Grafting Frenzy
I can’t exactly remember when I became so enamored with grafting. Just the idea of attaching a dead looking stick to a tree and seeing a new branch grow out of it was completely amazing. I have to say, there’s something special about fruit tree grafting.
I do remember that I was searching google for something plant related when it took me to a post at growing fruit.org Now here was a site I could get into! The folks on-line were experts at growing fruit, treating pests, increasing yields, pruning, cooking with harvest, and all matters relating to fruit. I had planted several fruit trees, without much success. They traveled with me from one home to the next, but I came to expect there would be no harvest. After watching from the wings and reading posts, I was particularly interested in this topic called grafting that so many followers were excited about.
Fast forward two seasons later and I’m grafting 400+ scions to existing “frankentrees.” Examples of Frankentrees have been shared on the internet. Here is a photo of the “tree of 40 fruit” that has been seen in the media. Not 40 grafts, but 40 varieties. Amazing!
Learning about this new process of grafting was really eye opening for me. Trees are expensive, and they can take up a lot of room in the yard. Many yards are too small for more than a couple trees. I learned that I did not have to plant 50 trees to get 50 different apple varieties! Neither do you. You can graft a scion to a branch, and when it grows, the new variety is now on your tree. UNBELIEVABLE! Not only that, but you can pick the variety you want to add.
Why did I use the term frenzy? Grafting is so amazing, it can become an obsession. It’s a problem when someone like me doesn’t know when to stop. When a grafter has so many grafts that it’s impossible to keep up with what graft is on what tree. It can go well, but don’t forget Murphy’s Law.
I like to keep track of grafts so I know what variety is on which branch. That way, when I get fruit, I know what it is. Unfortunately, grafts break, labels blow off, tags get switched, scions get switched. You name it, it happens.
There are many different kind of grafts you can make. For new grafters , a simple cleft graft yields good results. A more difficult graft, the whip and tongue can provide even better results due to the increased contact of cambium . As far as tools, you can use a standard grafting tool, a knife, or a box cutter. Just remember that it needs to be sharp and you need to practice. The graft will need to be wrapped or coated to prevent drying out, and will require stabilization with rubber bands or some type of tape like temflex or electrical tape.
There are lots of videos on you-tube to help you to learn the process. I particularly like the videos put out by Skillcult on grafting.
So you have completed your first graft.
Now for the fun part! You get to watch the grafts for signs of life.
Soon you will see a bump, a speck of green. The graft is starting to “take.” Anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months later, you may see growth push through the your chosen grafting tape. It may continue to grow like crazy, or just inch it’s way out. Eventually a growth becomes a branch, then leaves, and sometimes a bloom may appear!
While not all grafts are successful, I have found that even as a beginner, you should have reasonably good success. Apple and pear grafts are relatively easy and success is usually high. Other grafts may take a bit more skill to get a good success rate. Some grafts can take months to show signs of growth, so don’t give up too soon. I have some grafts made in early March that did not show any signs of life until the end of July.
There are a lot of sources for scions, including folks at sites like growingfruit.org, sellers on ebay and etsy, and orchards who sell on-line. There may also be swap meets advertised for your area. Those are particularly fun. The scions are free and the contacts, priceless.
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