So I love gardening and I know this has nothing to do with my art, but just a fun thing to do that I’ve recently started experimenting with propagating and grafting. How did this idea get started? Well I had a Modesto ash tree that had a disease. Over the summer all the upper branches died except for one and all the upper branches had very small leaves. It had no growth that season. At the base of the tree I allowed some new growth to start up above the graph. The leaves were three times bigger and they looked like how the tree should be. So I have since replaced the tree with a fan west ash. I took the Modesto ash and cut it down. I then took that new growth branches or scions and stuck some in the ground and some in a jar with water. I also took one and grafted it to the root stalk of the same tree. that is now in a pot.

To not get this confusing I’ll just list my other experiments.

Put into jar with water - bonito ash, modesto ash, apricot, nectorine
stuck into the ground or in pots - bonito ash, modesto ash, nectorine, grape vine, apricot
grafted - a branch of apricot to nectorine, a branch from the nectorine to the apricot, a branch from the bonito ash to the fan west ash.
as I explained about the Modesto ash I grafted into the original rood stalk it came from

I did not use any root hormones. I just used honey on the ones I shoved into the ground. I’ll have to do a follow up, but after over a month now looks like there is grown on the majority of the sticks. The grape vines and the Modesto ash are the two with the most growth. I notice in the jars that the upper growth is coming along just fine, but still no roots. I’m sure it’s concentrating it’s energy to new growth and not the roots, so I’ll wait it out and see if the roots will start at some point.

I’m so excited to see how all this works out. I’ll do a follow up in a few months.