The Guidance Of Grafting Fruit Trees That You Should Know
Did you know that you can create more than 10 apple trees from only a mature tree in your garden? In fact, many people, especially those having experience in planting trees will graft their fruit trees in order to create new lives for them. If you do not know what to do with your plants, please do not skip our blogs because we are here to help you make it possible. Moreover, we will show you some grafting fruit trees problems that you can avoid in the whole process.
The Purpose of Grafting Fruit Trees
There are several reasons why people decided to graft fruit trees instead of growing them from the seeds.
- It takes a long time to create satisfying results. For example, an avocado tree needs nearly 8 years to bear its fruits by growing it from the seeds. So, grafted fruit trees are one of the best solutions for these cases. Plus, you can save your time and money for other purposes.
- The taste of fruits from grafting is better than from the seeds. Because the quality of many fruits is improved by cross-pollination methods, they can have DNA from their parents' trees. If you choose the seed, that tree may not look like your available one from the taste and the appearance due to it does not have any upgrading.
- With its improved DNA, the new tree can resist pests and diseases better. Moreover, they can enhance the ability to withstand the impact of the environment.
What Do You Need Before Completing the Grafting Process?
Before grafting any trees, you must check your available one to make sure that it is healthy enough and be ready for this process. The plant can be grafted which must have a cambium.
A cambium (plural cambia or cambiums), in plants, is a tissue layer that provides partially undifferentiated cells for plant growth. It is found in the area between the xylem and phloem. It forms parallel rows of cells, which result in secondary tissues. - Wikipedia source
Next, this is the time to search what trees you will graft to create the new generation. You should choose the suitable species together, for example, apple - apple, pear -pear. If you want to mix strange species, the best way for you is to ask some experts or find information about them on the Internet. Here is an example of grafting fruit trees:
Then, the tools are very essential. If you choose the wrong one or not sterilization, you can frustrate both of your new and old ones. All things you need to prepare are a sharp knife, scissors, bandage, and medical gloves. Make sure that everything is sterilized to avoid the infection from the cut by wiping it with isopropyl alcohol. Besides that, you should wear medical gloves during the process not only to protect your hands but also to keep the trees always clean.
Step by Step Grafting Fruit Trees
Firstly, you should cut the section of two partner trees that you want to graft with a sharp knife. You must ensure that you have chosen the right species to graft because the result depends largely on this decision. In addition, the best time to graft fruit trees is late winter into early summer. The tree will grow rapidly during this period.
Besides that, when you cut the tree, you must remove the water sprouts which are on the base of the tree. But, you need to keep 4-6 hardy pieces on the branches of the trees which are 10-12 inches in length and about the diameter of a pencil.
After cutting the branches, use scissors to hew it cleanly and keep it in a bucket of water to make it always wet in the whole process. There are three common types of grafting fruit trees which are Bank Grafting, Fits like a Puzzle, and Buds Grafting.
Grafting Fruit Trees Techniques You Can Use
1. Bark Grafting
Many people use this technique to improve the quality of the old tree. Plus, they also want to create a new generation in order to enhance productivity. Use your knife to peel the bark of the tree to expose the cambium and then, insert the partner section into it. This method not only is easy to complete but also brings an effective result.
2. Fits like a Puzzle
Those who like the Puzzle game will not find any difficulty grafting fruit trees with this technique. It is also called “ The Whip and Tongue Technique”. The special note in this process is to make the cuts matching together. Furthermore, you should prepare some wax and stick the new branch with a bandage or elastic. But we recommend you should practice the cutting operation with a small wooden stick before making this real process.
3. Buds Grafting
If you accidentally miss the period between the late winter and spring, you can do it in the summer by Buds Grafting. Firstly, you take a bud from a branch which you will graft with the other. Second, graft it with the partner and ensure both of them are compatible. You must insert them in a T-shape or a chip cut. The picture below is an example of buds grafting on a lemon tree.
How To Keep The Product Of Grafting Fruit Trees Healthy?
When you finish grafting fruit trees, it is very important to take care of them in order to help them develop and heal “the pain”. But, what should you do? Follow these useful tips for your trees:
- Each tree has its own frequency of watering, so you have to know when your tree needs water to provide for them in time.
- The amount of water must be enough for the tree. Please avoid watering too much because it can negatively impact its health or even death.
- Try to fertilize them regularly, especially during the growing season. The reason is to provide more nutrition for them. Plus, you should choose high-quality liquid fertilizers for plants because some other kinds may have substances that are not good for trees if you fertilize in the long term. Otherwise, some trees have their own fertilizers so you need to search for information about it.
- Make sure the trees receive stable light and temperature.
Common Grafting Fruit Trees Problems
Pests and diseases may attack your fruit tree after grafting. In addition, it can meet some other problems from the environmental impact. If you see any sign of pests on your tree, the best solution is to use insect sprays and keep the tree clean as a way to avoid pests problems.
To get the highest outcome, you should put them in the right place where there is suitable light, humidity, and temperature. Otherwise, you can see the leaves of the tree to realize any problem. For instance, if the leaves appear spots, the common reason relates to the light and fertilizers.
So this is your time to become a talented gardener! We hope that you can experiment with grafting fruit trees easily after seeing our blog. Good luck!