Grafting some pecans

[Fly-guy]

We just bought several pecan bucket trees and the guy we bought them from told us to cut 18" to 24" from the tops. I realize that I don't need any more firewood ;-) so I talked with him about grafting and that is where you guys come in. He advised me to try to find some information on the internet and then go for it.

We don't have any pecan trees here at the house so I wanted to see if I could graft the sprigs onto some Hickorys as we have a lot of them here. If that can't be done, there are six over at our pasture that I could use. Unfortunately all six of them are on rented ground so I would appreciate any advice you may have to offer.

F-g :tiphat:

 

[Caustic Burno]

We just bought several pecan bucket trees and the guy we bought them from told us to cut 18" to 24" from the tops. I realize that I don't need any more firewood ;-) so I talked with him about grafting and that is where you guys come in. He advised me to try to find some information on the internet and then go for it.

We don't have any pecan trees here at the house so I wanted to see if I could graft the sprigs onto some Hickorys as we have a lot of them here. If that can't be done, there are six over at our pasture that I could use. Unfortunately all six of them are on rented ground so I would appreciate any advice you may have to offer.

F-g :tiphat:

Dad used to graft for people all the time I have watched him countless times.
I remember the grafting procedure but not the timing as that was very important to the sucesss as well.
He would cut a vee in the bottom sprig and a wedge in the top place them together and wrap tightly with cotton string.
The he would cover the string with wax. The string went several inches above and below the graft for support, the wax was the new temporary bark until it healed. Seen him graft pecan to hickory as well. He would start the spring's off in 5 gallon bucket's and tend to them until the next spring before planting.

 

[Jogeephus]

CB puts it about right. Need to do it before the sap rises. It would be best to graft to the main stem of the hickory since its so easy for the tree to just shuck off a limb graft.

 

[Fly-guy]

CB puts it about right. Need to do it before the sap rises. It would be best to graft to the main stem of the hickory since its so easy for the tree to just shuck off a limb graft.

Just had another balloon popped this morning. I had visions of picking up tons of pecans next fall. Most of our Hickories are large trees and I hadn't even thought about grafting to the main stem. :bang: it's going to be a long time before the pecans show back up on the shelves next fall.

 

[Caustic Burno]

CB puts it about right. Need to do it before the sap rises. It would be best to graft to the main stem of the hickory since its so easy for the tree to just shuck off a limb graft.

Just had another balloon popped this morning. I had visions of picking up tons of pecans next fall. Most of our Hickories are large trees and I hadn't even thought about grafting to the main stem. :bang: it's going to be a long time before the pecans show back up on the shelves next fall.

Yep it is not a five minute process, might go buy you some young grafted trees and be years ahead of the curve.

 

[Jogeephus]

Not saying it can't work, just saying its makes it harder for it to take. You might try a bud graft on some of the larger limbs where you can cut a T and slip the thin bark back and stick a bud slice then do as CB said and wrap it. If it takes, you can cut the limb back to this bud and it will be the terminal growth spot for that particular limb.

 

[cow pollinater]

I think I'd try to buy some grafted two or three year old trees. With the price of pecans what you'd pay for the trees would return itself multiple times over in the time saved.
That said:
I'm told pecans are grown like young walnuts but I've never grafted any pecans. What we do with the walnuts is pretty much what CB said only we use a comercially available black tar product in place of the string and wax. After the first year, pick the best limb from the new growth and tie it to the stake so that it grows strait up and remove everything else so the tree is one strait whip. This is while done when the tree is dormant.
The second year, do the same thing but leave any branches up towards the top that are well shaped and then just go back and head those back to about the second or third bud one month before the trees come out.
That way you get a nice strong tree.

 

[B&M Farms]

A neighbor of mine grafts fruit and pecan trees and he will collect his bud sticks when they are dormant and freeze them. He waits until the sap is up in the tree he is grafting to before he does it. I watched him once and he just slips the bark back a little with a sterile knife and grafts at the edge under the bark. Seems to work for him and he told me the trick was to keep everything sterile until you seal it.

 

[Fly-guy]

It looks like there is some expertise out there as usual and I do appreciate the help. First, Jo what is the "T" that you mentioned, could you describe it in a little more detail? CP, I bought three grafted trees and after the seller offered to top them for me I started thinking about trying to graf the tops. As for the tar, what brand name should I be looking for and if possible where I can find it.

I am trying to get ahead of the curve as I've found another producer that has agreed to sell us three choctaws that measure 3.5 inches at the end of the month. A little pricey but it looks like we could possibly have something to pick up next fall after all.

As usual, Thanks guys!

 

[Jogeephus]

On the t, you just slice gently through the bark perpendicular to the branch then you make another cut pependicular to this cut and this creates two folds of bark. You then take a sliver from the tree you want and slip this into these folds. This sliver has to contain a bud. Bacically you are merely slipping a bud from another tree just under the bark then taping it down. There is no real wood grafting when you do this. I can't remember for sure but I think this is easiest done just when the sap is just beginning to rise.

 

[Jogeephus]

Here is a pretty good graft I think. I think this is called a Cherokee Indian Bridge Graft ;-)

 

[cow pollinater]

As for the tar, what brand name should I be looking for and if possible where I can find it.

I'll try to remeber to look for a brand name next time at at my dad's place but you could probably find it anywhere they sell nursery supplies. I don't think brand would matter to much as long as it seals everything up good.
One thing I forgot to mention. If you're in a hot area, you'll have alot better success if you paint the tree white for the first two years. Especially paint the graft area heavily. I don't know how much it effects pecans but it's almost mandatory with walnuts.

 

[Jogeephus]

Flyguy, I took this picture of some pecan grafts today at work so if you get real good at it I can get you a job if you want one. If you like painting trimwork I think you'd love the job.

 

[cow pollinater]

That's alot of freakin pecans. :lol: We see that with every other kind of nursery there is out here but pecans are kind of the red-headed stepchild of agriculture here.
Are you seeing the mass plantings of nut crops that we are out here or is that a standard crop of young trees? Out here nurserymen are booked two years in advance and it's getting worse.

 

[Jogeephus]

This is a yearly planting. They were grafted this fall and will be used in-house or sold to other growers. All in the picture are spoken for and then some. Gonna be a lot of nuts out there in a few years.

 

[cow pollinater]

Gonna be a lot of nuts out there in a few years.

That's what I'm worried about... Might be a good time to plant more citrus instead. :lol: By the time we figure out that the market is saturated we'll have ten years worth of new trees just coming into production. :shock:

 

[Jogeephus]

The big deal down here at this moment is olives. One of our political types is fanning the flames of this get rich quick venture. It only costs a few thousand per acre to plant them and he of course gets a cut off each tree planted. You can then have them processed into oil at "his" plant for a small fee. Great thing is you can sell olive oil for $80/gal - he says. In all, you can make $600/acre/year - he says. With his connections public television has been given this some free advertisement cause its such a good idea - I guess.

Seeing all this money, I of course had to dive into this myself and am now the proud owner of two olive trees. I've learned cows love to eat olive trees for some reason. Mine have been in the ground two full years and I should be getting a check this fall when the crop comes in. They aren't nearly as big as he said they would be but I'm sure they will grow a lot this summer. Sortof like compensatory gain. Know another fella who planted several acres and his have been in the ground for 5 years. He got impatient and bulldozed them up this fall. Man had he only waited another year I'm sure he would have been rich.

 

[Fly-guy]

Just got back from OKC and thought I'd let you know that we found a nursery called American Plant Products. There was a lot of interesting stuff in there. We bought a Grafting Kit that has several items for grafting but most interestingly it has a publication from "extension.missouri.edu", When you go to the site, click on: Agriculture, Horticulture, Trees & shrubs and then for Grafting, look for publication G6971. There are quite a few publications that you may be interested in.

 

[Fly-guy]

Hey cp, we also bought a container of Treekote compound. It looks a lot like roof tar and doesn't smell as bad. It's made by the Walter Clark & Son company in Orange, Ct. Thanks for the tip!