Apple tree update

225 Apple trees - 28  varieties.
25 pear trees - 7 varieties

237 trees look like they are going to live.  I think a few more will make it but not sure.

I also wanted to thank everyone that helped me out when I posted a question.

Even my frankenstein tree made it .
It is what I am calling it anyways.

Motts Pink / Wine Crisp / Strawberry Parfait

Picture quality is not the best...

That's fantastic, congrats.

Keep us posted on your progress!

One problem with planting, any type of tree, in the woods, is that rabbits and deer will strip away the bark.  I planted a mulberry tree due to the cold growing seasons in the north.  I tied a stove pipe at the roots after banding it around the tree.  Because stove pipe is grey and reflects light, I painted it green and added branches to it to try to make it blend in.  The first time I didn't use the stove pipe, some animal had dragged that fruit tree right out of the ground.  The mulberry tree was still entact the next summer so it worked.

Awesome work!

Now the fun part - digging 250 holes.

I like the white spiral tree guards. Easy on, easy off, effective. So much better than wire mesh cages I have built and tried.

If you want the grafts to thrive, remove all growth below the grafts once the scions have leafed out (including your frankenstein tree).

Hi Randy, That looks great, you did good~all those are from cuttings?  If you've a problem with rabbits and such, most do, I put~you know that black plastic flex~ABS waste piping~ well I cut pieces long enough to guard the trunk of the young trees and split it up the side with a box cutter an place it around the trunk~that keeps them safe from rabbits, and all rodents.

I didn't see where you're located but what I see look nice. The apples we've planted have done well and have fruited. I don't know as much as the folks did, but what I did glean from growing up on the ranch seems to be in my hands when I plant or build.

Good luck to you and yours,

Richard

I just noticed the Grafts~nice!

good .. great job, respect!

awesome work!!

I am located in Central NC , Just so happen a man on craigslist was giving away tree tube so I got about 300 plus.  I am going to leave them in the containers for the time being and start planting and selling some in the fall. I have no problem with deer at the current time but there are a few rabbits in the neighbors yard I am watching ( call me Elmer Fudd , Anyone for rabbit soup ?. Back on a serious note, I started noticing on a few trees that the leaves were starting to get eaten up so after harder looking I found a green inch worm. I sprayed  the trees after making sure I pulled all the blooms off the grafts and everything is looking great again. I did another tree count and I think I have peaked out with 9 grafts out of the 250 not coming out so I am " very pleased " with the turn out.
 I was doing a 3 day watering but I am going to push it out for the time being to a 4 day watering. The soil still feels damp and the morning dew I think is helping out some. I will however keep spraying as needed for insect control.

I have added a few more pictures of the grafts, they are growing good.

Those look fabulous!  Great job!

Updated Picture - May 13  2017

It seem the pears ( in the front row ) are not growing as well as the apple trees.  Maybe they are slow starters or something or just my imagination but it sure seem the apple grafts are doing a lot better.
I did run across a slight problem with cedar rust a few week ago but I think that is behind me now.

Did you graft the pear scions onto apple rootstock? I've never had any luck with pears on apple rootstock. They do better on quince. They grow for a while, but don't really thrive... eventually dying out completely.

OHxF 333  A semi-dwarfing pear rootstock.  It is 1/2 to 2/3 standard size.  Its resistance to fireblight, collar rot, woolly pear aphids and pear decline make this a very healthy stock.  Precocious, well-anchored.  Trees are very productive.  Some reports that fruit size is reduced

The difference between your apples and pears don't look significant, so it may be due to the characteristics of the dwarfing rootstock. Maybe it just grows slower, but that's not necessarily a problem... unless you tend to be impatient.

Here it is June 4th and the trees are looking great. Looks like when I moved them out from under the carport it took a while to adapt but they are growing like weeds again. Had some trouble with cedar rust and some bug problems but nothing that some spray did not cure. This will probably be the last update I do on the trees unless someone is still interested in me updating this thread.
I will be keeping about 30-35 trees for myself and try to sell the remaining trees to recoup some of my money. Anyone interested in buying some apple and pear trees feel free to hit me up and we can talk.  I know it may not be the appropriate time of year to sell them but I will try to get something going on the remaining 220 trees. I will add the picture I took today along with the list of varieties of apple and pear trees that will be available for purchase.

I am located in central NC and the trees are in 3 gallon containers so it will be " LOCAL PICKUP ONLY".

I have never attempted to graft any trees before this year and think I have done very well. I would like to thank everyone here for answering the questions I had pertaining to grafting and growing the trees.  

Leave me a msg /purple mooseage if interested in some trees.

Again > A big thank you to everyone who helped.

Please update this thread every so often.  I've really appreciated watching the progress of your project.  It's inspirational to see you do this on such a large scale.

I have noticed a bunch of my grafts are getting side branches coming off the top shoot.  They are not affecting the top growth that I can see., smallest graft has 18 inches growth and the tallest has about 44 inches growth. Now I see that branches are coming out the side of the newly grafted scion.

Should I cut the side branches completely off now?
Cut them 1/2 back ?
Let them grow till fall when I prune them all back ?
Let them keep growing ?

I'd hold off on removing those until they are transplanted into the ground. The usual recommendation is to remove all branches up about 2/3 of the way when transplanting into the ground. This puts more energy into the root system developing and less into the stuff that doesn't matter for that year's development.

Here it is , July 15th update.

I have had problems with Jap. beetle but nothing some spray did not take care of to get rid of them.  Trees are growing very vigorously still to the point there are a few that are starting to lean a little. ( I might have to put some support stake in them before long to keep them straight ) All the tree branches below 18 inches I have clipped off and the side branches or feathering is taking off as well. I have been watering them everyday because of the hot temperatures drying them out. ( Had a good rain come through the other day so I did not water that day and that day about 2pm I noticed the tree tops wilting some so I did an emergency midday watering which I do not like to do and learned a valuable lesson...  check the soil daily even if it rains )  The trees jumped right back up and gave them another good watering that evening.

I stood two trees beside my Tahoe to give you some idea how big and tall the trees are getting.  

I will update again in the future.

As you can see by this picture they are all growing and looking good.

P.S. - I Have about 200 trees available for purchase, ( I already have my 38 trees that I am keeping put to the side )
I live in Central North Carolina if anyone is interested in purchasing any or all of them.