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Every gardener wants his garden to produce a high-quality and large-scale crop. But it often happens that an apple tree does not bring a few apples for a couple of years, or the fruits, in terms of taste, may not meet expectations. In this case, grafting an apple tree will help. This will save time on planting and growing a new tree and will help expand the variety of fruits your garden produces.
Why graft apple trees?
To carry out this process correctly, you must clearly know the purpose of the vaccine.
Grafting is one of the possible methods of vegetative propagation. In horticulture, this method is used to artificially splice parts of one plant with the shoot of another plant (different varieties and even other species can be used). In our case, the apple tree will act as a scion, and the cutting that will be grafted will act as a rootstock.
Grafting makes it possible to graft onto an apple tree, for example, a pear branch. The result is an apple tree with a branch that will produce a crop of pears. Therefore, several different fruits can be obtained from one tree at once.
In other cases, this operation is carried out in order to graft one or a couple of other varieties of apples to the tree or to obtain ornamental trees.
When carrying out this process in the spring, the following rules should be remembered:
- only related trees can be grafted. So, in our case, for example, a cultivated apple tree variety can be grafted onto a “wild”. You can graft the following types of apple trees: various cultivars on a forest wild apple tree (in this case there will be a “wild” trunk with branches of a cultivated tree), as well as vegetative rootstocks (dwarf, semi-dwarf, medium-sized). In the case of regrafting an adult apple tree, it is possible to graft cuttings of other varieties of these fruit trees (if the fruitful function of these trees does not become obsolete);
- it should be remembered that the cambium layer of the rootstock must be in contact with the cambium of the scion to which the grafting takes place. Otherwise, the stock will not take root.
Experienced gardeners also claim that grafting helps to rejuvenate the apple tree, and this will not only significantly extend the life of the tree, but also help to get new tastes and new fruits on one tree.
The advantages that the spring grafting of an apple tree carries:
- helps to speed up the fruiting of the tree;
- it is possible to obtain fruits of a new variety;
- with this operation, you can change the natural appearance of the apple tree;
- crown strength increases;
- if you graft part of the root, you can get layering and increase the strength of the cuttings of species and varieties of trees that in the “wild” form have a low rooting ability or do not take root at all;
- with the help of grafting, it is possible to stimulate the accelerated healing of various mechanical damage to apple trees that were caused by sunburn or various rodents. This property is based on the ability of the fruit tree to repair damage as a result of the increased activity of the cambium that has been exposed, as well as the nutrients contained in the root and scion.
The most favorable time for spring vaccination is from mid-April to the end of May.
For mature apple trees that have healthy and intact branches, regrafting in the spring can be done until the tree is 25 years old. For younger apple trees, older than 10 years, this process should not be carried out immediately, but over a couple of years. In the first year, only half of the branches are re-grafted, and in the second year, the remaining half. Trees younger than 10 years old can be re-grafted once a year.
In order to carry out the vaccination without errors, you can first familiarize yourself with this process on a video on the Internet.
Prepare
In order for the vaccination to go smoothly and correctly, it is necessary to prepare for it.
To carry out this operation you will need:
- grafted material (stalk), which will be directly grafted to the apple tree;
- a knife (preferably a garden one) with excellent sharpening;
- thin and sharp garden saw;
- garden putty (oil paint, var based on drying oil);
- a film that will be needed for strapping (best of all – polyethylene).
The stalk must be prepared from the very beginning of winter. It should be cut after the first frost. In this case, the branches will be at rest. It is possible to prepare a stock at the beginning of spring, but in this case, the cutting should be harvested before the buds swell.
For the stock, you need to choose annual sprouts growing on healthy and productive branches of the apple tree. The length of the harvested branch should be no more than 35 cm. At the handle, it is necessary to cut off the lower edge at an acute angle along an oblique line (the length of the cut should be three times greater than the diameter of the handle), and leave the top “on the kidney”. During the winter, cut branches can be stored in the basement, after placing their lower part in wet sand or sawdust. In the absence of a basement, cuttings (for small sizes) can also be stored in the refrigerator. In this case, they must be wrapped in a wet cloth.
A number of freely available videos on the Internet can also help you deal with this part of the process.
Two days before the scheduled vaccination, the cuttings must be taken out of the cellar or refrigerator and warmed up at room temperature.
At this stage, you also need to take care of the tools. They need to be taken out and prepared for work (cleaned and disinfected). The grafting knife must be well sharpened so that the cuts are smooth and even. It is also necessary to prepare a clean rag for wiping the instruments. When grafting several varieties of apple trees at once, it does not hurt to prepare the appropriate tags. They are usually made from strips of aluminum. For convenience, you can use a basin, box, etc., which will fit all the necessary tools.
Before proceeding with direct vaccination, you should wash your hands very well, with laundry soap. The tool with which this process will be carried out must also be washed well to avoid infection of the scion and rootstock. During vaccination, do not touch the sections.
All of the above tools and preparations will help you properly and sterile inoculate.
Vaccination methods
There is a wide variety of vaccination options. The most commonly used methods are:
- simple copying. This method is used when the diameters of the scion and rootstock are the same. Often, young, one- or two-year-old branches are grafted with this method. This method assumes the presence of identical slices along the oblique line. This is done to ensure that the cuts on the rootstock and scion match exactly. When connecting, the sections must be held pressed against each other for 60 seconds. If this is not done, then the surface of both sections may have time to deteriorate (dry and oxidize), which will lead to poorer adhesion and in the future may affect the fruiting of the tree;
- improved copying. This method provides the most reliable coupling of the grafted part with the new base. Such a connection is possible due to the presence of a longitudinal additional cut on the cut or the so-called “tongue”. A beveled cut is made along the axis on both parts and carefully cut into one third. Then the scion is carefully introduced into the stock. You should not inject the graft very deeply, otherwise you risk breaking off the graft or contributing to its festering. In the presence of a scion and a rootstock with different diameters of branches, it is necessary to try very tightly to combine the cambium on one side so that the gap is completely closed. A photo with this vaccination method is shown below;
- cleft grafting. This method is great for branches with different diameters. It is necessary to split the stock crosswise or across. As a result, a split is formed on the rootstock. Then you need to insert several cuttings into the resulting split. A long oblique cut is made on their lower part. Since in this method only one part of the graft material will come into contact with the cambium, this procedure must be carried out very carefully and carefully.
- bark graft. This method involves the use of branches of large and medium diameter. This method can be used for grafting during the sap flow, based on the “per bark” method. In the place where the vaccination will be carried out, it is necessary to carefully cut down the branch of the apple tree. But you need to keep the stump with a small bevel. Then you should clean well (for example, with a knife) a cut of hemp. For a scion that has one or two buds, you need to make an oblique cut in its lower part (opposite the lower bud). When making a cut, do not forget to step back from the base of the kidney by 5 cm. Then you need to cut and move the bark at the end of the stock with a knife. The graft is inserted into this section with an oblique incision to the rootstock. If the branch has a diameter of more than five centimeters, two cuttings can be grafted at once on both sides. Usually this grafting method is recommended for the most beginner gardeners, as it does not require very fine work. Also here, the survival rate of branches is much higher than when using other methods. A photo with this method is shown below;
- grafting into the lateral incision. This method is used when it is not possible to vaccinate for the bark. In this case, the cutting is simply inserted into the side cut. To do this, you need to make an indirect cut through the wood and bark on the rootstock-based. At the same time, two longitudinal cuts should be made on the base, which will be connected together. Then you need to carefully introduce the grafted material into the gap on the branch. It is necessary to precisely achieve the coincidence of the cambium and both parts. At the moment the cutting begins to grow, the upper part of the base must be cleaned with a knife. A photo of the final process of this grafting method is shown below.
There are also less applicable methods of vaccination:
- cutting grafting. It is used in case of grafting an overgrown rootstock and, if necessary, growing a bonsai. Sometimes grafting with a cutting is used to patch up damage to an apple tree. For this method, cuttings from one-year growth are used, leaving up to four buds on them. The diameters of the material to be grafted and the base must match. A long oblique cut is made on the rootstock. The stalk is cut with a pruner on one side, and on the other, a cut is made similar to the stock. Then you need to connect the stock and scion;
- grafting in the form of a T-shaped incision. On the basis you need to make an incision in the shape of the letter “T”. The graft is inserted into this incision on the rootstocks;
- vaccination with a sleeping eye or kidney. It is the easiest way and suitable for amateurs. The survival rate of the kidneys is very high. Good for the wild.
Video “Spring grafting of apple trees”
With the features of grafting apple trees in the spring can be found in this video.
Conclusion – strapping and processing
The final stage of vaccination is tying and processing the place of cuts and the introduction of the scion.
Most often, the vaccination site is covered with garden pitch, and then it is all tied up with electrical tape. It is best to use black tape. The black color will contribute to the warming of the places of cuts and the introduction of the scion, which will lead to rapid overgrowth and restoration of the pathways in the tree. But some gardeners argue that it is still better to use blue electrical tape. as it is more visible and durable compared to other colors of electrical tape (it does not tear at the time of tying the vaccination). Instead of electrical tape, you can use an elastic tape, which is made of polyethylene (Teflon tape can be used). The strapping is used to fix the position of the grafted cutting, as well as fast and correct fusion. In the process of tying, you should not cover the stalk itself with a film, otherwise it may bloom prematurely.
To prevent infection of the vaccination site, as well as the penetration of pests into it, the strapping is treated with oil paint based on drying oil or drying oil itself.
Grafting is a necessary and useful measure as a stimulator of apple tree productivity. It will help prolong the youth of your fruit tree and make it possible to get different varieties of apples from one tree.