Sharing is caring!

I was alerted by a fellow hortie today is National Seed Swap Day! What a great way to make some new friends and start some tried-and-true plants! Also, today two chapters of the California Rare Fruit Growers Society are hosting scion exchanges. What is a scion you ask? Why simply a cutting from a tree you want to graft onto root stock! Why are we doing this? Maybe we want to make a standard tree a dwarf size..maybe we want a rare cultivar that is not sold at my local nursery…maybe we want to save some money (always)!..or maybe just try something new! It is also a great way to extend the life of your trees. Lots of reasons to try grafting.

Here is how it’s done:

1. Find last years growth on a dormant plant. Shoots should be the thickness of a pencil and of course be clean, disease-free wood

2. Use clean, sharp pruners to cut the scion at an angle. 

3. Wrap the scion in a damp paper towel or moss. 

4. Keep the scion in a cool place, like a refrigerator, until you're ready to graft. 

I am ready to graft! What do I do next? (A few local nurseries that sell rootstock: Cummins Nursery, Briggs Tree Company, Mehrabyan Nursery, Raintree Nursery, Burnt Ridge Nursery, and Roots to Fruits Nursery)

1. Insert the cut end of the scion into a corresponding cut made on the rootstock, ensuring good contact, and securely bind the graft with tape or grafting wax to hold it in place. There are various techniques on how to to bind the two (whip and tongue, cleft graft, bark graft, or bud grafting) which will be used depending on the size of your scion and rootstock. You want those puppies secure and to grow into a nice shape.

2. A new plant with the desired characteristics of the scion will hopefully begin to grow! Congrats! You are a grafter!

This Nagami kumquat was grafted onto a dwarf tree rootstock to make it teensy and adorable. Peek-a-boo Giant Swallowtail trying to lay eggs on my tree! Not today!