save the scion wood for grafting? you could top work the stumps below the girdle, giving that tree a kick with established roots, probalby be as big as it is now in just three years.
Another option is to cut it off at the chewed place. Bury the whole thing under a foot or so of nice light topsoil. (Either where it is or in a pot) As the root stock grows up through it, in hopefully a number of places, you can cut off the rooted shoots and make more clonal rootstock for future grafting projects. If your tops die, always look to save and propagate the rootstock. Good hunting. "D"
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Give back twice that which you take.
save the scion wood for grafting? you could top work the stumps below the girdle, giving that tree a kick with established roots, probalby be as big as it is now in just three years.
Is it really necessary to use 36 inches. It seems as though 12 inches high would be enough unless you have darn big field mice!
36 inches of screen is needed because if you only have 12 inches and you get 12 inches of snow and Mr. Cottontail is out for lunch he can girdle your tree just as fast as a mouse.
a couple guys here know a heck of a lot better than me how to do it, and have written guides, top working apple trees is I think one of them. take a look through those threads and adapt what you see in their pics to what you see with your trees. they show branches off the ground being grafted, use your trunk where it looks alive and well below the chewed areas. For the scions, go to the tops of the trees chewed and pick some small branches that look a lot like theirs do, follow their guide and cut them to size and graft them to the viable bases. this is also a good time to clone up a particularly good apple that you have.
I think I bought a 25' roll of 36" aluminum window screen and it was maybe $20 at a big box store. I then cut it into like 10"-12" pieces with a utility knife, fold in half, staple. As others have said, Snow is the main reason for going to 36".
36 inches of screen is needed because if you only have 12 inches and you get 12 inches of snow and Mr. Cottontail is out for lunch he can girdle your tree just as fast as a mouse.
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