North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

As I've said many times, we are all in love with our own anecdotal
experience, but generally actually putting those experiences to controlled
study is far more useful as a form a evaluation.  For instance, where is
the proof that those proven seedlings wouldn't perform ultimately more
efficiently as grafts grafted to seedlings from the same mother?  I mean,
because you could maintain truly outstanding strains clonally.   The fact
that a lot of grafted trees died means close to nothing scientifically
except as a premise to begin experimentation.  Much of folklore is valid
but without actual scientific evaluation how does one to separate the wheat
from the straw?

Of course, if you are dealing with varieties that aren't capable of
surviving your climate you are better off growing seedlings that may.

One of my anecdotal evaluations is that grafts are generally more cold
tender when young because of their increased precosity.  Making babies too
young may leave plants more vulnerable to winter kill because they are left
with too little energy to harden off properly after producing fruit or
nuts.  You can counter this by (according to my anecdotal experience)
removing flowers for first couple of years so energy goes where needed.  I
have Dunstan Chestnut grafts that survived test winters here that were,
according to the supplier, not capable of surviving such cold where I
employed this technique.