Methods of grafting fruit trees: ablation, copulation, behind the bark, in the butt, splitting and pinching

Methods of grafting fruit trees

Grafting is a very important and very common technique in fruit and ornamental gardening. Less commonly, they are used in floriculture and gardening.

There are more than 150 types of vaccinations. Each of them serves to achieve a specific goal, has its own characteristics, different levels of complexity of implementation, and its own advantages and disadvantages.

Numerous types of other grafting – in a simple butt, in a butt with a cut, half-split, corner cutting and other amateur gardeners can learn to perform in the process of further independent development of grafting work. The difficulty of completing them is average.

A type of grafting: ablation

Ablactation, or proximity grafting, first arose as a result of people’s observation of the natural self-grafting of trees, which occasionally occurs in nature. Initially simply noticed, and then copied.

Spontaneous ablation

The process of spontaneous ablation in nature begins with accidental contact of living branches or trunks, accompanied by damage to the bark.

• Then, at the points of contact, as their diameter grows, tissue fusion occurs.
• This usually occurs between different parts of the same tree or with another tree of the same species (see photo below).
• Related species—trees of the same family—grow together less often.

It is even less common for systematically distant species to grow together, but this does sometimes happen.

Most often, trees of the same species grow together

In nature, the roots of closely related breeds often grow together

Artificial ablation

It is still used in gardening today, although not as widely as other types of grafting.

Grafting with cuttings

Artificial ablation performed by humans is the simplest and most ancient type of grafting.

❓ When is it held?

Can be performed at any time of the year.

❓ How is it carried out?

1. When carrying out ablation, the bark on the branches of grafted trees is lightly cut off, and the exposed cambium is placed next to each other and tied tightly (Fig. 1).
2. Often you don’t even need to make cuts, but just twist two branches growing towards each other 2-3 times and tightly tie the places where they are intertwined.

The binding is removed after 2–3 years, when the branches begin to grow into each other.

This technique allows you to firmly fasten irregularly formed trunks or branches located at an acute angle to each other. This prevents them from breaking

Grafting with root suckers or specially planted seedlings

In a similar way, the resulting root shoots or specially planted seedlings can be grafted onto the trunk.

1. Cut off the bark at the point of contact, nailing them with a nail (this is completely harmless to the tree) and covering them with plasticine.
2. When they grow together, after 2-3 years, remove the crown that is no longer needed from the offspring (photo 3-5).

This allows you to enhance the tree’s nutrition with mineral salts and water, as well as prevent its possible fall with an obliquely growing trunk.

After fusion, it is necessary to remove the crown that is no longer needed from the offspring (photo by V. Starostin)

Grafting a cutting by copulation

Copying happens:

• simple;
• with a tongue.

Simple copulation

The simplest, but at the same time quite difficult type of vaccination is simple copulation.

Copulation with tongue

More convenient, but more difficult to perform, is copulation with a tongue (English).

1. At 1/3 of the oblique cut of the cutting, a split is made along the fibers.
2. Exactly the same cut – in the center of the rootstock.
3. The cutting is combined with the rootstock so that the tongue of one goes into the cleft of the other (Fig. 3 – see above).

As a result, the tongues firmly hold the handle. This makes it easy for one person to do the job. The survival rate is higher and the fusion is stronger, but implementation requires more experience and a good eye.

Spring grafting of cuttings onto bark

One of the simplest vaccinations is bark grafting (Figure 4). There are several types of them, slightly different from each other.

1. The rootstock with a diameter of 2 to 20 cm is cut transversely.
2. The bark is cut lengthwise by 2–3 cm, its edges are slightly spread at the top.
3. Next, insert the cutting there.

The cutting should have 2-4 buds, made as for copulation – on a one-sided wedge.

Grafting behind the bark (Fig. 4) and grafting into the cleft (Fig. 6)

Features of bark vaccination

• With a thick rootstock, the harvested cuttings are placed no closer than 3 cm from one another.
• Any type of bark grafting produces a fragile fusion. Therefore, it is advisable to tie up the sticks.

The disadvantage of this grafting is that it can only be performed in the spring, during the period of active sap flow, when the bark is well separated from the wood.

These types of grafting are often used when grafting overgrown game trees, regrafting the crown of an adult tree with a new variety, and when creating ornamental trees with a weeping crown (photo by V. Starostin)

Vaccination as an example

Infrequently used.

If it is performed without cutting the rootstock, it can be carried out not only in the spring, but also in the summer – in July.

In Fig. 5 – scheme of grafting into the butt; in Fig. 7 – grafting into the pinches; in Fig. 8 – into the side cut

In the photo on the left is a grafting of a male cutting into the butt of a female sea buckthorn bush; in the photo on the right – grafting into a cleft (photo by V. Starostin)

Grafting into cleft

Split grafting is the most suitable type for beginner grafters (Fig. 6 – see above). This is one of the most ancient types of vaccinations.

❓ In what cases is it used?

• Grafting of cuttings is carried out in cases where other types of grafting are not feasible due to coarsening of the bark and various damage to the rootstock at the site of grafting.
• The time of its production depends little on the lag of the bark; it can be carried out long before the start of spring sap flow, from the first days of March.
• Suitable for grafting overgrown game birds and re-grafting the crowns of fruit-bearing trees.

❓ How is it carried out?

Grafting of fruit trees into clefts is carried out when the diameter of the rootstock is from 1 to 10 cm.

1. Depending on the diameter of the rootstock, one or two (crosswise) splits are made to a depth of 3–8 cm with a knife, garden chisel or a special hatchet.
2. One, two (for Ø greater than 2.5 cm) or four cuttings (for Ø 4–10 cm) with 2–5 eyes are inserted into the splits.
3. From below they are formed onto a two-edged symmetrical wedge with a length of at least 3 cm.
4. During operation, for ease of installation of the handle, the splits are opened by inserting a screwdriver into it in the center.

Grafting into the pinch

❓ When to do it?

It is used not only in spring, but also in summer (when grafted onto an uncut rootstock).

❓ How to do it?

1. The cut on the rootstock is made straight (Fig. 7 – see above).
2. Cuttings with 2–3 buds are grafted onto a two-edged wedge that is easily compatible with the cut.

Grafting fruit trees into patches is relatively simple to perform.

Lateral incision grafting

Grafting in a side cut (Fig. 8 – see above) is used in spring and summer in the same cases as in a snap, but in a side cut it is much more reliable.

• It is more difficult to perform, but the fusion is stronger and the survival rate is higher.
• When performing it, an oblique cut is made on the trunk or branch, into which a cutting of 2-3 buds is inserted, sharpened in the form of an unequal wedge.

Grafting into a lateral incision can replace budding of fruits.

On the left – grafting into a side cut; on the right – sealing of dead tissue with plasticine (photo by V. Starostin)