Cultivation

Plum Grafting and Budding

Prunus L.

Plum grafting requires the mandatory use of stone fruit rootstocks to ensure genetic compatibility. The success of these operations is critically dependent on strict adherence to the timing of spring sap flow or the summer budding period.

In the reference 87 varieties crop Plum, where this is mentioned in the description.

Plums successfully graft primarily onto other stone fruit plants, such as cherry plum, blackthorn, damson, or apricot, whereas the use of pome fruit species as rootstocks is unproductive. Apricot is often used to improve the drought tolerance and vigor of the seedlings.

Plum budding is preferably carried out in July–August during active sap flow, with early dates in the second or third ten-day period of July increasing the survival rate. For spring grafting, it is critical to begin work as early as possible, before bud burst, as stone fruit species are more sensitive to timing than pome fruit species.

For top-working mature trees, it is not recommended to use branches older than 10 years due to the aging characteristics of the crop. When working with mature specimens, it is best to select scaffold branches for grafting at a 45-degree angle to the trunk, and when performing indoor winter grafting, the scion must be prepared in advance.

General information about the subject — on the page Grafting and budding.

Sources8

Varieties of Plum mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.