Grafting Apple Tree: Timing & Instructions

By grafting an apple, you can bring a new variety into the garden. We explain what grafting an apple tree and grafting an apple tree mean.

Have you discovered a new favorite apple and want to harvest it from the apple tree in your own garden? What could be more obvious than keeping a few seeds and skillfully sowing them? Actually nothing - that would be Apple (Malus domestica) not a cross-pollinator. In order for the blossoms of an apple tree to produce fruit, the pollen of a different variety has to hit the stigma of the blossom. As a result, the genetic material at its core is a hybrid of the mother and father trees. As a result, there will be a colorful mix of different traits in the next generation that develops from the seeded seeds. However, in order to multiply the desired variety quickly and true to the variety, the grafting method is used.

Grafting: why grafting and what is it?

Breeding is about propagating a specific variety. Proper propagation is of primary interest. True to the variety means that the propagated offspring corresponds exactly to the same variety as the mother variety to be propagated. Unfortunately, since the apple is a cross-pollinator, this cannot be achieved by seed propagation. In effect, grafting creates a clone of the mother plant - just like propagation through cuttings or offshoots. The variety with the desired fruit characteristics - the so-called noble variety - is combined with another plant with specific growth characteristics - the rootstock. Put simply, the cultivar grows with the rootstock to combine the characteristics of these two varieties. There are different techniques for this and a lot can go wrong and it is not uncommon for the rootstock and the noble variety not to grow together. This can either be due to the fact that the rootstock and the noble variety do not go well together genetically or simply because there is a lack of practice in grafting.

So why all the trouble and risk when it's all for naught in the end? Unfortunately, other propagation methods are not suitable for true-to-variety propagation (sowing) or lead to inferior results (cuttings, offshoots). In addition, by refining the noble variety, you can help to achieve certain growth characteristics: Short stature in trees for plantations, stability for trees for orchards - these properties are determined by the rootstock. In addition, apple trees propagated by grafting flower and bear fruit much earlier than by seed propagated plants - with the latter you can sometimes 12 years on the first productive wait for the harvest period.

Advantages of grafting apple trees at a glance:

• Varietal propagation
• Good growth characteristics of the rootstock can be combined with good fruit characteristics of the noble variety
• Shortened time from propagation to the first flowering and harvesting of apples

Tip: Of course, not only the rootstock influences how healthy and productive an apple tree is. The location and especially the soil also has a major influence. You can use a soil fertilizer like the Plantura organic soil activator use.

Grafting apple trees: the right time

There are two different times of the year for grafting apple trees. A distinction is made between the winter grafts (December to March/April) and the summer grafts (July/August). Grafting techniques that require bark loosening can be used in summer, which is not possible in winter. However, the physiological principle is the same: the cambium – this is the dividing tissue from which the The two varieties are connected with the respective technology in such a way that they form the ducts of the tree overgrown.

Grafting apple trees: the rootstock

In order to refine, you need an underlay – or better yet, a few more if you need several attempts due to lack of practice. The rootstock is an apple variety that is unique only in terms of its growth habit, its rooting and their resilience or even resistance to diseases and pathogens is processed through breeding became. It is not relevant which fruits, flowers or leaves the rootstock would bear. After all, the rootstock will never bear fruit itself - only the noble variety that has grown with it. Nevertheless, the underlay has at least two important tasks:

1. The vigor of the rootstock also influences the growth of the noble variety: weakly growing rootstocks lead to smaller fruit trees overall, which are easier to care for and harvest. On the other hand, these fruit trees are less stable, so they may need a tree tie. Strongly growing rootstocks lead to large fruit trees, which have many advantages, for example, on extensive orchards and meadow orchards and are both stable and robust.
2. The base determines how well the fruit tree can cope with the existing soil conditions. Some rootstocks are predestined for wet, heavy or light, sandy soils. Other rootstocks are particularly good at repelling soil-borne diseases or pests.

In summary, the following properties of a grafted apple tree can be influenced by the rootstock:

• Growth habit and vigor (weak/strong-growing)
• stability of the tree
• location claims
• Trunk form: Depending on the height at which the base is cut off for grafting
• Resistance especially to soil-borne diseases
• fruit quality
  

Since the rootstocks are of particular interest to commercial horticulture, they often have rather technical names. You won't find descriptive terms like 'Golden Delicious' or 'Goldparmäne'. Here is a small selection of recommended documents:

• 'M 9': weak to medium strong growth; medium-sized trees for the home garden
• 'M 25': strong growth; Half trunks/tall trunks for the meadow
• ′M7′: moderate growth; medium-sized trees for the home garden
• 'M 27': slow-growing; small trees/pot trees for small gardens or intensive plantation cultivation

Refining apple trees: Edelreis and Edelauge

The parts of the plant that come from the apple variety whose delicious fruit you want to propagate are referred to as "sweet rice" or "sweet eye". A scion is an approximately 10 cm long section of a shoot of the noble variety. A noble eye, on the other hand, is a single vegetative bud that can be taken from a scion. Depending on the refining method used, you have to choose Edelreis or Edelauge. Since scions usually contain several scions, more grafts can be carried out by propagating using scions than using scions.

Only well-ripened one-year shoots with short bud spacing can be used as scions. You will find these shoots in the outer, well-sunned area of ​​the crown. In the case of winter grafting, the scions are collected as early as December or January and initially stored in a cool and dark place. If a greenhouse with heating is available, grafting can also take place directly. In the case of summer grafting between July and August, the scions are harvested as soon as possible before grafting. Well-ripened one-year shoots are also harvested here. Logically, these are currently leafy. With the exception of a small piece of the leaf stalk, the leaves are removed with rose scissors and the small stipules are also plucked off by hand. Now the scions are ready for summer grafting and can even be stored in a cool and dark place for a short time - but if possible no longer than three days.

How do you graft an apple tree?

How to graft an apple tree depends on several conditions:

• At what time of the year should be grafted?
• What is the diameter of rootstock and scion?
• How much plant material of the noble variety is available for grafting?

Of course, you also need a number of special tools for such a special job as refining:

• Very sharp knife, preferably a special grafting knife
• Rose Scissors
• Grafting gums to connect the grafting area
• If necessary, wax to spread the finishing area

Grafting an apple tree: the procedure

When grafting an apple tree - regardless of the method - make sure that the two grafting partners lie perfectly on top of each other and that there are no gaps. This increases the likelihood that the vascular vessels and dividing cambium of both grafting partners will grow together well and quickly. In addition, the risk of infestation with diseases or pests via the grafting site can be minimized. To avoid unnecessary contamination of the interfaces, avoid touching the areas with your fingers if possible. Of course, the exact procedure for grafting apple trees depends largely on which grafting method you choose. We take a closer look at the different methods.

Tip: Both scion and rootstock are injured during grafting and form wound tissue at this point, so-called callus. It arises exactly where the plants will later grow together: at the cambium. Callus production creates high pressure between the assembled elements. It is therefore very important that the grafting area is always pressed very hard with grafting gums or wound closures!

winter finishings

Winter grafts are only performed on rootstocks that grow in pots. In this way, the compound plant can grow together in peace after the intervention - for example in a bright hallway or cool conservatory.

copulation

During copulation, the rootstock and scion are each cut at an angle with the same diameter, so that the cut surfaces fit together perfectly. The cut should be about five inches long. The diagonal cut increases the contact surface, so that the rootstock and the noble variety can grow together over a larger area and are therefore more stable. The method can be carried out very well in winter, since no leaves have to be removed from the scion at this time.

• Select base and scion with the same diameter.
• Make an oblique cut about 5 cm long on the base and scion.
• Join the underlay and scion at the cut surfaces and connect very firmly with raffia or a rubber band.
• Apply a finishing wax to the finishing area.
  

Goosefoot method

The goat's foot method is very suitable if you only have a base with a significantly larger diameter than the scion. A wedge-shaped piece is cut out of the beheaded base like a cake. It is important to ensure that the cut tapers from top to bottom. The scion is pointed on one side to match the wedge shape of the base.

• Base approximately twice the diameter of scion.
• Cut on the base:
  Two oblique cuts from top to bottom so that a 3 - 4 cm long wedge (goat's foot) is cut out.
• Cutting the scion:
  Shape the scion into a counter wedge of the goat's foot with two diagonal cuts, so that the wedge of the scion fits exactly into the wedge of the underlay.
• Make sure that the cambium (green layer of the bark) of the scion lies on the cambium of the base and that there is no gap.
• Fix the connection point between the base and scion with raffia and spread with finishing wax.

grafting

In the case of gap grafting, a significantly thinner scion is grafted into a thick base. To do this, a vertical, approximately five centimeter long cut is made in the edge area of ​​the graft head that has just been cut off, across the entire surface of the graft head. This creates a tongue on the base that can be carefully loosened to create a gap. The thin scion is cut on both sides to a length that corresponds to the gap in the base. The wedge-shaped scion can simply be inserted into the gap in the pad, with the one on the outside edge must happen so that the cambiae and vascular vessels of the rootstock and scion grow together at all be able.

• Cut rootstock: Vertical cut about 5 cm long over the entire surface of the grafting head; an advantage if you don't cut in the middle, but rather in the edge area.
• Scion scion cutting: Sharpen to form an even wedge on both sides in the length of the underlay cut.
• Bring the base and scion together, connect with raffia and spread with finishing wax.

Tip: A scion can also be grafted onto the grafting head of the rootstock on both marginal sides of the split cut. Then one speaks of "double gap plugs". On the one hand, you can ensure a kind of branching, on the other hand, it is theoretically possible to combine two different noble varieties on one rootstock.

summer finishings

The special thing about summer grafts is that at this time the bark is soft and flexible, so some grafting methods are only possible at this time.

Okulation: precious eye instead of scion

During oculation, only a noble eye is placed on the base. The name - derived from the Latin "oculus" for "eye" - says it all. Since the thinly cut precious eyes are pushed under the bark of the base, the bark of the apple tree has to "detach". This is the case from around the end of July to the end of August.

• Prepare Edelreise as described above: Approximately 1 cm thick in diameter, annual and well developed; Cut off the leaves and use them immediately.
• Cut buds out of the scion flat under the vegetative bud to a length of about 3 cm; light greenish cambium must be included and exposed (remove wooden parts if necessary).
• Make a 1-2 cm long horizontal cut in the base; make a vertical cut down the middle the length of the precious eye; this T-cut is to be made relatively superficially in the bark only, so that the light-green cambium of the rootstock is not injured.
• Insertion of the eye: It is better not to touch the noble eye from the inside, in order not to contaminate it. Using a knife, carefully lift the bark beneath the T-cut and insert the eye as deeply as possible. The noble eye should be in the middle. Fix the area above and below with finishing gum, but the eye must remain free. You can also use a special rubber occlusion closure (Flechthauer quick-action occlusion closure).

chip finishing

Chip finishing or “chip budding” is basically a modification of oculation. A noble eye is also used instead of a noble rice. However, the bark is not removed during the chip refinement, but a relatively flat piece corresponding to the precious eye is cut out of the base. The method is therefore independent of loosening the bark and could also be carried out in the winter months.

• Cut a uniform sliver (chip) of scion and rootstock. In scion, the chip consists of the bud and the surrounding bark; in contrast to budding, the part of the underlying wood is not detached here.
• Insertion of the chip: The chip is inserted into the appropriately cut notch of the base. Fix the spot with finishing gum and then coat it with melted finishing wax. Caution: The bud must also be exposed here.

Grafting behind the bark

As a winter refinement, we have already got to know the grafting in the gap. Alternatively, scion can also be grafted behind the bark. Since the bark has to come off for this, this grafting method is carried out in summer. The method is suitable for rootstocks and scions with significantly different diameters.

• Cutting scion: The scion is prepared as usual for summer grafts. To graft it onto the rootstock, an oblique copulatory incision about 5 cm long is made.
• Cutting the rootstock: The rootstock tree is decapitated and a straight graft head is created. With a downward vertical cut starting from the graft head − in the appropriate Length of the surface of copulatory cut of scion − carefully becomes the bark of the rootstock solved.
• The scion is carefully pushed under the bark of the rootstock so that the cut surface just ends with the cambium of the rootstock.
• Connect grafting area with grafting gum and spread with melted grafting wax.

tip: As with the split grafting, several scions can be grafted onto a rootstock at the same time by detaching the bark of the rootstock in several places. However, you should not make more than two or three cuts in order not to put too much strain on the underlay.

Caring for apple tree after grafting

Even if it appears to have been grafted well, that is no guarantee that the two plants will grow together. Even after grafting, an apple tree still needs attention and care. Overwinter the grafts carried out in winter in a bright, frost-free room. Grafting done in summer should be protected from excessive sunlight and should be watered sufficiently. It is not uncommon for not only the noble variety to sprout again, but also the rootstock. However, this is wasted energy and also encourages the rootstock to reject the noble variety: Therefore, always cut off all shoots that sprout below the grafting point.

If the noble variety drives out, the intergrowth has taken place but is not yet stable. If the special grafting rubber does not come off by itself after a whole year due to the sun's rays, you must cut it open to avoid constricting the tree.

tip: If you have grafted your noble variety on a potted base in winter, planting is scheduled for next May after the winter frosts have surely ended. When planting apple trees, it is advantageous to give the young tree fertile soil like ours Plantura organic universal soil to promote healthy growth in the early years - after all, the small tree cannot yet take root that deeply and is less able to take care of itself.

In general, it is important to prune the apple tree regularly and skilfully in order to give it a stately crown. Like you one Prune the apple tree properly, you can find out in our suitable special article.