The Blairmont Apple Project

 Out checking the grow pad, I got into pulling empty pots and checking interstem grafts. Also pulled all the cuttings pots for my apple rootstocks. G.214 on M111 is not something to try. Everything was failing. Managed to regraft 11 out of 12. Nor did any of the stooling G.214 take roots. Pulled P.2 and M111 just to check progress. Got 8 P.2 and 10 M111 with healthy roots. Took the G.214 cuttings that were clearly alive. Layered them in a large tub and covered them. Then put them in a dark place to give them another try. Re-potted P.2 and M.111 and returned them to the grow pad.  Wish they were like Brown Turkey figs. Have 20 potted out and another 16 in collective pots for lack of pots. All well rooted. Found another pot of slow take apple grafts. About to investigate those after lunch.

 Looking over the graftlings; was getting suspicious of a pot with 6 cleft grafts. The first I did in fact. So I tumped over the pot and started inspecting the grafts. Red Detroit was the first and the rootstock {G.214}had failed. Managed to cut the scion in half. It was good. And "Q" grafted it on a G.214 and P.2. Next was the only Tanyard Seedling I had. Had to trim it back. But also successfully put it on G.214. Also saved 2 Circassian apples and a Dorset Gold on M111. So glad I checked!!!

Took a deep dive on scions top worked on existing trees. Pretty convinced Dorsett Golden has incompatibility issues. 4 had dead swollen graft unions. One modest. 3 really large.  Have 2 left on Dorsett that the Jury is out on.  Looks like Centurion Crab is better. 2 great takes. 2 looking ok. 1 got removed by wind damage. 2 are looking viable. St.Anna Boskoop on Anna looks about ready to bud. Also not doing the v graft on top work anymore. 

 Those sad trees in a bag of wet sawdust just could not be ignored. Garden weaseled a bit of wood mulch and mixed it with soil. Made 3 pots for each rootstock for now. Let them grow out and I think I will try to plant them end to end in the ground in late fall. Checked out my Georgia Origin champs so far. Wallace Howard, Parks Pippin and Disharoon are the top in vigor so far. Now Yates, King Solomon , Shockley, Spice of North Georgia are catching up.  Terry Winter and Tarbutton. Slow as sin. Look dead. Very green inside though. Practically everything from Southern Cultured has taken. St.Claire, Devine , Hoover , Cauley , Orange Cauly, Chickasaw.

 Got out the wife's new battery powered weed eater and went to town in spurts. Looks real good. But it just makes more work. Have to sit down and hand weed and re-mulch again. Found ant farmed aphids and some kind of worm in the new shoots of my older trees. Gave them all a nice coat of olive oil sheen spray. Looks like they were jumping ship to get out of it. I need to find the ole vaseline and ring the trunk of the trees again to stop those darned ants from bringing aphids. Seeing more scion takes here and their. Have no idea how much longer Norfolk Beefing and Hudson Golden Gem can last without budding. One Hudson finally popped. Parks Pippin is giving Wallace Howard a run for most vigorous scion.

 Put them on the concrete pad. 45 out there now{5 small pots in the hot house}. And 88 more in group pots. Was concerned some scions had dried out. Pulled a very tan and hard looking Tarbutton. And snipped an end. Quite green and juicy inside to my surprise. I'm just assuming there are a lot of late budding plants in my collection. Because the others are limber and greenish but un-budded. Anyway I resealed the Tarbutton and put it back. So we have 133 grafts, Not counting 8 top grafts on Anna and Dorsett Gold or Centurion.

  Fixed the one scion I planted upside down. And found enough nubs to make 3 other grafts while I was at it. Looks like I will have plenty of Shockley. Other notes butterflies, bees and hornets had been mobbing a Parks Pippin and Hoover in a race to flower. Had my money on Hoover. But Parks Pippin burst 2 white fragrant flowers today. First flowers since Pink Lady/Cripps Pink bloomed. Lastly I hauled all the single potted grafts over to the concrete pad with a wagon. Put some in the hothouse to see how that effects budding out. Re-arranged the plants out there by rootstock. Then filled in the lines with M111 grafts. Still have another 50-60 to single pot. Speaking to our namesake Blairmont; it seems to be in the late bloomer camp as far as budding.  Other notable laggards? Piervomaiskoie, Norfolk Beefing, Hudson Golden Gem, Husk Sweet and Tarbutton.  All from that " I will twist and contort for awhile team."

 Been a busy day. Watered the herd and plants. Re-arranged the green house and culled some dead plants. Mixed up a half load of soil. Finished of all grafts into soil now. Inspected the plants in feed bag root wraps. Though 4 of 6 took on grafts; they were very goopy and lost a lot of soil as well. To me it seems to be begging for root rot. So those 6 too were placed in pots. I was also curious about my fast take scions. Most of them were on P.2. Some were G.214. just one on straight M111. None on interstems. Either M111/P.2 or M111/G.214.  The girls got excited because 4 grafts were putting out bright flower buds. Have not had the heart to tell them I will pinch them off eventually. After I get good pictures of the flower to go in each variety's info file. Few of these old apples have many pictures available. Lastly I put the cull on my first 2025 scions list. It is still large. But a sizable cut was made to order some other year. The focus is finishing up my Georgia Origin apple

 By the end of the day I got out 26 final grafts. Today got most of them and another bucket in pots with soil. The girls having fun helping. 14 grafts left to pot now. Also finished the first draft of scions for 2025. A short little list: 39 th Parellel Alabaster Alaska Pink Alexander’s Ice Cream*+ American Summer Pearmain*+ Annie Elizabeth Appletown wonder # Arkansas Black*+ Barritskovs Madaeble Bart*** -2 Beacheamwell Bedfordshire Foundling Bella Di Pontise Bismarck*+ Black Limbertwig Blanc Dur {orne} Bohmischer Rosenaphel Broadholme Beauty Brushy Mountain Limbertwig*+ Bryson’s Seedling*+ Buckingham{equinetelee}*+ Bud 57-146 Calvin*+ Candy Stripe*** -2 Capt. Davis*+# Carolina Greening Catawba -2 Chemsford Wonder Chestnut Crab-2 Clark* -2 Clark’s Crab-2 Coffee Seedling* - 2 Coul Blush* - 2 D an McDaniel*+ Devonshire Crimson Queen* D isharoon***+ Dixie Red Delight*+ Dodge Crimson* Ecolette Eggleston Styre Egri Piros First and Last Forward Sour* -2 Frequin Tardive Galacia+ Gilpin* Gold