The Blairmont Apple Project

 Have 88 fig cuttings to start. Might as well use kiddie help and finish them out. That will make 158 trees! Mercy! Been outfitting new metal label tags on everything. Probably have another 6 dozen of those to do as well. Our one lousy apple got a one lousy plum friend...lol....a Marianna.

 Leg pain cut today short. Still got six apples grafted. Kimrome, Baldwin, Newtown Pippin, Yellow Bellflower, White Winter Pearmain and another. Still need to finish my Kimromes and and Yellow June and Maiden Blush. But I also need to move on to setting up the fig collection.  Looking for a shady spot as the heat is already wilting plants if you miss a day's watering. Still looking for propagation fair partners. A lot of interest but no commitments. These Pear and Apple scions are not getting any younger. I may try to hold an event with who I can get at a church function.

 Finally got in another 2 loads of soil in. Have Plumbago and Celeste figs to root. 64 French and LSU figs to plant. A bevy of Southern and low chill apples to graft. A big mix of Southern pears and fire blight resistant pears also. With a sprinkling of various Asian and oddball pears as well{Pyrus Pyraster, a wild and vigorous disease resistant rootstock}. Flowering in the Apple trees is off. First was Centurion Crab. Then Pink Lady. And now Yates. Pink Lady has a few apples growing. It appears one of my trees labelled Dorsett Golden is actually Golden Delicious which was hand written on the reverse side of the tag. It clearly is leafing out very differently then either my other Dorsetts and Anna.

 Kind of bummed both of my regular Shockley trees are not doing well. Got a lot of recent die back on the tree the goat broke. And my other tree is looking dry as well. Of course we also brought in Shockley Grizzle strain. And the scions we very small. So they are in ICU like condition. Watch and wait. On the flip side the Blairmont is leafing out well. Disharoon , Parks Pippin and 1st of May too.

 Been checking everybody growing out there. Most of the Blueberries are coming back well after a bad year of rabbit damage. 4 plants are still tiny with little or no leaves though. Yet still alive. My P.2 rootstock I nervously cut to the ground to stool are finally sending up shoots. Next year I should have a good supply of rootstock to harvest.  Plan on stooling P.18 and M111 as well. The G.257 sample promised by Geneva appears to have got wiped out from budget cutting. As well as our mostly rootstock germplasm from GRIN. Maybe next year. P.14, MM109 and MicroMalus is not available elsewhere. Rooting by cuttings is going very well with Lord Burghley and Gasconye's Scarlett. Empire and Appletown Wonder also seem positive. I think my Mank's Codlin are not likely to make it. They were quite small.

 Finished up grafting some minimalist size scions via whip and tongue today. Hall was particularly annoy as it was a bit woody and wanted to break apart. At any rate got all the "Root by cuttings " apples going. Appletown Wonder was a disappointment as half of it was dead. I did manage 1 4 inch piece that was still alive.  Also got Empire and Gascone Scarlet done. I fear my Manks Codlin are possibly dead. Despite wrapping and constant hydration they are weak looking. It is clear 2 rooted as has Lord Burghley. Kimrome, Etter's Gold , Annie Elizabeth are some others grafted. Most top worked as we await more soil to be picked up.