There are a lot of post about grafting in this forum and I believe it’s a wonderful activity but it’s not for me for many reasons: I don’t have the will to learn it, I don’t have the time to do it, I don’t like highly possible failures rate after so much time & efforts invested in it, etc.
You don’t have to give any specific reasons for doing it or not doing it. How about this scale:
1= I graft. I like it and it’s a way of life. I can not imagine growing fruit trees without grafting most.
2= I graft but it’s not the end of the world if I buy some fruit trees from nurseries.It’s 50 % grafting and 50% buying.
3= I graft sometimes but it’s more 20% (grafting) and 80% buying.
4= I never graft and I buy 100% of my trees.
5= I don’t graft, I don’t buy and frankly I don’t know what I’m doing here.
I’m a five but I’m hoping to find a super cheap plum rootstock to play with since scions are pretty cheap. Plan on trying to graft some of my sister’s unknown mulberry to another mulberry rootstock I picked up at a local nursery on clearance that seems to have rooted well. I find grafting to be fascinating and hope to try my hand at currants too. I’m no expert but I don’t think this hobby doesn’t have to be expensive and I just wanna have fun with it
I’d consider myself a 2. I like grafting because you can get a small to medium sized orchard going relatively cheap if you have the space. Rootstock are only a couple dollars each and you can find scion for free or a few dollars. Grafting also allows you to more easily obtain harder to find varieties not sold locally. And if something I already am growing isn’t to my liking, I can graft it over to something else without having to remove the whole tree. I figure what have I got to lose? If some of my attempts fail I’m not out of a lot of money, and with a little practice, grafting is not as hard as it sounds.
Of course I have bought trees as well. Buying trees is nice too because they will be a couple years ahead of a newly grafted tree. I can also see if you are planting many, many trees at once and don’t have the time for grafting, there isn’t really another option I suppose. It will definitely cost more though.
Grafting is very hard for me “nerve motor problems” but I don’t buy trees either. Gifted to me.
2 Fukushu kumquat trees from seed
1 Meiwa kumquat tree on Kuharski from Harris Nursery Kuharske and Meiwa incompatible
1 New Zealand lemonade on C35 from fourwinds growing nicely in ground 6 Feet by 6 feet.
1 Valentine pomelo on US897. A friend mailed me the US897 seeds which I grew & sent some
seedling back. He mailed me the grafted tree. It’s growing nicely in ground 4 by 4 feet.
9 seed grown Miewa kumquat trees from seed from above tree. Gave 5 away.
1 New Zealand lemonade I grafted to US897 roots.
7 New Zealand lemonade trees I grafted to Seville sour orange.
2 Poncirus trifoliata trees I grafted to Seville sour orange rootstock to serve as an interstock to graft
Fukushu kumquats to since Fukushu cannot be grafted directly to sour orange.
2 Fukushu Kumquats I grafted to Flying dragon.
I used to be a 4, but as I’ve planted out the backyard and pretty much filled it up, if I want a new variety I have to graft it onto an existing tree. I have two apple, a nectarine, and a plum tree in the ground. Last year I successfully grafted a new variety onto the nectarine and it’s blooming this year. Grafts on the plum tree failed last year, so I’m trying again. I’m also trying to graft onto the apple.
im a 2 because i only have 2 apple trees and 1 is on standard rootstock so i will have many branches to graft to on that one.have 2 so far. the other was a freebee sargents crab which is basically a ornamental so im putting it to work. just hope it can take the load. i have 4 varieties on it so far. been trying to graft i.e to my northrop and russian white mulberry but no success yet.
I am a 1.5 maybe…i am cheap, will buy if i have to but enjoy grafting, probably more like 90% of my stuff is grafted.
For the OP it doesnt take long to learn, and you can get started pretty solid in terms of needed equipment for the cost of maybe 2 trees bought already grafted.
Doesnt mean you must or should graft, just saying the obstacles may be vastly more surmountable than you seem to assume
I graft because it’s the only way to have a frankentree and a frankentree is the only way I have, with my limited space, to have the variety and the opportunity to experience different varieties. Plus it’s a real hoot.
i like looking for great tasting local apples. i found one at a local hiking trail in town. went back in spring and stole a few scions. now its growing on my y. transparent.
I’m a #1 all the way, baby! There’s no way I could have all the [many] varieties I want, and on the rootstocks I want, without grafting them myself. Montana’s harsh, short-season Zone 3 climate is pretty limiting, and the local nurseries don’t have a lot to chose from at all. And who wants the same varieties all your neighbors have, anyway? Yeah, no, grafting is easy enough to learn, and grafting onto rootstocks or top-working trees to make “frankentrees” is well worth the little effort required. Just make sure you buy some cut and puncture-resistant gloves, so you don’t need to visit the emergency room for stitches!!
I am probably a two or three at this point, only because I can’t take care of more trees, so decided to try grafting Frankentrees about four years ago for the first time. I’ve not had very good success, except with some I got from GRIN one year, which took on all varieties. I still have lots of space to plant more trees if I want, but trying to refrain. I’ve only done Frankentrees so far, not on rootstocks. Too old to wait for rootstock trees to mature, although I did plant a bunch of plum pits last fall, just in case I change my mind! Actually, none of my grafts have produced any fruit yet, but gave the fun of doing the project and then watching them grow. Maybe this year I will get some fruit from them.
JohnnyRoger has it right! I have always had a strong curiosity, the challenge of making something happen that otherwise would not occur intrigues me. This site offers a treasure trove of expertise from real people I feel a strong bond with. When I research Hartmann and Kesterson’ s book and understand the science behind what makes a successful graft, I realize there are many pioneers who got the knowledge base to where we are today. I could name at least 10 grafters on the forum that I trust dearly and depend on to advance my knowledge. I’m definitely. 1.5 in skill but a 1.0 at heart! Grafting is like most other lifetime challenges, where there is a will, there is a way to be found!
I’m probably some type of a one. The varieties I want aren’t available at nurseries, or rediculously expensive. I am working with espaliers, one of which may end up with 20 varieties, so grafting is a necessary skill set. I have only grafted apple and pear so far, but had close to 100% last year. Maybe I spend 3-4 hours a year grafting. It doesn’t take much time.
2 trending towards 1.
I created a nursery bed for growing out my own rootstocks. Once I get a little more organized and make one more bed for transplants, I shouldn’t need to buy trees anymore. Unless there are patented varieties I think I can’t live without, and am too impatient (and OLD) to wait 20 yrs for the patent to expire!
