Virtually no chance of grafting brooms in mid summer.Spring and autumn would increase the possibilities, Jan-March are the optimum times for grafting, some broom hunters will collect and graft material in October if weather conditions are likely to be too severe in winter.

Hey Madtripper,

Bluespruce53 is right. Don't collect them in the summer. I live just an hour south of you and every winter I collect scions from brooms I have spotted over the summer. I start grafting here around Jan.15. (I like to have a couple days off from sticking cuttings before I get going with grafting.) Last year a friend of mine dropped off a whole and part broom that were ripped out of trees in early March from an ice storm. I still had 95% rate but I wouldn't go much beyond that.

If the area where the broom is, is really difficult to get into then collect in December before the snow. I have also kept wood in the fridge for many weeks with wet paper towels in bags to help keep the humidity high. The success rate seems to go down but it still works.

I'm going "brooming" up north for 2 or 3 days in February with a friend. I would like to find more white spruce and black spruce brooms. Around here I generally just find White Pine, Norway Spruce brooms and the odd Cedar and Hemlock broom including one at the Guelph Arboretum.

Good luck let us know how it turns out.

Darren