タイガは昨日の夕方散歩で、枯草の中からワンコのウンチを掘り出して食べてしまいました。その影響か、今朝はゲリピー。早朝散歩から帰ったあとも落ち込んで、家の中に入ろうとしませんでした。そこで、私は庭の様子を観察。
Taiga had a diarrhoea this morning, after digging out and eating a dog's poop out of fallen leaves in the park during the evening walk yesterday. When we came home after an early morning walk, she did not want to go inside. So, I stayed with her and took the opportunity to check the plants in my garden.
今年の２月頃に南高梅の枝を２か所、地植えスモモのエレファントハートに接いでおきました。接ぎ木が下手な私にしては良い結果となり、夏の間にグングン育ったのできめ細かく剪定して小枝をたくさん出させました。かなり充実した枝になったので、来年用の花芽が着いているような気がします。南高は自家結実性が低いそうですが、斜め前の公園には私が植えた南高の隣に誰かが植えたもう１本の梅があって、どちらも毎年鈴なり。相性が良さそうなので、将来は梵天を持って行って花粉を採取する予定です。
I grafted ume scions in two places on the "Elephant Heart" plum tree in February this year. This ume is a variety called "Nanko" and produces superior quality fruits, ideal for making ume pickles. Both scions grew fast and steady during the summer months and I had to prune the new growth often. Thanks to that, I think the small branches became mature enough to have potential flower buds for next spring.
The chrysanthemum plant I bought in spring this year has started to bloom. This is a variety that should have just one stem, and one huge flower, but I was not determined enough to follow the rules. As a result, it has 3 stems with several medium-sized flowers on each. Next year, I will be strong enough to stick to the rules that are prescribed for this variety.
これが継ぎ目。いつまでたっても接ぎ木は上達しません。今年の春に柑橘類は６か所、地植えのものに高接ぎしましたが、すべて枯れました。ほとんど恐怖症になって、秋の接ぎ木シーズンを逃してしまったほどです。
ミカン「田口早生」は現在、カラカラオレンジに高接ぎした枝１本だけになっています。じょうのう皮が気になる品種なのと、大実になりがちで味が薄まってしまう傾向がありました。対して、「石地フリー」は薄いじょうのう皮とオレンジのような濃厚な味、しかも一番美味しくなる時期が田口と同じ12月下旬なので、これからはミカンは石地で正月を迎えるつもりです。この枝は本体のカラカラよりも勢いがあって、夏から秋にかけて枝の間引きが大変です。
I used to grow a tangerine called "Taguchi" but now it exists only in this branch, grafted onto Cara Cara orange tree. This branch is so vigorous that it could overtake the host tree if I do not control it by frequent pruning. Taguchi's fruits are very large and the taste is not as strong/sweet as oranges. Since I have another tangerine that ripens at the same time as Taguchi, but with much stronger and sweeter taste, having this one branch will suffice.
This is the grafting point. As you can see, I am not good at grafting. I tried to graft citrus scions on 6 branches in spring this year, but all of them died out. After that, I was so scared of failure that I missed the grafting season this autumn.
