Grafting recently transplanted apple trees

10 years ago

I just transplanted some 5 year old apple trees I started from seeds. I had them planted in the ground in 3 galon pots, and probably lost 50-75% of the roots when I dug them up to move them. I have been told to cut the tops back an equal percentage to the estimated root structure loss so as not to stress the trees too much. Is it possible/predictable to graft these trees where I'll be pruning them, or not?

Comments (7)

curtis
10 years ago
Yes, you can. Prune it higher then your chosen graft points so when you are ready to graft you can do a fresh cut. I wouldn't graft until leaves start on the tree. Keep one small original branch to get photosynthesis started while the grafts are bonding together
alan haigh
10 years ago
Grafts often fail when done to trees recovering from transplant. I'd wait a year, but if you don't mind possibly a wasted effort you may get some to take but the probable slow growth may not get you home sooner.

Personally, I don't bother grafting trees not in vigorous growth any more.
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This isn't a debate. Marc00 loves those trees and thinks that they are beautiful. I do not believe that he is interested in the variety, nor do I think that he wants to plant small grafted whips. With a little bit of accurate information from him, it will be much easier to explain that this is not an ordinary transplanting project, but something that will require specialized equipment and professional expertise in order to be successful. But there is a large difference between a tree that has a diameter of 8 inches and one that has a circumference of 8 inches. Yikes!!!!
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kyyada
10 years ago
I had a tree expert tell me that for every inch in caliper make the root ball eighteen inches. That was for trees in general, I would guess it applies to fruit trees too. so use that as your guide as to how much roots are missing.
alan haigh
10 years ago
Formulas are comforting and helpful up to a point, but the requirements of a mature tree are bound to be different than those for an immature tree (once a tree is devoting energy to fruit and/or seed production they become much less vigorous)- and they vary very widely from species to species and soil to soil- probably double the soil is needed for a sandy soil compared to one high in clay. That is why B and B tree farms usually are selected to have soil high in clay. I've even seen solid blue clay placed in the bottom of the wire baskets they grow them in.
kyyada
10 years ago
It would be very hard to B&B trees in sandy soil where clay holds together. I would think bare root trees would be easier in sandy soil. I watched a this old house episode where they moved a tree by blowing the dirt off the roots with air it was very interesting!

This post was edited by kyyada on Mon, Mar 24, 14 at 9:02
curtis
10 years ago
Harvestman, why is this different then grafting to a rootstock then planting? or do you include rootstock with what you said about this?
alan haigh
10 years ago
Lots of times folks have trouble getting grafts to take when they place them on recently grafted rootstocks unless they do it in a greenhouse where conditions are more forgiving. Commercial nurseries let the rootstock grow for a year or most of a season and graft onto that without disturbing the roots.

Ky, that is a good point, but they generally avoid soils between sands and a rather heavy clay. The capacity of soil to feed a tree is based on weight more than volume if they can get adequate oxygen.

I dream of owning a bare root bearing age fruit tree nursery with ample supplementary water and an almost pure sand soil. Mine is a relatively coarse silt that sheds water like teflon. It works pretty well as far as easy digging once you get around the rocks. I've shifted from in soil bags to bare root for the most part except with pears which suffer terribly when all soil is removed from the roots and they are bearing age.

Grafting recently transplanted apple trees

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curtis

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