruit eating quality by many people, is still very very different from poncirus trifoliata hybrids like Tai-tri. The rind of a Yuzu can actually be delicious, if prepared the right way. The rind of Tai-tri will be completely inedible and carry a terrible distinctive poncirus flavor, some say comparable to kerosene, but to me more reminiscent of the smell of baby wipes and not in a good way. Tai-tri certainly will be a lot hardier than Yuzu. (Tai-tri might survive zone 7 or even 6b in a protected spot, whereas yuzu is likely only to be able to survive the coldest parts of 8a) To eat a Yuzu, I usually cut up into 6 segments, pop out all the seeds in each segment, which is actually not so difficult because even though there are a lot of seeds the size of the seeds is very big. Then after that, I take the segments, with the peel still on, and dice it up into little pieces. It's great to use in a ponzu sauce. Yuzu blueberry muffins are another possibility. Yuzu really is comparable to citron in a lot of ways because the peel is very soft tender and not so bitter tasting like the peel of normal lemons or oranges. So there are a lot of possible culinary uses.