G. 30 Snapping

I got a 2 years old Jonagold that I grafted to G. 30 rootstock in 2014. The tree is about 8 feet and has a couple of fruits. The tree was completely broken at the graft union due to an inch of rain we have had today. Most probably the tree won’t survive but I put things back together and supported the tree. I’ll keep my fingers crossed but if it is lost, then this opens a spot for a new tree next year:slightly_smiling:slightly_smiling: Here is a picture of the tree after the surgery.

That’s a lot of growth for that caliper of a tree! Unless some of the pros say otherwise, I’d prune back all that growth.

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Vinod, do you think the repair would be helped if the tree was pruned?

I plan on pruning the tree and removing all fruits when the rain stops.

That tree looks fully leafed out, but maybe one last ditch strategy would be to find a few dormant buds that didn’t bud and save them in the fridge?

At the very least, it will reduce the swaying. It might also cut down on the amount of nutrients needed at the top.

Apparently. G.30 is known for breaking at the graft union owing to it vigorous growth nature. You may want to stake all your other trees on G.30.

Absolutely. G 30 is not a free standing tree as was originally thought.
Orchardists are trellising G30. My friend has some individually staked and they are all falling over after 7 years. If it were my tree, I would heap soil over the graft union and try to get the tree to grow on its own roots.