We have been selling Elderberry cuttings for a few years and we are considering selling some Apple and Peach scionwood this year. Seems crazy to continue to flail several acres of prunings if they have value!
What would you consider the perfect diameter for Apple scionwood and Peach scionwood?
A few years back when i asked… i was told pencil size. Most seemed to agree on that.
I sent Dax some mulberry cuttings once and he specifically asked for 1/2 inch.
If I have rootstock that is 5/16 inch… i want my scion to match 
I’ve gotten to where I prefer them a bit thinner than “pencil sized” but certainly bigger than a wooden matchstick. When the wood is small enough to bend when you’re trying to cut it you need more skill than I bring to the effort. That’s for apple -I’ve never done peach.
I feel the industry standard has kind of settled on pencil size for whatever reason… probably because it matches the wholesale rootstock commonly grown. Not all species and cultivars will reach that size consistently though, which can confuse/upset some buyers that don’t understand that. I personally like grafting with smaller wood. I have begun selling some scion myself and sell the largest diameter I have and use the smaller for my own grafting for the nursery. My policy is (and I’m upfront at the time of sale in the item description) that if the scions are on the smaller side I’ll send 2 of them. Seems to work pretty good for both buyer and seller alike.
Without doing any measurements, I’d say half the thickness of a pencil all the way to pencil thick. I have grafted thinner and thicker successfully, but it can get a little challenging to do accurate cuts.
I think it also depends a lot on the grafting method you are using. I use splice grafts and I want the scion to match the wood I’m grafting to as closely as I can so I save a lot of wood expecting to only use a fraction of it. I reach through my bags for the appropriate diameter, from much thinner that a pencil to the thickness of a typical pen all the way to a Sharpie permanent marker. I often use the thickest wood for peach grafts.
I believe I tend to get more growth from thicker pieces the first year… up to a point. I’m not grafting onto root stocks but on trees poised for vigorous growth, using water sprouts for the most part.
I wish I had Oscar’s eyes and manipulation skills. I get a feeling he can graft gnat hairs.
I’d go with 1/4"'ish either way.
Enjoyed your website!
Checked out the size of the scionwood on your website.
Is that about the size that most folks want?
I haven’t grafted Apples,only read that they are one of the easiest to get takes with.Peaches are one of the more difficult ones for me.So,the thicker works better,usually.
I think that skinny scions tend to dry out quicker and fail. When cutting smaller diameter scions I make the graft longer. That may not hold true for all but it seems to work for me.
Seems to be so far in my experience.
Pencil size or smaller is my preference but im not that picky.
You can almost push a scion into a pear tree and it will take. Apples are not quite as forgiving, but almost. Stonefruit is another story and I think size may matter more for it. The bark doesn’t resist evaporation as well, I’m guessing.
I mostly chip bud. so size does not matter that much.
When i have a choice however i would pick around 8mm thickness for graftwood.
A thing thats more important to me however is not the thickness but the maturity of the buds/wood.
The tip of the shoots is not as good as the base of a shoot.
It seems to matter more for stonefruit than pitfruit. And matter more for earlier grafting.
See here for example.
I’ve noticed that as well, and that lower in the shoot buds tend not to be so well developed, which is weird, because they are older at the base, right?. I like getting wood from big sucker sprouts so that higher up in the shoots the wood is thicker.
yea, the first few cm (or inc) there are really small underdeveloped buds. Same spot where cherry makes some of the largest cherry’s. I think those form soon after sprouting of the terminal bud in spring and that’s why there under developed.
I got some skinny scions of black limbertwig apple and AU producer plum last spring.
The big end was like 3/16 inch.
I did a long whip (no tounge) and all were successful.
Once that long whip was cut… it looked risky to me to try and add the tounge cut.
I got more scions of BLT in the mail yesterday and noticed they are on the skinny side. BLT may just be a tree that does not produce thicker scionwood.
My sisters persimmons (Rich Tooie) does not produce hardly any 1/4 inch scion. Most is a bit smaller than that. Her trees are probably 50-60 years old… she told me last week that she bought her place 32 years ago and those persimmon trees were in her yard then and were already large trees. Perhaps mature persimmons that never get any type of pruning… produce smaller scionwood.
TNHunter
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If its a tough variety to get, any size is the best size. For common stuff, 1/4 in is nice. I graft apples and pears.
I’d think it’s more to do with how easily/how much they callus. I wrap mine in buddy tape and cover that with al foil. That should prevent evaporation problems. Maybe some don’t wrap their scions.
Ken Coates is the best! One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received for grafting came from him: Stop trying to line up the cambium, cross the cambium and you’re sure to have two points of contact.