Old magazine article on grafting/etc

Article in a Feb 1957 “Popular Mechanics” magazine about a Dr. Karl Sax and his “tricks” he plays on trees. This guy would have been right at home on this forum—link at the end if its too small to read.







2 Likes

It is funny. Sometime I can see picture fine, sometime I can’t . Is it format of pictures or the source of the pictures?? I can’t see any of the image posted here.

I use Photobucket. Hopefully it works now.

Great post. Bill

1 Like

I had come across this article a few yeas ago. I forgot about it and was doing some searching and came across it again. This sort of stuff I find very interesting.

I prefer the stories about how flying cars are just around the corner.

What an interesting article! Do those techniques really work?

Bark inversion to create a dwarf tree.

Make the sapling tree into a knot to dwarf it?

Graft peaches and plums onto Nanking cherry for dwarfing and super precosity?

I’ve read several grafting books and never heard of these. These methods sound simple and easy. But do they work?

I don’t know If they work. Using Nanking cherries to dwarf trees is what caught my attention. Bill

I can read the article now, great article BTW, thanks for posting it. I have heard and read the techniques before, thought it was a common knowledge. I have a mulberry tree that grows too vigorous. I can try to knotted to see if the techniques works or not

I know bark inversion works. I’ve read about that for years. I’ve never tried it. I know pulling down branches induces fruiting sooner.

Another method that the University of MN uses on apples is to bud seedlings to older trees to get faster flowering. This is how they test lots of apples quickly vs growing them all out for years.

Its pretty cool stuff. I wonder if this guy learned it on his own or was it passed down? You would imagine Europeans at one time or another would have found some of this out, same with Chinese and Persians… etc.

This is been on the internets for a long time, but gives you an idea of how to do it… I would like to try with a seedling…if i screw up oh well.

Thanks for posting warm…I always find it interesting when I come across this stuff. I posted a video a while back from 67chevyimpala (a professional grafter) who spoke of interstems grafted in upside down to slow growth. In the particular case he spoke of it actually slowed growth too much.
I suppose the bark-ring inversion is the same thing. Until you posted this I had not heard of the technique being used before or since.
I wonder why it works? I’m guessing formed callous tissue simply restricts nutrient flow through the cambium thereby acting as though it’s on dwarfing stock.
It would be cool is someone here would try this to see. Like you said, seedling stock would be best to try it on since also it would be easier to quantify the results. And as you say, if you screwed it up…no big deal.

As far as whether this guy “discovered” this on his own…I seriously doubt it. Like you say, people have been working with fruit trees and experimenting for so long that no doubt this was well known and understood centuries ago. Every so often though someone digs up this type of info and it’s always cool and interesting stuff when they do.

Again, thanks for posting this. I really enjoyed it…the ads in the margins are a hoot too!

me too!

Apple-

I honestly have no idea how it works, although I tend to believe (from what i’ve read) it has to do with the flow of nutrients/water from roots on up. A few years ago after i had read this i tried looping a tall apple seedling but i was too late and the wood was just to stiff to get it to loop…i think you would have to time it just right to get a nice loop. You got to wonder over time if all of that would just graft into one mess? You would think after a couple decades it would turn into one big knot.

I have about 30 stonefruit seedlings of various types outside right now growing so maybe i’ll experiment a little. I’m trying to get some apple seedlings going too.

I was thinking the same thing about the big knot grafting together. The apple seedlings are super easy, but they grow much better outside in pots. The very immature apple seedlings are extremely prone to damping off inside in trays unless precautions are taken to avoid it.
Once they get past that stage of vulnerability to mold/mildews they grow like weeds and are tougher than pine knots.

I’ve done bark inversion, just for grins, on a couple of pecan seedlings, from time to time. You get a big ugly knot at the site. Didn’t maintain those for any length of time - just did it to see if I could -
so I can’t say whether it ‘dwarfed’ them, or brought them into bearing sooner.

I can tell you from experience that grafting a plum onto Nanking cherry is super dwarfing- but not precocious!

I made that graft seven years ago and it took beautifully, but I’m still waiting for a bloom. The tree is genuinely dwarf and not at all vigorous. Not unhealthy- just not eager to grow. I suspect it will bloom this spring and I’m really excited to see.

Marknmt, what did you graft onto the Nanking cherry?

It was and Italian prune plum. I put three grafts onto different branches of the small, purchased rootstock. As I recall there was a whip and tongue, a cleft, and a chip. All three took cleanly and I removed all but the whip and tongue. I pulled the leader over to a 45 degree angle eventually, but other than that I’ve done very little in the way of training and very little pruning at all.

Should mention that a root sucker from the same source and planted at the same time is also quite small and has not bloomed yet either, so there may be something else going on. One of the same clone sickened and died two years ago. But others from the clone have done quite well. We’ll see.

I once saw where an experienced grafter made a ladder by grafting two trees. It would be difficult for the best grafter. Some of these old articles are fascinating.

1 Like