How many years after grafting does a Korean pine bear fruit?
The pine tree is a common sapling in daily life. After a few years of planting, it will grow fruits, which are very delicious and rather expensive, but very popular among people. So how many years after grafting does a Korean pine bear fruit?
1. How many years after grafting does a Korean pine bear fruit?
A grafted Korean pine generally grows for 12 years and can then bear pine cones. In the first year of cone bearing, each tree can produce 1 jin of pine nuts, and afterward the pine nut yield will gradually increase. Pine nuts generally mature in October-November, and by December there will be none left.
2. How do you graft onto an old pine stump?
1. Grafting methods include bud grafting, branch grafting and approach grafting. Bud grafting can be done from the tenth lunar month to the second lunar month of the following year, depending on local temperature differences; it can be done anytime from after the autumn buds of the five-needle pine have formed to before they sprout. Cut a thick, strong autumn bud from the top, 3 cm-5cm long, and use a sharp knife to cut the lower part of the bud into a horse-ear shape, with a length of more than half the bud length; make it as long as possible, since a long cut surface gives a large area of cambium contact and heals better later. For the second cut, make a cut on the back of the first cut at a 30-degree angle, with a length two-thirds of the first cut. Then insert the five-needle pine bud, align the cambium and tie it with a plastic band, moderately tight, leaving the bud tip exposed. Afterward, place the pine stump in a sunny, ventilated spot for normal care; no shading is needed. Watch the bud tip carefully: if it sprouts and grows, it means the graft has taken. Later, loosen the plastic band in time so it does not become embedded in the tree body and cause damage.
2. For branch grafting, in the eighth lunar month, choose a strong current-year branch from the top of the five-needle pine as the scion, about 7cm long, and graft it onto the pine stump in the same way as bud grafting. Then place a plastic film tube with a diameter of 12cm and a length of 15cm over the graft joint. First tie the lower opening tightly, put moss or loess inside to keep it moist, then tie the upper opening tightly, leaving the five-needle pine tip exposed. During care, be careful to maintain the humidity inside the plastic bag; if it is too dry, use a syringe to inject water into the bag. If new buds grow from the pine tip, it means the graft has taken; remove the plastic bag in time and return to normal care.
3. For bud grafting and branch grafting, pay attention to the position and direction of the graft joint. Choose the base of the stump branch, because most graft joints will swell later. If the graft forms a thick swelling in the middle of a branch, it is unsightly, and it should be grafted on the left, right or underside of the branch, because pines are mostly styled with weeping branches; grafting on the upper side will bring difficulties for later styling. In addition, properly prune excessive and overly dense wild rootstock branches and leaves. First, this allows the scion to receive sunlight and enhance photosynthesis; second, it increases the stump's affinity for the scion because of the reduced foliage. After the graft has taken, also control the amount of wild rootstock branches and leaves to promote the growth of the five-needle pine. Only when the five-needle pine has grown to a certain amount can the wild rootstock be gradually pruned away. If pruned too early, the overall leaf area will be too small and the whole tree may die.
4. Comparing bud grafting and branch grafting, bud grafting is simpler and easier to manage, but after it takes, it grows only leaves in the first year and only forms true branches by the third year, and its length is hard to control. Branch grafting is itself already a branch and does not have the above problems, but the grafting procedure is troublesome and the management requirements are high, so not many people use it.