North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Don Yellman <dyellman@earthlink.net>]

For Waite Maclin:

   Planting out grafted trees is a bit more complicated than just
leaving the graft 1-2 inches above the soil line, and I am surprised
this aspect of propagation was not covered in your grafting class.  BTW,
what rootstock were you grafting on?  This could influence how you want
to plant to achieve the final desired tree.  Let's assume that you were
using a "semi-dwarf" rootstock such as M-7:

1.  1-2 inches above the soil like is none too much to leave if you want
to avoid scion rooting.  Planting holes often subside with time and
rains, especially if you are adding some organic material (such as peat)
to the planting hole.  If you subsequently mulch your trees, you could
also cover the graft.  If you want a full-size standard tree, and have
room for it, just bury the graft.  I generally shoot for 4 inches above
the soil line, or more, when planting out trees on M-7 to achieve the
desired size control.

2.  The length of rootstock stem between the soil line and the graft
will influence the final size of the tree.  The more rootstock stem
exposed, the greater the degree of dwarfing induced by the rootstock.
Of course, your ability to make these adjustments at planting depends on
how high you placed the grafts on the rootstock stem.  Your grafting
instructor probably saw to it that you placed them at least 4-5 inches
above the point where roots actually begin on the stock.

3.  I believe that the influence of exposed rootstock stem on the size
of the tree is even more pronounced with fully dwarfing stock such as
M-9, M-26 and M-27.  Someone like Ed Fackler who has worked with these
things professionally would be able to tell you for sure, but it would
be helpful to know what rootstock you have, and how high you placed the
grafts on the stems.

Rgds, Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA


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