Tree Tags

I have wanted to tag each nursery tree specifically for some time. I finally have 1000 tags, and so I headed to the nursery today to prune, label, weed, and generally see what is happening with my baby trees.

I didn't get very far, but I thought it interesting: in the top row, I had Ashmead's Kernel grafted onto both MM.111 and 109 rootstock. The preponderance of the 111 trees were well over my knee height, while not a single one of the 109s even reached my knee. They were alive, but they weren't growing quickly.

Another thing I noticed was that about half the trees I labeled had put off branches about 30" above ground level. The trees that continued to shoot skyward with a single trunk are much taller: they didn't split their growing vigor. Since these trees aren't going to be dwarf trees, and I want branches a good bit higher than 30", I pruned those extras. Hopefully I'll get some good growth yet this fall.

Phil scythed the tall weeds between the top four rows of apple trees, until he had blisters. Ouch.