Monday, February 6, 2012

The Massive Mop Graft Update

It's been ages since I've taken updated photos on the progress of the mop graft, the legendary M26 rootstock which I selfishly hoarded away as it had more roots than all the other 19 rootstocks I ordered put together. With its expansive and well developed booties (roots), the mop graft found pride of place in my apple orchard and was crowned with a carefully selected piece of the mysteriously delicious unnamed apple which I have temporarily given the working title 'Corryong Seedling' (patent pending!). The scion wood was cut and delivered with the utmost care by the father of a friend and aside from the mountain ash sized mop graft, there are about 15 strong and healthy maiden trees growing in the nearby stool bed (that is what it's called, I didn't have an accident in my sleep). I have been photographing the tree itself as well as a closeup of the graft so I can get right in there and eyeball the fascinating process of grafting at whatever magnification I desire. The last photo I took was just before the tape had been removed and a great deal has happened since then. I waited as long as I could before removing the tape but it became urgent when it appeared that the trunk was starting to swell beyond the stretch of the tape. A month or two down the track and the trunk has doubled in size, it's becoming hard to differentiate the boundary between the stock and the scion. The tree has put on loads of healthy growth, no doubt thanks to its big feet. Above is a picture of the fruit it will bear should I succeed. This seems inevitable, barring a meteor strike or some kind of giant nibbling rabbit.

2 comments:

  1. That mop graft looks like something growing out of Natasha Henstridge in Species. I would expect there is less chance of the tree having sex with you and then killing you, however I would always keep a decent distance away to be sure. Certainly keep away when its fruiting as they can get quite protective of their young.

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  2. Like Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the tree and I could play 'I'm Natasha Henstridge'. That's where I close my eyes and pretend that the tree is Natasha Nenstridge. Or we could...

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