Tree Grafting Unwrapping the grafts

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Tree grafting is one of the most established methods of propagating fruit trees. It has a high success rate and gives you an array of options to control the ultimate height of the tree. But as soon as you mention grafting even to experienced gardeners people look on in horror. It's wrongly considered complex, difficult and only for experts. So I attended a tree grafting course to prove that anyone can do it! • Presented by Garden Ninja, Manchesters Garden Designer and blogger Lee Burkhill. He's an RHS Award winning garden designer and expert panellist on BBC Radio Manchester's Saturday morning garden phone in. • Why not subscribe to my youtube channel? / @gardenninja • Facebook: / gardenninjadesign • Twitter: / garden_ninja • Instagram: / garden_ninja_lee • CHOOSING CUTTING THE SCION • You ideally want a Scion that has no more than 3 healthy buds on it. If you graft more than three then you are putting ever greater stress on the rootstock to provide water and nutrients for these buds. We found that a 4-6 inch scion was the ideal length. • JOINING THE ROOTSTOCK AND SCION • It’s all about straight angle cuts so that when they are bound together there is as much of the fleshy tissue joining, as this is where the graft will bond. The less contact the less chance you have of success. So practice makes perfect! Again sharp tools are vital for clean neat cuts. • BINDING AND WRAPPING THE GRAFT • We used clear plastic tape to bind the two parts of the graft together. Using a bandaging technique of wrapping the stretchy tape around and around until a tight union was achieved. Then tying a double knot to both ends of the tape to secure it. • These were then coated with a molten green wax to completely seal the join and the graft. Peter reassured us that although the Scion was now entirely coated in wax, as soon as the plant grows and the buds swell they will break through the wax no problem. • PLANTING TREE GRAFTS • You are always going to be rolling the dice a bit with tree graft success rates. Some will take others simply won’t. The best means of giving them a good start is to plant them as soon as possible so the rootstock doesn’t dry out. Ideally planting them in the ground gives them the room they need to really start sending out roots. • I prefer to pot them into medium 15-litre pots or equivalent. That way I can carefully control their water levels and position them somewhere out of exposure to give them the best start. I use a mix of 50% compost 50% topsoil. The compost is not there for nutrients but for water retention. The main killer of bare root stock is dehydration. So you need to make sure it is well watered. • WHEN TO UNTIE TREE GRAFTS? • Once you have about 18 inch or 46cm of new growth at the top of the graft you can then untie and carefully release the tape around the Scion. This will then prevent any abnormalities in the overall stem growth such as thin growth around the graft. You will need to stake the new tree and be careful as the graft site will always be the point of weakness. Which is why a solid clean graft is always required. • Another top tip is to stake it with a cane higher than the top growth. The reason for this is birds have a habit of perching on grafted trees and their weight can snap and damage the graft. If you use a taller cane the likelihood is they will perch on this instead! • Successful smooth tree graft scar • A successful scar should be smooth and uniform • ROOTSTOCK TYPES SIZES • Here’s a very quick guide to apple tree rootstocks and the eventual height of the tree once grafted. • M27 – V. Small 1-2m eventual height – Great for pots or patios, always keep staked • M9 – Small 1.8-2.5m eventual height -Very productive, always keep staked • M26 /MM11 / M9– Medium 2-3mt eventual height – Good for bushes or cordons, can be trained as a medium-sized tree • MM106 – Large 2.5-4.5m eventual height – Good sizes tree apple, more drought tolerant due to larger rootstock, fruiting after 3-4 years • MM111 / M25– Large full sized 5m eventual height – Full sized apple tree, drought tolerant and fruits after 4-5 years. Maximum yield. • TREE GRAFTS STARTING TO BUD! • So it’s now May, a mere 4 months since I first grafted these trees back in early February. The buds on the scion started to swell a few weeks back and now we have some leaves starting to emerge! This really is the most exciting part of tree grafting and plant propagation; seeing the fruits of your labour! • 6 MONTH ON THE TREE GRAFTS HAVE FULLY TAKEN • Tree grafting of apple trees • My mini Orchard starts to take shape • Once they were unwrapped the scars from the joins can be seen and are super clean. This goes to show how careful preparation can result in a neat uniform graft of the tree.

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