Vaccination on cherry stock is the most reliable and cost-effective way to grow sweet cherries in a temperate climate. There are several different ways to do this. Read about them later in the review.

Is it possible to plant cherries on cherries

It is not only possible to plant cherries on cherries - moreover, this is almost the only way to grow cherries in a temperate climate. Most of their varieties are not adapted to cool winds and short summers, so gardeners practice grafting on cherries as a way to increase endurance and frost resistance, while maintaining a stable yield. In addition, several varieties of cherries can be grafted onto one tree and produce berries that are different in taste and ripening time.

Important! If your cherry tree has a broken branch or trunk, consider using it as a stock for a transplant.

Optimal conditions for grafting sweet cherries

Trees are planted in spring, as well as in summer and autumn, although spring will always be the best time to spend. Vaccination in summer and autumn is carried out only when it was not possible to plant a stalk in spring. You can store cuttings prepared in the fall, before spring planting, in the refrigerator. They are wrapped in a paper towel and put away in a tight plastic bag.

For transplantation to be successful, a combination of the following factors will be required:

• started sap flow in stock;
• air temperature is about +5 ... + 10 ° С;
• lack of frosts and temperature reduction to 0 ° С.

Time for spring vaccination is the beginning of April, for summer - any day, until the heat is established. For autumn - no later than the beginning of October. A prerequisite for spring vaccination is that the buds on the grafted branch should not open before grafting. And that is easily explained. Leaves need water; To obtain it, between the scion and stock, a stable compound must be formed - cambium, an intensively growing tissue. However, it takes time to grow. The leaves of the grafted branch will exhaust the supply of moisture and will lead to its death even before it has time to reliably connect to the trunk.

Did you know? Cherry is the earliest of all varieties of cherries. Presumably, she was known in Europe another 8000 years BC. e.

Active sap flow in stock

A prerequisite for vaccination is the active start of sap flow in the uterine tree (from which the stalk is cut). If it is not there, plant tissue will not be able to grow together. But at the same time, as mentioned above, there should not be leaves on the scion.

Plus temperature

The grafted branch is vulnerable to subzero temperatures. Therefore, work is carried out only at positive temperatures, starting from + 5 ° C.

Lack of severe frost

It is also necessary that the frosts have already ended or not started before the scion and stockstock grow together. Otherwise, the graft will die.

Did you know? Turtle - a hybrid of cherries and cherries, bred back in the Middle Ages in the suburbs of Lviv Kleparov.

Vaccinations in spring and summer

There are several ways of grafting, but each of them includes the same basic principle: the branch of the variety that you want to graft (scion), called the shoot or cuttings, is attached to the bottom of another tree, usually young, called the rhizome (rootstock) . The shoot will become the top of the tree, and the rhizome will provide it with a root system. Vaccination is the physical combination of stock and scion.

For vaccination you will need:

• secateurs;
• sharp knife;
• dull knife;
• electrical insulating tape;
• garden var;
• twine;
• work gloves.

Copulation

Copulation is a vaccination technique in which the connected branches have the same thickness. On both cut with a sharp knife at an angle of 30 °. Then they are applied with the cut to each other and connected with twine.

Important! It is very important that when copulating, the slices are precisely superimposed on each other.

This method of vaccination is not only the most popular, but also effective. It is believed that the connection by copulation grows faster, and the graft begins to bear fruit earlier than with other methods of transplantation. The optimal date is in early spring before budding, but in the absence of frost.

Copulation scheme: a, b - preparation of stock and scion; c, d - connection of stock and scion; d - fixation and protection

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Choose a sweet cherry stalk equal in diameter to the cherry branch.
2. On the cuttings and branches, make precise cuts at an angle of 30 °.
3. A small cleavage is made in the center of each slice - a “tongue”.
4. The tongues should hook on each other to fix the scion and stock.
5. The place of vaccination is tied with tape or other binding material.
6. A small plastic bag is put on the handle and the structure is fixed in this position for 14 days.
7. After the specified period, the package is removed. At this point, the connection should grow together.

Video: cherry grafting by copulation

Over bark

On an adult tree, it is quite difficult to pick up branches of the same thickness, so grafting is often performed on the trunk, under the bark. Time - early spring (April) before budding. Given that the fruiting period for cherries is about 15 years, and cherries - 20–25, vaccinations are done on trees no older than 10 years. Gardeners also practice removing old wood by sawing at a height of 70 cm with grafting new varieties. If vaccinated with a skeletal branch, it is cut at a distance of 20 cm from the trunk. The cut should be smooth and even so that it is more convenient to make a connection on it.

The grafting scheme of cuttings for the bark with the tenon left: 1 - with a cut of wood; 2 - in a T-shaped incision of the cortex with a handle with one kidney

Vaccination technique step by step:

1. The preparation of the uterine tree consists in cutting a trunk or branch.
2. In the cortex, incisions are made up to 4 cm long.
3. Separate the bark from the trunk, but do not break it.
4. A scion is prepared - a stalk with 3-4 kidneys. In its lower part, a slice up to 4 cm long is performed at an angle of about 45 °.
5. The cutlery is set under the bark, connect the place of cut with the trunk. Push it so that 2 mm cut protruded above the cut.
6. Fix the connection with twine.
7. They cover all the edges of the saw cuts with garden var.

Important! Use caution when working with cutting tools such as sharp knives and saws. Use work gloves and safety glasses.

If the connection was successful, then after 2 weeks, bending the bark, you will notice callus (thick fused scar) and the buds will begin to swell on the handle.

Video: inoculation of sweet cherry cuttings over the bark

Into the cleavage

Splitting is the easiest way to connect. A branch is used as a uterine plant: it is cut off and a cleft is made, into which the scion is installed. It is used for trees that need to be cultivated or re-grafted for any reason. This is practical if the tree bark is in unsatisfactory condition and it is impossible to vaccinate against it. The time is spring.

Technique of execution:

1. For rootstock use one of the skeletal branches.
2. It is cut so that the trunk has 30 cm of this branch.
3. It makes longitudinal cuts with a depth of 5 cm.
4. For graft take cuttings, which should have about 5 kidneys. In the lower part, a wedge-shaped section is made, 5 cm long, which is inserted into the cleavage.
5. Connect the branches.
6. Tie the contact area with twine to ensure a tight connection of tissues.
7. Open areas are covered with garden varieties.
8. Put a plastic film on top of the grafted graft.

Important! Disinfectant treatment of cutting tools ensures that there are no pathogens at the vaccination site. Most often, instruments are sterilized with alcohol. But this can be done with an aqueous solution of whiteness.

Such a connection grows longer - tentatively, it will take 3-4 weeks. The result will be noticeable on the opening buds.

Video: grafting cuttings of sweet cherry

In the corner neckline

Vaccination in a corner cut is different in that instead of splitting, a corner cut is made. Step by step technique:

1. The first slot is made at an angle of 30 ° to a depth of 6 mm.
2. The second is performed the same way, at the same angle and to the same end point, but on the other hand. In this case, the top point goes deeper into the branch by 6 mm, but the bottom point is only 2 mm.
3. With similar movements, the stalk is cut with a triangle so that it exactly gets into the cutout.
4. Connect the stock and scion.
5. Pressed with twine.
6. Wrap in plastic wrap.

Vaccination scheme in the corner neckline: a - cropped stock with a neckline; b - cropped grafted graft; c - combined stock and scion; g - vaccination site, rear view. Inoculation into a corner neckline according to Hug: e - when vaccinated into a corner neckline according to Hug, a cut on a stock and a wedge on a scion are made at right angles; f - vaccine in the corner cut according to the Hug, top view of the stock

In lateral incision

The method of scion in the lateral incision is similar to copulation, but the connection does not occur from above, but from the side.

Scheme of vaccination in the lateral incision: 1 - prepared scion; 2 - lateral notch on the stock; 3 - scion is inserted into the lateral notch; 4 - strapping

Technique of execution:

1. On the uterine branch make a side cut (lateral cleavage) at an angle of 15 ° to the trunk. At the same time, they cut both the bark and the tree.
2. They take a stalk with 3 kidneys and make an oblique cut to the side, as when copying.
3. Set the cuttings in the incision, accurately connecting the plant tissue.
4. Tie the junction with twine and wrap with a film.
5. All protruding sections of the slices are lubricated with garden var.

Video: grafting cuttings in lateral incision

Coalescence will occur within 4 weeks. In the fifth week, removal of binding materials is allowed. If the stalk has taken root, then its buds will be ready for disclosure.

Further care

Regardless of how the tissues connect, a successful end result is achieved through proper care after transplantation. Provide the tree with optimal conditions for development: watering, fertilizers, the presence of sunlight for at least 6 hours a day. This improves the chances of a successful transplant.

We also recommend that you familiarize yourself with the rules for planting cherry seedlings in spring.

Also consider the following rules:

1. Check transplant weekly. Wax, garden var or plastic film protect the vaccine from moisture or contamination by microorganisms. If you notice any damage, adjust the fixing material or apply a second coat of putty.
2. If a new growth has appeared on the stock, immediately remove it. It will prevent the cuttings from taking root.
3. Water the tree well once a week.
4. Once the stalk has shown signs of growth, remove the fixing tape or twine. If left, this will limit the growth of the graft.

So, the methods of vaccination can be different. Of these, each gardener chooses the one that seems to him the most convenient. Remember that the degree of survival depends on the viability of the grafting material and how tightly it touched during the first 2 weeks after joining.