Supporting newly grafted apple trees?

General Fruit Growing
#1

Hi all,

Quick question. I have my apple trees (which i grafted in approximatey april of this year) and now they are growing away fairly well. From the piece of attaches scion some buds have opened and grown almost 4ft.

Unfortunately, i left the grafting tape on a little too long and this has constricted the graft union on a few of the trees. Not to a terrible extent but enough to cause me some concern.

Lately there has been fairly high winds and a few of my trees have been broken at the graft point. So i am wondering if it would be sensible to support them with a bamboo cane and tie the tree at multiple points so that it is kept verticle. I do remember buying a few trees that were tied to a cane. At first i thought have to cope with the wind would strengthen them but maybe they need a period of time with a good amount of support?

Any advice would be great. This forum has been excellent in helping me along the way with my first experience of grafting these apple trees.

Thank you,

Jamie

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#2

Yes, staking is an option. Staking with something taller than the tree will also provide a perch for birds that may otherwise perch on your trees and cause damage. Stake very loosely allowing the tree free movement but preventing it from bending over to the point of breaking. Research your rootstock variety to determine if your tree will require permanent support.

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#3

Thank you Andy. That sounds good. I will stake them. Is it normal for the graft point to be a weakness for at least some time? Or could it be down to bad grafting cuts?

Thank you

Jamie

#4

I have done the bamboo on branches thing and ended up loosing the entire branch in strong winds, be careful. Personally I think 4ft of growth in a season is plenty you might want to head it to encourage branching.

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#5

Thank you lordkiwi. If i head it right now will that set the height of the trunk at whatever height i may cut it at ? And will the scion eventually work its way towards being vertical? Especially if i train it upwards too?

Thanks

Jamie

#6

You will get another dominate bud too resume the central leader. But I guese the question is what type of tree are you going for? There are several training systems and each have diffrent heights for heading.
Check out this pdf for a good overview.

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#7

Getting them to live and grow is #1 priority…staking in due time…as needed. That’s my perspective.

#8

It’s not unusual, it should grow out of that. Some of the Geneva root stocks have a problem with weakness at the graft union.