Grafting

Please note, this page is under construction, more to be added later. All commercially fruit trees are grafted. The process of grafting means to cut and combine 2 bits of living tissue from different locations (but similar genetics) and bind them together until they grow into each other, 'the two becoming one'. Skin grafting is used in the treatment of human burns and plastic surgery, donor hearts and kidneys are grafted in to a recipient, and plant grafting is used to connect a genetically specific fruit variety (otherwise known as scion or cultivar), selected for eating, juice or cider qualities, to a set of roots (rootstock) which is itself selected for genetic health, stability, reliable cropping and size. This gives many benefits and has been practiced certainly since Roman times, the practice is referred to by Saint Paul in the first century Anno Domini.

An apple cultivar, or clonal variety, originates from a pip (sexually produced apple seed) which is sown and grows. Each one is different, most will be of limited or no value (too acid, poor keeper, poor cropper, lacking in aromatic flavour compounds, no disease resistance, etc) but every now and then there is a happy coincidence of genes (see varieties) which gives the gardener, and perhaps the world, a worthy new apple. Just as when Mr Cox sowed some pips from a Ribston Pippin in his garden and one of them grew into the incomparable apple Mr Cox named after himself. Every Cox's Orange Pippin in the world has been grafted from  clones grafted from descendants of that original seedling. Cox's Pomona came from the same sowing: as Lawrence Hills wrote 'A very lucky chance to get 2 good apples from one sowing of pips'. But then Ribston Pippin is a genetically very precious apple parent, more people sould grow this important heritage apple.

Grafting can be done with a sharp penknife, some strips of polythene cut from a freezer bag, some rootstocks and some scion wood, plus some information, which I am about to give you for free. The Opinel number 6 stainless is widel;y available, inexpensive an works very well.

Rootstocks determine the ultimate size of the tree and have been arrived at by skilful plant breeding and trial and error over a century or more. In Britain, the main varieties of APPLE rootstock are

(M is for Malling, MM is for Malling Merton, after the research stations where these clonal stocks were developed)

M27 (smallest-use for cordons, pot grown trees, large growing trees for a small garden)
M9 (small to medium, as for M27 in richer soil, pyramid, dwarf bush)
M106  (medium-fan or espalier, free standing pyramid or bush, half standard in good soil)
M26 (medium-large, as MM106 in poorer soil, half standard, large bush, standard tree in good sol)
M111 (larger, as M26 but bigger)
M25 (largest, large standard trees you expect to take 8-10 years before they start cropping but then crop for 100 years)

Different rootsocks are available in the USA and Australia etc, I can't speak about them but the principles remain the same. I use MM106 for almost everything.
Below are some links to pages where I illustrate with photographs some different grafting techniques. Recommended books, Raymond Bush  'Tree Fruit Growing-volume 1, apples and pears ' (Penguin, long out of print), and R.J.Garner 'The Grafter;'s Handbook' ISBN0-304-34274-2) available from specialist book stores. I taught myself to graft from books and trial and error, it was easy although took a little while to get consistently good results-practice makes perfect. There might come a time when this skill, and the ability to raise fruit trees by hand,  is worth more than it is in these days when oil is still relatively cheap and the supermarkets are full of 'permanent global summertime' foods.


whip and tongue graft

top grafting (various techniques)

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