Fruitwise apple tree grafting, the saddle graft

[deadkenny64]

He looks homeless



[5043ellis]

Hi Stephen, I know of an apple tree in a hedge row growing wild, The fruit are exceptionally delicious. The tree is very large and looks fully grown. I would like to take scion cuttings in Feb but there is no new wood from last year or previous recent years that I can tell. How important is the age of the scion. If the diameter were to match that of the root stock would older scion wood be viable.

[ec123456789able]

really informative video, i would love to try grafting someday.

[jamesryanphoto]

If I have an Apple tree suffering from fire blight and I cut it down to about 3 ft tall and graft disease resistant shoots onto it will the tree then become disease resistant or dose the rootstock need to be disease resistant.

[firstbasmen12]

alright stephen what is the diffrence between the saddle and cleft graft and when would you use both? also if you put 4 diffrent varieties of apple on one tree and the all bloom at the same time then will the tree essentially self polinate?

[firstbasmen12]

hey stephen im a young inspired apple grower but i have a few questions.

1)my seeds are just sprouting this spring, how old will they need to be to graft them?

2)what graft would i use

and thats it for now...please reply

[stephenhayesuk]

@firstbasmen12 I discourage people from sowing apple pips, they usually will not be true to the parent. The pip may grow into a new variety but the chances of it being an improvement on the parent are very slim, and by the time you discover what the quality of the fruit is going to be like (usually average minus to inedible), years have gone by when you could have been growing a known variety from a nursery.

If you want to grow a fruit tree, best to buy from a nursery.

[deadreck024]

does it have to be an apple tree root system or can it be any tree's root system?

Can you take a cutting and add rooting gel to the cut and clone it like that?

[stephenhayesuk]

@deadreck024 No, you can only graft apple on to apple. You can grow apple on its own roots, but experience over a couple of centuries or more is that grafting gives more predictable and useful results, and this is what almost everyone does.

[muc0rmuc3do]

can I do this in March?

[stephenhayesuk]

@muc0rmuc3do I graft in late March and early April using scion wood I cut and stored in February. NOW is the time to cut teh wod you want top graft. cut clean 'pencils' of last year's growth and store them in the fridge in a polythene bag with a bit of damp paper or cloth to stop them drying out.

[TTLM77]

Thank you Dr Hayes for introducing this to me. I actually favour this method above all. The saddle seems to drain any water that makes its way into the graft, thus preventing rot/failure. I had some cherry-plums that sprouted on their own. They matured but rather than eat inferior plums i've grafted greengage onto them.

[albow666]

Is it possible to use other spieces for root stock .. say hawthorn, willow, oak or even silver birch?

[stephenhayesuk]

@albow666 'Is it possible to use other spieces for root stock .. say hawthorn, willow, oak or even silver birch?'

no, it has to be apple to apple, although quince and pear are compatible

[skateboy159]

can u use electrical tape and do u need a graft sealer? for grafting

[stephenhayesuk]

@skateboy159 'can u use electrical tape and do u need a graft sealer? for grafting'

I use polythene tape, as long as it makes a watertight seal its OK. But that's the saddle graft which leaves no cut wood exposed (one reason I like it). If you are doing something like a rind or cleft graft, you need something to plug the gaps. You could use putty, clay or plasticine, but a pot of grafting wax is only about £4, will do 100 grafts or so and lasts years, so why make do with something inferior?

[skateboy159]

@stephenhayesuk thanks for the info 

[activeresonator]

Is it possible to grow rootstock from the seeds of apples from one tree, and then use the same tree for harvesting grafting scions in order to produce this kind of apples over again?

Please excuse my ignorance!

[stephenhayesuk]

@activeresonator My friend, I am here to relieve your ignorance! We are all ignorant until we learn.

The answer to your question is that seeds (pips) from any apple if they grow will make a rootstock. You can then graft scion wood on to those new stocks.

However, the qualities of the stocks will be unpredictable. They might be tiny, or massive, or sickly-and you won't know for at least 3 or 4 years. Its a risky way to save 2 dollars. Better to buy stocks of known qualities from a nursery.

[PhilipK100]

Is it possible to grow Apple Trees in Northern Ireland? Just asking :)

[stephenhayesuk]

@PhilipK100 yes indeed Philip. Bramley is the main apple grown in NI by far. The wet cool climate is not ideal for apples but you can certainly grow them. You would do well to get some local research done about which varieties do best locally.

I expect you will have an issue with apple scab which flourishes in wetter climates. Do not consider planting scab susceptible varieties and be prepared to use some fungicide.

[Caleb4201986]

Fukkin Awesome!!!

[binashraf]

when is the best time of year for grafting?

[stephenhayesuk]

@binashraf

middle to late spring

[binashraf]

@stephenhayesuk thanx :) what month would you say is best? what month did you do your one, the one that has a 5 months later video for it aswel?

[stephenhayesuk]

@binashraf I did this graft in April. It may be different each year depending on temperature, but as a rule I cut the grafting scion wood in February and do the graft in April.

Of course, if you were in Australia it would be 6 months different

[binashraf]

@stephenhayesuk great! thanks very much! your videos are great by the way!

[binashraf]

@stephenhayesuk do you keep the scions in water from february to april?

[stephenhayesuk]

@binashraf No. I keep them wrapped in a polythene bag in the fridge. Alternatively, in a wet sack in a cool place outdorrs, e.g. behind a water butt or shed.

[stephenhayesuk]

2 years later......the apple trees which grew from this successful grafting have been planted out. There is a video. Not showing off, just showing it can be done. What you see is what you get.

[Z14TR49252]

I have a question is it necessary to use grafting wax when you are using plastic wrap like you are? Does it help the survivability rate of the graft?

[stephenhayesuk]

@Z14TR49252 I never use grafting wax when doing the saddle graft (except to seal the cut end of the scion if I need to cut it). Likewise, there is no need to use grafting wax when doing chip budding, in both cases there are no gaps which need sealing.

I use Tenax grafting wax for cleft grafts and rind grafts, to seal gaps to prevent air drying out the living surfaces of cut wood.

[Z14TR49252]

@stephenhayesuk Thank you for the help!

[AstroRef68]

Vary undarstanding .

thanks for your work.

[570RY73113R]

Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

[BestFruitNow]

thanks for the instruction!

[Teorispa]

Is that glove you're wearing on your right hand, a special sort of material? I always use gloves when pruning but I always get a blister from it, wonder if there's a sort of fabric I should look for to avoid it.

[stephenhayesuk]

just a regular cycle glove, more for cold than safety

[kidwiththeface814]

stupid question i am sure. if i cut a small hardwood whip like a small oak or maple and grafted an apple whip to the top is that certain death? or would it give it a boost since it is already rooted?

[stephenhayesuk]

Its not a stupid question, I assume you asked as you don't know, so the stupid thing would be not to ask.

you can only graft apple to apple, oak or maple-no chance of success. Beng rooted makes no difference, its the genetics that are crucial, more than that i can't say, I never studied botany, but apples will only sucees on an apple rootstock

Some hardwood fuits do have a range of compatibilities, for example pear and quince and a few others.

[krisshoe]

I was actually wondering the same thing. Thanks for answering this.

[putevireligije]

Can i graft my lemon in this month

[stephenhayesuk]

I have never grafted a lemon or other citrus, so I hesitate to offer advice.

The best month for grafting depends on where you are in the world. I graft my apples in early spring. Grafting in late autumn/early winter (which is the current season in England where I live) would guarantee failure as the wood is going dormant and so can't heal the grafting wounds. But if you are in the southern hemisphere now might be the right time.

But as I said, I know nothing of grafting citrus.

[putevireligije]

Thanks

[ballhitch2]

are all the whips in this vid from seperate root systems. if not are the rest cut away after graft takes

[stephenhayesuk]

I raised these whips by cutting down and earthing up MM106 stocks, which had not been used and had grown too large for my purposes. Each sent up about 4-7 whips, I cut out the weaker whips and grafted on to the stronger ones. The whole area will be dug up this winter, successful grafts will be sold or planted out elsewhere, either in final positions or to grow on with more space. remaining new whips from the rootstock bed will be planted out elsewhere and grafted or budded in 2010.

[stablescentre]

Where can I obtain rootstock from in the uk. Rabbits have devasted my orchard and I want to graft about 30 trees

[stephenhayesuk]

bad luck! Your trees may survive if you prevent further damage, even if the rabbits have completely girdled the tree sometimes you can save it by bridge grafting, the technique is in R J Garner 'grafters handbook' but I must admit I have only tried this twice. Once I failed, the other one I'm waiting to see if it will work

Rootstocks can be obrained from blackmoor nurseies, or Scotts of merriot, google either. You can dig up suckers from apple trees roots and use them as rootstocks too.

[roborexasaurus]

We have a Sumac Tree in New York. Landscaping people cut off the branches of it because of vines. It looks ugly, so we were wondering if we could grapht some fruit-bearing tree onto it. Thank you.

[yomoma2147]

Can you graft an Asian Pear to a granny smith apple?

[stephenhayesuk]

I don't believe you can. I don't know for certain, it all depends on whether they are genetically compatible. You certainly can't succesfully graft a pear on to an apple.

[Smashley044]

i want to graft some breeds of apples together. But I don't Know where to get any of the saplings where I live (Michigain). I want to find apple saplings of :Brock apples&Pearmain apple & red delicoius &golden delicious&granny smith. do you by any chance now the name of some large breeds of apples? When i was in elmentary school some girl brought in a huge it was called Palua something . I was wondering if you knew anything about that

[stephenhayesuk]

Hi everyone. I have just posted (3rd May 2009) a further video response which shows a bit more about managing saddle grafts. If you watch this it gives a little bit more information specifically about removing the tape and shows a succesful graft, plus one which was OK but some damage was caused by not remorivong the tape earlier, a useful lesson.

Thanks for the interest, the original saddle graft video comes up on Google number 1 on apple +tree+ graft search.

[stephenhayesuk]

''would it be possible to graft a cutting from an apple tree to a small hazel tree? ''

No. They are very different kinds of plant.

[areeba2]

would it be possible to graft a cutting from an apple tree to a small hazel tree?

[PSNjizzcake]

could you make a video on starting apple trees from cuttings? I am not sure which branches to use and where to cut.

[stephenhayesuk]

You can't make good apple trees from cuttings, that's the point of grafting.

I have said this before, but to clarify

-each apple variety came originally from a new seedling from a cross-pollinated pip

-usually, the new variety's root system is unpredictable or unreliable

-THEREFORE the clonal variety is propagated by grafting or budding on to a clonal rootstock of known and useful qualities

you can take rooted cuttings or suckers from rootstocks, eg. MM106, and grow them to graft to.

[martious1]

would it be possable to have a tree that grows 4 different types of same or different fruit of simuler size?

[stephenhayesuk]

it is possible to grow 4 different varieties of apple on one apple stock, such plnats are often sold as 'family trees' usually with 3 varieties. Whether this is a good idea or not is debateable, one variety usually comes to dominate the others, but it can be done. but not different kinds of fruit (e.g. pear, lemon, plum) as they are too geneticall different.

[mrjoesa]

I have apple seedling from cross pollination. I wish graft to rootstock by TOP WORKING. Is it Right? How long its graft will flowering??

[stephenhayesuk]

top working is a technique of multiple grafts to convert an apple tree to another apple variety.

To try out a new variety from a cross pollinated seedling the technique of grafting is the same. If successful, in year 1 you get some growth, year 2 fruit buds on previous year's growth, year three flower and hopefully fruit.

grafting from a cross pollinated seedling is a gamble. You might be lucky, but be prepared for the seedling to be less good than the original-most are.

all the best

[leefoll]

I have made 4 graft attempts on apple trees. i have one success. After watching this video. I think I am going to practice on more grafts even if I have to prune the grafts off next year. Just to perfect the technique you used.. I only have two trees to work with. Thanks,

[LTF85199]

Can i graft an apple on a pare tree or vice verse?

[stephenhayesuk]

in a word, no.

apples to apples, pears to pears (or quince, odd, but true) cherry to cherry, plum to plum, citrus to citrus.

the various root stocks have been bred selectively for best results and are propagated from root cuttings, but you can graft any apple on to any apple, but pears and apples don't mix.

[LTF85199]

hey stephen thanks always wondered!

[praedormitium]

Directly no, but with one intermediate step it´s possibly.

You first graft quince (Cydonia oblonga) on your pare tree and then next year when the quince is adnate you can graft apple on the quince part.

The quince-step is possibly for apple, pare and medlar.

[stephenhayesuk]

I'm prepared to believe this is possible, praedormitium, but I'll stick with what I know

[SanitySource]

i enjoyed this video :)

is there a video of the tree after it has grown more and grafted successfully?

[stephenhayesuk]

thanks

the video response I posted above shows how the trees grew away succesfully.

[stephenhayesuk]

Hi Joe. Rootstocks are propagated from cuttings, splitting or layers. I have propagated my own MM106 stocks by cutting a stock down at ground level, earthing it up, and letting shoots grow up. You then remove them next winter with as much root as possible and set them out. Obviously you have to buy or scrounge your original stocks.

The different stocks (MM106, M27 etc)were produced in the same way as the original varieties-by experimental trials and error over many generations.

[JoePower22]

Stephen, your videos are great and quite helpful. From watching your videos i now understand grafting much better. I was wondering though about the rootstocks. I know you can buy them from any nursury, and there are a bunch of types, but how does someone grow their own? And what causes them to become dwarfs? Are they just taken from cuttings and allowed to root? Or is it all about how you initially cut them back when they are young? Sorry for the long question haha. Thanks a lot.

[acarlk]

i appreciate the video very much/i live in arkansas,a state in the united states,i am wondering the best month to try my grafting

[stephenhayesuk]

PS sorry, I didn't read the question carefully enough.

If the suckers arise above the ground, they will obviously not have any roots. your best option is to cut then out and discard. You could ty to root them by piling up soil and leaving a year fo the suckers to root into tthe soul, but you would be better off attending to the tree's needs first and foremost and buying in some rootstocks to graft if you want to.

stephen

[stephenhayesuk]

PART 2 response to marcfalmer

With your 'every limb pointing upwards' tree, I would totally cut out the branches in the centre of the tree, then cut back the outer branches quite low to outward facing twigs or buds. This will lead to a more open shape over a year or 2.

Please-this is a general comment and may not be correct, I haven't seen your tree. Neglected trees can often be restored to good cropping, if possible this is better than cutting down and replanting.

[marcfalmer]

Thank you for this video, it is very useful. I have a question: We have apple trees that have several suckers each growning up from their bases. Could we dig up the suckers and replant them to be used as rootstalk?

[stephenhayesuk]

Good question Marc-the answer is yes. I have done this myself.

Get them up with as much roots as possible, plant them out in moist soil, keep them free of weeds, and in the second year you will be able to graft them. If the suckers have really good roots and are at least 5 mm thick, you could try grafting them in spring 2009.

If they arise above ground level and so have no roots, you could pile soil up against them-they will root into this and make stocks for next year.

Happy New Year

[marcfalmer]

Thank's for responding. Our suckers are above the ground some are 6-7 ft and tangled in the tree. The previous owners obviously did not take care of them. I have another question. We have 3 trees, One produced some apples but they were shriveled up when we moved here last fall,we are going to remove the 7 ft suckers and prune some, I think it will be all right next year. Another one has every limb and branch pointing upward,it only grew a couple of apples to our knowledge, is it worth saving?

[stephenhayesuk]

thanks for the question marc.

suckers that big might not transplant so easily as smaller ones, it depends how much root they prove to have when you dig them out. No harm trying, you will have to make a judgement. cut them back hard

the tree which is very upright and fruited poorly last year may be worth saving. Some trees only crop every other year (unless carefully pruned). What you could do is cut back hard to outward facing branches and see what happens. (comment continued next post)

[zacapu209]

Man he make it look so easy.Well I got a grafting tool so I'll try to see if it works.

[fly2000jtb]

What time of year is it?

[stephenhayesuk]

I graft in late March/early April. Timing is critical for successful grafting. Cut the wood to be grafted in (scion wood) in deep winter dormancy but not too late or it may dry out in storage.February is ideal. Store it cool and damp, I usually store minie in a plythen bag in the fridge. Do the graft just as spring is coming on and the leaves are starting to burst, usually late March/early April, In England anyway. It would be around June in Australia/New Zealand.

[Shudderdun]

Hi,

MANY THANKS for your videos, think they are wonderful you put them over so well and have inspired me to "have a go" myself.

I've planted five MM106 rootstocks in my garden for cordons(amazed upon the length of the root system)

Might try some M27 for pots

Took your advice and bought a Kidds Orange Red to accompany my Sunset, Laxtons Superb and an unknown.

Do you think you might be able to show some bud grafting later on in the year ???

Thanks once again, Brilliant !

[stephenhayesuk]

Thanks for these kind words

I will do a video on how to do chip budding later, this is a late summer activity. I thought about doein one last year, but I found several really good sites ( I forget where) on chip budding, you can Google for them, which told the story at least as well if not better than I could.

Chip budding is really easy, but I tend to use saddle grafting as it suits my circumstances better.

[stephenhayesuk]

Thanks everyone, I had no idea how popular these videos would be when I put them up.

 I plan to do a lot of grafting over the 2008/2009 winter and will put more vids up unless it gets into undue repetition.

Since this saddle graft vid has been the most popular, I will probably put more up to amplify the technique. Please let me know what other grafting issues you want covered. What I learned from books and experience, I'm glad to share on the great medium of youtube.

[gilasny]

Love your videos ... very informative. Can we use something else instead of wax. I am having trouble find some in my area. Thanks.

[stephenhayesuk]

Hi Wax is not absolutely essential, depending on which method of grafting you use. With a saddle graft, the live edges of the wood (cambium) should be in contact, so all you need to do to exclude air is wrap them well with polythene tape. Other means of grafting I have shown do leave gaps which allow the live wood to dry out and it will not then bond cambium to cambium, so you need to fill in the gap with something. Vaseine (white soft paraffin) would probably do it, or modelling clay.

[robomantis]

I have seen people with 5 fruit trees. I'm confused how it works with 5 different types of trees like pears, apple, and a few others. I was planning on getting one. But will it work with 5 different types?

[Robzter23]

Why you sound like your scared when you talk

[stephenhayesuk]

Hi Robzter. I think my English accent may give you the impresion of my being scared, but hey, anyone who isn't scared these days is living in a dream world! But I'm usually pretty peaceful and relaxed at the orchard, all that green is good for you.

Apologies for the sniffing, I need to take frequent sharp intakes of breath to keep the narrative up and my nose is usually partly blocked with cold (this is England, you know), its been broken twice in fights when I was a kid.

[looooool5]

thanks for the video!

[stephenhayesuk]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the views. I am about to post a follow up video showing how well these graft have done by late July.

This sadle graft technique is my favourite, its easy if you do it carefully, good for either raising new trees on rootstocks or top working a tree over to a different variety.

kind regards, remember the biggest mistake is not to try.

[stephenhayesuk]

posted it. I had no idea how much interest there would be in grafting apple trees, this video like my others is so imperfect but seems to meet a need. Thanks again for honouring my humble efforts by viewing and linking to it from far and wide. The more recent sadel grafting vid, just posted, proves that this technique works, like I said it would back in March.

[Badger737]

Hi, I have an oldish apple tree left over from an orchard which was built over in 1932. It produces "cooking" apples at the moment but I would like to graft on some eaters. First question, can a tree sustain different varieties ant the same time? If so, where would I be able to obtain some scion wood to graft on? Thanks in advance

[stephenhayesuk]

Hi Badger 737.

Yes, you can graft several different varieties of apple on to one tree, this is done commmercially as 'family' trees where you have, usually, 3 different varieties. I've done this myself.

Getting scion wood could either be from a nursery or you could scrounge some from a friend or neighbour.

[jsaulgodoy]

hi i have a question

can you graft two different species of fruit trees? like apples and grapes? or do they have to be in the same family?

[stephenhayesuk]

you can only graft the same species, apple to apple, grape to grape, plum to plum etc. Actually there is a bit of overlap, for example between quinces and pears, but there is no way you could graft apples and grapes, the biology is too different.

[antifoundational]

Thank you for sharing! I found your knot very useful too. I had to slow down the video a bit to see exactly what you did at times though.

[cutlerylover]

great video! Very interesting, of course I love the opinel! I have heard of this, but it was nice to see the process in a video like this, thanks for posting!