Grafting is the best way. Rooting a cutting is hard but is possible. Last option is tissue culture. But if you have to ask it's probably out of your league. It's on the edges of mine so trust when I say it isn't easy for beginners.

Why not take some seeds from the tree in question. Grow them to get a rootstock. If that's allowed to fruit the fruit will be different than the old tree. So bud or graft scions of the old tree onto the seedling rootstock. That way all parts of the resulting tree will be from the original.

Or you could just buy a tree on standard rootstock, not dwarf, and bud that to the tree you wish to save.

Are you aware of air layering?

All apples of the same variety are clones. Why bother going to the trouble of taking a cutting from the tree? Why not buy a new Macintosh tree?

One thing you should realize though, if it is not growing on grafted rootstock, the tree will eventually grow to become much bigger, but it will also take a long time before it begins producing fruit.

Have someone graft you a new tree from the existing one, on whatever rootstock you want. Send me a message if your interested. We do it for customers all the time.

What have you decided to do? Just buy it because it's a common variety, air layer, or graft?

I'd just buy some rootstock and graft the macintosh to it. if you want a full sized tree use Antonovka or if you want something slightly smaller try M106 or M111.

Or like fruitnut said you can always grow out some of the seeds and then graft some of the wood to the seedlings. You'd be setting your self back a year or two in the development

The OP specifies a full sized tree.

Floral,

The OP does indeed specify a full-sized tree - and for that purpose, grafting onto a 'standard' seedling rootstock would be in order, IMO.

However, most Americans today have no inkling of how LARGE a 'standard' apple tree is likely to become. I still enjoy Ed Laivo's comment in his discussion of dwarf/semi-dwarf/standard rootstocks and how little the general public understood about them... "Standard rootstock; will become as large as an apartment complex. Please purchase additional property" lol

Apple trees grafted onto seedling rootstock can grow to 18 feet tall. An apple grown on its own roots (either from seed or a rooted cutting) can grow to 20-30 feet tall.

You want a real monster, a sweet cherry tree on its own roots can grow to become the size of a big oak tree!

Isn't 18 feet kinda small? Many websites list seedling rootstock trees to be in excess of 30 feet and up to 40 feet.

I hope I'm wrong id rather have a vigorous seedling that tops at under 20 feet.

"..most Americans today have no inkling of how LARGE a 'standard' apple tree is likely to become."

Yes, but the OP specifically stipulates that s/he wants to reproduce a particular tree s/h e knows in person. "I would like to clone a full sized macintosh apple tree that was planted by my grandparents on their farm in 1941." So presumably the OP is well aware of the ultimate size of this tree and actually desires that characteristic.

Can I graft a scion to a crabapple tree?

Hi everyone, thanks for all the responses. I really didn't expect so much information! I think growing rootstock from seed from the original tree, then grafting from that tree sounds interesting. I expect a large tree, the one planted in 1941 is probably 25 feet tall and 30 feet across. This is what I'd consider full size, or standard I guess.

I do have plenty of room, we have an acre yard that gets plenty of sun. I plan on a planting a few fruit trees and maybe a couple pecans. I was thinking trees from the one my grandparents planted would be a neat gift for cousins if I pull it off. Thanks for the advice!

sean, a scion of what?

sorry, I should have been more descriptive, is it possible to graft an apple scion such as McIntosh or empire to a crabapple tree?

Absolutely!

Seems like OP is interested in doing this for reasons deeper than wanting a macintosh apple. I love the idea of growing the seedlings and then grafting the parent onto it's own seeds, thereby retaining the characteristic of the apples as well as the integrity of the 'bloodline' of the tree. Lots of soul in that approach. Best of luck!

Good for you OP you could have one of the none "watered down" varieties of the McIntosh Apple.

All my knowledge of grafting disputes the idea of "watered down" until I learned that with the McIntosh apple tree, (as with the Delicious), over the years the search became to find redder and more commercially viable apples. According to experts, the result was that some sports from earlier McIntosh trees which produced apples with these slight differences in characteristics were propagated, thus the "watering down" of the variety.

In fact the Canadian Gene Bank also distinguishes between 1st generation McIntosh and 2nd generation, I have no idea why.

One of the original 1st generation apples was still alive in 2009 and at that time it was 150 years old.

Thanks for all the comments, I'm learning quite a bit. One more question though. I live right on the line between the Piedmont and coastal plain in North Carolina. We're zone 7 here I believe. Will a Macintosh tree produce here? I've seen different climate recommendations, and I wonder if I'm too far south to have a productive tree? Maybe that's one of the reasons for some of the modifications you speak of?

I do want a full or standard sized tree though. Better to provide some apples for the family that the deer can't reach.

Thanks!

Hi, I am new to this forum but have been raising vegetables and fruit for many years. I remember when I was a child in NH in the late 1940s going to UPick Macintosh orchards and the wonderful taste of fresh apples and cider made from these old orchard trees. Many decades later, I've tried to many Macs looking for that taste and juiciness without much success. So I applaud the OP on wanting to carry on the line of that old mac tree.

I've been experimenting with grafting old apple varieties onto existing orchard trees here in So.Cal. Many seem to do reasonably well (after a couple of years of observation) but the root stock seems important. So, I would recommend a standard root stock recommended for the region and graft several scion pieces of buds to the adapted root stock. Good luck!

OK. So the root stock has quite a bit to do with what climate zone the tree will like. Thanks!

Yes, but consider also the flowering time of the Mac . Early, middle or later in the season. A friend has grafted over 50 varieties onto an stubbed down Ein Sheimer on M111 rootstock. The Ein Sheimer is an early low-chill apple where as most of the scions are high-chill later flowering. So there is some incompatibilities there with some scions not flowering and leafing out until the middle of the summer whereas others never stop growing and flowering. We are trying to figure out what is going on. He and I will be top- grafting some of the same scions onto another mid-season apple to see how they perform compared to the original experiment.