More on Grafting

Two different twigs brought together through a few careful cuts, and the result? Wow, a whole new tree! Grafting can be used as an experimental vehicle to create something new. The tree pictured is a standard pear root with a Comice scion or twig grafted on and within just a couple of years this new tree will be bearing fruit. Luther Burbank did plenty of grafting on his farm down in Sonoma County. If ever there was a farmer who understood the possibilities that existed for each plant, it was Luther who had this gift. It is an amazing feeling of accomplishment to return to the site where a graft had been done six months earlier and find a healthy tree growing. After the new tree gets bigger, then the apple farmer again gets to play his hand by shaping the tree in the manner the farmer desires. I like a tree with a strong central leader, that is, a trunk that grows straight toward the Sun, and has lateral branches that head out to the sides of the tree in an effort to spread out and expose itself to as much light as possible. But before we get to pruning the tree, first we've got to get the tree established and settled in its new environment.