A suitable base for the grafting
In professional horticulture, special supports are usually used for grafting apple trees. Growth bases such as M9 or M11 offer precisely calculable root and trunk growth and thus a stable and vital substructure for a healthy treetop. You can purchase such documents for your experiments in your own garden from specialist fruit trees. Most of the time, self-grown seedlings also give satisfactory results. It is important for the approximately five-year-old seedlings that they have a straight trunk with healthy leading branches.
also read
- Grow an apple tree yourself
- Successfully refine an apple tree yourself
- Sow an apple tree from seeds yourself
The actual process of grafting
You should cut the vines of the desired cultivar between the beginning of December and the end of January, when the tree is at its most pronounced sap. These are kept cool and moist until March or April, when the climatic conditions are optimal for grafting. For storage, you can, for example, stick the Reiser in damp sand or - if available - keep it in a rock cellar. The rice should neither dry out nor get too wet.
You should have the following items ready for grafting:
- the planned master document
- several well-stored corymbs with a length of at least 10 centimeters
- a sharp and clean knife and planting scissors
- some pieces of twine
- Wound wax for wound sealing
For the connection of the noble branch with the cambrian layer of the tree, the planned branch and the noble branch are cut diagonally opposite. Then both are pressed together and fixed with binding tape and wound wax. Depending on the weather, you should make sure that no rainwater gets between the two halves.
Important advice for grafting
While five or six leading branches on a tree can be refined at the same time, the central trunk should not be cut off. During the first phase, this serves as a valve into which the tree can divert excess energy. This is the only way for the vines to get enough time to connect to the tree's sap system. In addition, the so-called juice balance should be adhered to by grafting all branches at about the same height.
Tips & Tricks
For beginners, the exact technique of grafting is not always easy to understand. Since a 100% success rate is not guaranteed even with professionals, several apple trees should be grafted at the same time for reasons of motivation.
