Hommel Mangas
In three-months, I’ll know whether the delicate surgeries I performed were successful.
Meanwhile, the four patients are being kept warm in our glass-doored garage — between 55 and 65 degrees at night. They are completely tented with an inverted polyethylene bag so the surgery wound doesn’t dry out and they stay misted as if in a terrarium.
The “Wintertime Bench Grafting of Conifers” notes from expert nurseryman Bruce Appeldoorn explained: “The aftercare period lasts about three months, extending from the moment the graft is competed until it has been repotted into a one-gallon pot, normally around June 1.
I’ve got some conifer babysitting to do, but am hoping the scion buds swell and grow by April 1 — a sign the grafts are knitting properly.
In class, Appeldoorn covered the importance of under stock choice and preparation, the grafting process, scion preparation and the side veneer three-cut stroke. We practiced our scion cuts and 1-cut of the under stock, then inserting the scion on to the cut on the under stock. The challenging part for me was holding everything in place while tying on the grafting rubber. My favorite part was final application of painting on melted grafting wax completely covering the rubber and all parts that would be exposed to air. It’s the little things.
I felt better when Bruce noted that not everyone can successfully tie on a grafting band.
“I once had a concert violinist who just couldn’t get the hang of it, even though they used their fingers expertly on a violin,” he said.
If successful, I will have:
Pinus Mugo “Butternut” on Pinus sylvestris
Cedrus Atlantica Horstmann on Cedric Deodar
Pinus Strobus “Wiggles” on Stroboformis
Picea Pungens “Cabrini HB” on Picea Abies
Whether the four surgeries are successful or not, I can be proud that at least I tried a new craft into my sixth decade of life. On our drive home from Appeldoorn Nursery in Bostic, North Carolina, I thought of my 89-year old dad, Frank. Before his passing, he talked about staying up late learning to play new songs on the piano or rewriting the lyrics of a song to make it more personal or humorous.
Cheers to heading toward spring 2024 and learning something new.
Janet Hommel Mangas grew up on the east side of Greenwood. The Center Grove area resident and her husband are the parents of three daughters. Send comments to [email protected].
