The down side is when such trees have varieties that vary in vigor so that they end up dominated by only the most vigorous ones, which is bound to happen with inexperienced care takers.
If you figure out the relative vigor of varieties and offer trees with compatible ones it would be an amazing new service. Here are a couple ideas. Offer espaliers with 3 tiers starting with two more vigorous varieties as the bottom tier and moderately vigorous in the middle with the least on top. That would be revolutionary. Top tiers usually end up dominant and you either end up with a one tier espalier or you have to cycle out higher tiers as their diameters get too out of whack with the lowest tier.
I often sell two variety trees where I graft the trunk over to a less vigorous variety which makes maintaining the trees in a Christmas tree shape much easier while providing a tree with a much wider harvest season, or whatever you are aiming towards. I would make triple tier trees with the same approach but too many of my customers don’t have deer fencing and also often need baffles to keep off squirrels and coons. First tier starts about 5’ above the ground.
Of course, your ability to sell the trees won’t have much to do with how well they actually work. Your sales line will probably accomplish the sales. I just pruned an espalier apple tree that had been purchased this year for $200. It was only a little over an inch in diameter and had 6 varieties on it with no concern about relative vigor. The upper tier was already out of control with over twice the diameter or the tier below it and even greater diameter than the first tier. What a piece of crap!
If you do it right, it will probably take about 10 years for your reputation to lead to the enhancement of your sales (“choose your own adventure”- only cynics like me will be turned off)- unless you weave it into your sales pitch- then get some media attention and you will be on your way. Maybe you can get Martha Steward to do it for you if you give her about 100 trees. If you let her say it was her idea, she’d probably go for it.
We’re definitely about delayed accomplishments over here. I started an espalier fruit maze on the property in 2020 that’s now entering it’s 4th year of a 10 year project, and even after the 10th year it won’t look exactly like it’s supposed to until all the kinks get worked out which will take more years after that.
But do you plan on grafting multiple (2? 3? 4+?) variety’s on a commercially bought 0-1 year old rootstock? or onto older tree’s with an already established framework?
You say you want people to order 1 year in advance for the multi varietal tree’s?
How do you plan to deal with grafts failing or not leafing out on that custom work?
And what if some-one picks 3 varieties that all are triploids and than complains they don’t get fruit?
I have a lot of tree’s that got grafted with 3-5 different varieties onto a rootstock year of planting. (bought rootstock. no side branches ~2ft long)(grafted by chip budding)
Almost all grafts took. But not all grafts grew a branch.
This will likely also become a problem for you. If grafting onto a young rootstock. It usually has enough vigor to grow a branch from 1-2 or maybe 3 grafts/varieties
So if people “pick their own Adventure” and order a tree with 3 varieties. how are you gonna deal with it. if poor weather or smaller caliper commercial rootstock only has enough vigor to grow out 1 or 2 out of the 3 ordered varieties first year?
Or are you planning to graft on older tree’s that already have side branches?
I think that making multi varietal tree’s is really cool. And could be a good move. But i would either make people order 2 years in advance. (to give you leeway if a graft fail or doesn’t leaf out, but also prune a bit to give a balanced (vigor/thickness of each varieties branch) tree to the costumer)
Or i would grow out tree’s with a fixed variety for 1-2 years and prune to a good framework to than graft multiple varieties on. But this wil likely increase the price.
i think it would be easier to make your own multi variety tree’s. And sell those “as is” and not go the “custom order” route.
Pick varieties that compliment each other (pollination/harvest/season spread)
If only 1 variety on such a tree leaf’s out. you still have a tree you can sell (single variety)
If all/multiple of the grafted varieties leaf out and grow in a balanced way. you could sell that tree with a markup as a multi varietal tree.
This would also circumvent the 1-2 year wait. (which most people don’t like)
It would also be relatively easy to graft an extra variety onto a multi variety tree if people want an extra/different variety (custom work)
TLDR
downsides
-custom work is a lot of hassle. (dealing with costumers and their possible poor choices in the custom work wishes)
-1 year is probably to short a time-frame to reliably make custom multi varietal tree’s from commercially bought rootstock. for anything more than 2 maybe 3 varieties.
-it’s probably better/easier to design/grow your own “design” multi varietal tree’s and market those. And graft varieties onto those on custom orders as an extra premium service. Than to work from scratch as custom order tree’s.
I love those points. We grow our own rootstocks so there’s a small measure of control there. Customer expectations and satisfaction has come up in a lot of the thoughts people have shared here, and it’s definitely something I have to put more thought into.
This is special event land. I’m trying to get on the North Rockbridge Trail first and foremost. I can’t sell loads of apples, but I can share my love of orchards and grafting with others. Specialty grafting sounds so appealing.
I’m a language person (retired speech-language pathologist) and “adventure” doesn’t seem to fit this endeavor - it will be an adventure to you, but something else to your would-be customers (if this was the label you were considering). How about something along the lines of “Choose Your Own Apple Basket” or “Bowl”? I think it conjures up a better picture of what the end result will (you hope) be. And a nice photo of the the end results in a bowl or basket on your label would be very enticing. I love the idea and will probably do something similar as my protected orchard space is rather small. It’s so satisfying to have grafts take and watch the tree grow out. Having different varieties on one tree would be a blast!
I agree with Oscar’s points, while almost any variety can be grafted and as likely to take as others, unless you have a devolved scaffold framework to top work, you will likely end up with an awkward shape and one that is a challenge to control for whoever grows it. Then there’s the whole question of compatible pollen between various varieties that do not cross pollinate one another. One of the best features of a multiple variety tree is that of being able to increase production via cross pollinating. But unless you choose compatible varieties from that perspective, the end result is going to likely be disappointing to your client. Disease resistance is another factor to think about when you mix varieties. So to me you idea does not appeal unless you place some constraints and do a lot of research before agreeing with what a client chooses.
Dennis
Kent, wa
I was at a local event recently where I sold grafted trees, and several folks asked about custom grafted trees. One woman wanted to buy a tree that had the #1 variety of each state that her friend had lived in.
I think it was very similar to our discussion here. I also looked at my rootstock bed and wondered if I could graft using some of those multi year rootstocks that had started to branch as well as grafted trees with several years new variety growth.
I thought about all our suggestions here for specialty grafting like a tree with only cooking varieties, red flesh, russets, etc. Perhaps a combination of small crab varieties contrasted with larger fruit. Black Oxford with ghost for a color difference blast. Lots of ideas! Too bad it takes so long from inception to result.
Because it can take years until a grafted tree is strong enough to ship, or to sell, grafts that don’t take need to be re-grafted, if the grafts are too weak, then they can easily break. The trees also become big, before they are ready to sell, or ship. If I were to offer such a service the trees would probably be at least 6 years old, and need a truck to transport them, and be too big to ship them.
There are some nurseries that offer such a service/offered the service in the past. Yet if they ship or sell the trees out too soon, chances are that at least one graft per tree will fail after the trees were received, that is not uncommon.
Before I started grafting, I ordered a four in one Asian pear from stark bros. In the end, two of the varieties failed. One had fireblight and had to be removed close to the trunk. I added two varieties so I’m back to even.
The price was too high for the value and no better success than with my own trees. One of the branches has turned out to be what I think was the original rootstock–callery? Very vigorous, thick branches, long sharp spines.