I used them this year on bench grafts. Performed as expected for all the reasons you mention, and my gut feeling is they helped growth. I think they promote bud breakage in various places, so you have to watch new shoot growth from rootstock and/or below where you want the leader to develop and remove those. Make sure you follow directions:
http://growtube.com/ Jon 2011/11/21 Balsillie <dbals...@mnsi.net>: > Has anyone planted either sleeping eye trees with grow tubes? Grape growers > in my neighbourhood use a clearish, blue wrap-tube (that looks like a kid’s > Magic snow carpet) wrapped around the vine for the first year. Their new > grapevines grow more quickly, and the high temperatures inside the tube > prevent powdery mildew. Also they can safely spray herbicides. They say it > gets upward of 40C inside the tubes. > > > > Any experience with these for apples? I’m tempted to plant in situ and see > if these give them a head start. Just thinking about how to keep scab away, > although it doesn’t like really hot temperatures either. > > > > Doug > > > > Doug and Leslie Balsillie > > 793E County Road 50, R. R. 1 > > Harrow, Ontario > > N0R 1G0 > > > > Home of The Fruit Wagon > > Quality Fruit and Flowers in Season > > www.thefruitwagon.com > > Search for Fruit Wagon on Facebook > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > apple-crop mailing list > apple-crop@virtualorchard.net > http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop > > -- JMCEXTMAN Jon Clements cleme...@umext.umass.edu aka 'Mr Liberty' aka 'Mr Honeycrisp' IM mrhoneycrisp 413.478.7219 _______________________________________________ apple-crop mailing list apple-crop@virtualorchard.net http://virtualorchard.net/mailman/listinfo/apple-crop
