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Experienced gardeners determine the time and method of grafting an apple tree individually. The procedure can be done all year round, but spring is considered the most favorable period. There are many ways. Each gardener prefers the simplest grafting, which results in a large percentage of engraftment of cuttings. To find the most suitable method for yourself, you need to experience them all. It will be easier for a novice gardener to graft an apple tree into a split in the spring, which is where it is worth starting the practice.
Optimal time for vaccination
If you wish, you can graft an apple tree into a split all year round. However, only experienced gardeners can boast of such abilities. Each season has an impact on the ongoing biological processes in plants and trees, which determines the engraftment of the cutting.
Spring
Vaccination in the spring is considered the best choice. The season is characterized by the awakening of nature. The trees begin to move the juice, which has a positive effect on the rate of engraftment. It is better to plant cuttings in a split apple tree with the onset of heat, from March to April.
The later period from the end of April to mid-May is better limited to budding. The process similarly involves grafting, only a kidney is used instead of a cutting. The advantage of spring vaccination is not only in better engraftment. If the result is bad, the action can be repeated later, without having to wait for the next season.
Summer
The two summer months of July and August are no less important for apple trees than the spring period. At this time, fruit trees begin the second cycle of sap movement. However, grafting an apple tree into a split in the summer is unlikely to succeed, since there are already large leaves on the cuttings. The best way is budding with a sleeping kidney.
Autumn
The beginning of autumn is not the best time for grafting apple trees. In early September, in warm weather, only budding is used. Experienced gardeners from September to October get an apple tree grafted into a split into young rootstocks. The graft on an adult tree will not take root. In addition to grafting into a split, they use the method for the bark or in the butt.
Winter
Apple trees can be grafted even in winter, but they do it indoors. The procedure lasts from January to the end of March. Seedlings of apple trees to be planted in open ground after a maximum of 20 days are subject to grafting.
Apple cuttings and rootstocks are stored in the basement, barn or cellar at a temperature of approximately 0оC. Seedlings are brought into a warm room 14 days in advance, and cuttings – 3 days before vaccination.
The positive and negative sides of the split method
Why many gardeners like grafting apple trees into a split can be understood by familiarizing themselves with the advantages of the method:
- Almost 100% result. The stalk inserted into the split will take root faster than with another method of grafting. Only eye budding competes in reliability, but the process is a bit more complicated.
- A simple method of grafting can be overcome by an inexperienced gardener.
- It takes little time to graft into a split. This is important if the work takes place in a garden with a lot of material.
- If the rootstock bark is damaged, grafting an apple tree in a splitting method is the only solution to the problem.
- An adult wild game, as well as a fruit-bearing apple tree, can act as a stock.
The disadvantage of grafting an apple tree into a split is the formation of wood growth at the junction of the scion with the rootstock. Over time, the cutting will begin to develop, grow, and the thickening will almost become invisible.
Preparation of materials and tools
To carry out the vaccination, it is necessary to prepare a stock and a scion. Cuttings are chosen from those varieties of apple trees that I would like to breed in my garden. The rootstock can be a young seedling or an adult tree. Moreover, not only a cultivated apple tree or wild game is suitable, but also a pear, mountain ash, hawthorn, quince. The pear is considered the best stock.
From the tools you will need a sharp knife, saw and pruner. A garden pitch is used to process the cut, and the graft itself is wrapped with electrical tape.
The quality of the vaccination depends on the speed of the work. The cut areas should not dry out. The tool is used only sharply sharpened. A dull knife or pruner will crush the wood, ruin the bark, and you can not dream of engrafting the cutting.
The sequence of work
It is convenient to graft apple trees when the scion and stock are not thick. It is best to work with one or two year old material. Splicing thick branches is more difficult, as it takes longer to adjust the cut points. The procedure consists of the main steps: splitting the rootstock, preparing the scion, combining and isolating the area to be spliced.
Preparatory work
The process of grafting an apple tree begins with the selection of a rootstock. In a wild game or other suitable seedling, the trunk is cleaned of dirt, after which a cut is made with a sharp pruner. A stump 15 cm high remains above the ground. To cut a thick trunk, a sharp garden saw is used instead of a pruner. If the cutting is grafted onto an adult tree, then the branch is cut down. The rootstock should be even, clean with a healthy bark without defects and thickenings. For grafting one cutting, the cut of the stock is performed with an inclination, and the scion is placed at the top of the cut.
The complexity of splitting depends on the thickness of the rootstock. A thin branch is easy to split with a sharp knife strictly in the center. The splitting depth is about four seedling diameters.
The splitting of a thick branch or hemp occurs according to a different technology. On the rootstock bark, in the place of the alleged splitting, the bark is cut with a sharp knife. This must be done on both sides of the seedling along the diameter of the trunk. The incisions will prevent a rough tearing of the bark by making the split edges even. A sharp knife blade is placed in the center of the rootstock. It should coincide with the cut lines of the bark. With strong pressure, the hands split the wood into two parts. When the knife enters to a splitting depth of up to 7 cm, a temporary wedge is inserted between the two halves.
Preparation and splicing of the scion with the stock
Cuttings of apple trees are prepared so long that three to five buds remain above the cut. The excess top is cut off with a sharp pruner. The bottom of the apple cutting is cut with a knife in the form of a wedge. The length of the pointed part is equal to four scion diameters.
When splicing young thin branches, a pointed wedge of the cutting is inserted into the split until the cambium coincides. Above the split, for better splicing of the cutting, a cut strip of bark is left at the scion.
Two thin cuttings of an apple tree are inserted into a thick stump or a cut of a branch. The graft is placed on both sides of the split. It is important during such a vaccination to take into account the different thickness of the bark. When splicing, do not try to combine it. It is more important to take care of the coincidence of the cambium.
After combining the scion with the stock, the grafting site must be protected immediately.
Inoculation isolation
A small gap remains at the junction of the cutting with the stock. The entire area is treated with garden pitch for better healing. Gardeners prepare it on their own, but you can buy it in the store. The split is firmly pulled together with electrical tape so that the cuttings do not hang out. From above, the entire vaccination site is additionally covered with a plastic bag. The film will not dry the cuts. A humid microclimate will be constantly maintained at the grafting site. On a hot sunny day, a grafted apple tree is shaded.
Sometimes gardeners wrap even the stalk itself with a special tape. The method is not bad, but you need to carefully handle the kidneys so as not to break them off. The isolation is removed after the graft has engrafted, as indicated by the blossoming leaves.
In the video, the grafting of apple trees in the spring in a split according to all the rules:
Conclusion
Vaccination is a pretty interesting thing. If a bad variety of fruit tree grows in the yard, you can always plant cuttings on it and enjoy delicious apples in the future. And to search for a scion, it is enough to walk around the neighbors and ask them to cut one-year-old twigs.