Rob,

I posted on your other thread, before I read this one, but I'm doubtful you can hold peach wood long enough for your rootstock to throw suckers.

However it might be different where you live. For me, the biggest challenge in summer budding is the blazing hot KS summers. I've found anything much above 90F makes my peach budding fairly unsuccessful.

That means I have to do spring grafting in late May/Early June, or wait to do budding till around the 1st of Sept. (generally).

You may get cool enough summers, you can graft/bud all summer long.

For peach grafts to callus, the temps need to consistently be 80F minimum for the highs. Scott was the first one to tell me this, and I've found it to be true.

I think there was some debate in the past on this fine point. I think Hman's experience was that it's more important for the peach to be completely leafed out. Either way, both occur about the same time here.

Peach wood doesn't seem to handle long periods in the mail the best.

I tried a couple different times to get some unique peach wood from Scott and had more trouble budding that wood than wood from my own orchard. Eventually, this summer, I got some of that wood to take, but the results still weren't as good as grafts from my own wood (i.e. not as high percentage of takes).

Likewise, I sent some peach wood to Hman last spring and that wood was the only wood that didn't take for him.

As I mentioned on the other thread, if you want wood from me when your rootstock throws suckers, we can try it through the mail.

Thanks for the info Olpea,

perhaps I should have kept it all on one thread, but that other one was just me whining and here I hoped to get some info.

Our summers are certainly milder. we get temps in the 90's but generally just for short spells and even then almost only in the late afternoon. Evenings nearly always cool down.

I don't quite follow what you mean by "80F minimum for the highs"..???

"I don't quite follow what you mean by "80F minimum for the highs"..???"

In other words, if the high temperature for the daytime highs is only 70F, that is too cool. Peach grafts need warmer temps than apple grafts in order to callus.

If the daytime highs are in the 80's, but less than 90F, that is ideal weather for peach grafting.

On storing scions: someone here once asked about freezing scions. If I were to try that I think it might good to take a page from some of the fisherman around here who catch small salmon and freeze them in water in milk containers. When thawed the fish is still excellent. Might be worth an experiment.

Good luck. I have neglected important chores too long myself and seem to always end up regretting it!

I think it was applenut who has been freezing scion incased in ice....I was toying with that too, but would rather work with as few variables as possible for my first attempt on peaches...

I would defer to Scott's experience in peach grafting. It is something I've only begun to do. Had all my takes succeed the first season I tried and all failed the second. It may have been a matter of temperature but the wood I used the second season was much thinner and I always have best success with pencil width wood doing splice grafts. Thicker wood may hold its moisture longer and contains more stored energy.

I received wood from Scott during a very hot spell here (90Fs) and had a lot of takes...even a peach (a donut). The Japanese plums had very good takes. I'm pretty sure i had one peach fail, but that is because the whole tree died and i had to chainsaw it.

If you get a few sticks, i think you can get at least a bud or 2 to take... if not many more.