How to Graft Apple Scions

Many apple trees are grafted onto other rootstock to increase hardiness.

The majority of apple trees raised today are not grown on their own roots. Instead, the branches of desirable apple trees, known as scions, are grafted onto the roots of hardy apple or crabapple tree roots. Grafting has many advantages over growing own-root trees. Grafted apple trees are resistant to soil-borne diseases and may be more cold hardy than own-root apple trees. There are several ways to graft apple scions. According to the University of Minnesota, cleft grafting is one of the best methods.

Things You'll Need

• Grafting knife
• Garden twine
• Plastic gallon-size food storage bag
• Saw
• Mallet
• Grafting chisel
• Asphalt grafting emulsion

Instructions

1. Collect apple scions from dormant apple trees at any point from late fall to early spring. Cut scions from younger branches located on the lower portion of an apple tree. Apple scions should come from a branch that has a history of producing superior fruit. Each scion should be at the tip of a branch. It should be between 6 and 12 inches long and at least 1/2 inch in diameter.

2. Bundle all scions together with garden twine and place them in a plastic 1-gallon freezer bag. Place scions in a refrigerator at 40 degrees Fahrenheit to store them until it is time to graft them.

3. Observe root stock trees to determine the best time to graft scions. When the trees begin to produce buds, it is time to graft the scions. Remove the trunk of a smaller tree or the branches of a larger tree to prepare the root stock.

4. Place the point of a chisel onto the sawed-off stump of the root stock. Hammer the chisel into the stump to create a cleft. Make sure that the chisel cuts the bark and wood cleanly and does not split the wood.

5. Cut the end of the scion to a blunt point using your grafting knife. Each side of the point should be cut at a 45 degree angle. One side should be thicker. The other side should have a longer cut.

6. Insert the scion into the cleft cut of the root stock. Make certain that the bark along the cut in the scion and the bark in the root stock cleft align. The bark will heal together in a successful graft.

7. Cover the union of the bark in grafting emulsion. If your graft is successful, the scion should heal so that it grows on the root stock.

References

• University of Minnesota Extension: Grafting and Budding Fruit Trees
• University of Missouri Extension: Grafting - Common Terms
• University of California: Scion Wood For Grafting

Resources

• University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension: Dwarf Root Stocks for Apple Trees