Well, there's a world of information on the internet, but the short answer is that you're on the right track (dwarfing is done by grafting the scions of different cultivars to rootstocks that limit their size and trees, and plants are grafted to produce consistent results) but you're off the mark if you try to graft an apple, which belongs to one family, to a birch, which belongs to an entirely different family.

So if you have a nice kind of apple and want to have an orchard full of that apple you have to graft pieces of your pleasing tree to some suitable rootstock -there's lots of choices. You cannot do it from seed, because the seeds are not genetic copies of either parent. Seeds get their directions from both parents, just to oversimplifiy.

So try googling the subject. "Grafting fruits" should get you started.

But in brief: apple varieties can be grafted to different apple rootstocks (which in turn are carefully cloned) and pears can be grafted to pear, and also quince, which might be viewed as a pear progenitor. Many, but not all, of the stonefruit as well as almonds may be grafted to one another.

But you can't graft a tomato to a plum or any such, at least not before genetic engineering!

Many purchased roses are grafted, as are many other flowering plants. I understand that you can graft members of the maple (acer) family hither and thither with one another, and so on, but I have no idea whether it's necessary or worthwhile. You might drop over to the Trees board and/or the Plant Propagation board for better suggestions.

Good luck,

Mark

thanks a bunch, that really helped

I have been looking around the internet some more which has helped, but Ive still got some questions.

1.) So say I add a red delicious apple to a yellow delicious rootstock, will the red delicious branch i added change or get any traits from the yellow delicious rootstock? Or is the root stock just simply the nutrient source for the red delicious and nothing else? If that didnt make sense, forget it.

2.)What if I did a red delicous AND a McIntosh on a yellow delicous rootstock?

3.)I dont understand how the dwarfing works.

I know this is asking a bit much, but I'd love to know, so thanks.

Well, I'm happy to comment, but you'll get fuller, and better informed, answers by working that search function.

But:

1. No, and yes, and it made sense. (But see below on incompatability issues.)

2. No problem. They don't interfere with one another. I only have room for one tree, and it supports about two dozen varieties. I try to select varieties that ripen at different times or suit different tastes or needs. (That being said, it is possible to run into various unexpected incompatibilities- "X" might turn out to be stunted on "Y" but might overgrow "Z".)

3. Neither do I. But some rootstocks have been found to be good at it, and they are made available through cloning. Some of them have their own problems, such as being short-lived, or anchoring poorly, or fussy about one thing or another. Others, however, help contribute resistance to disease or drought.

It's a wonderful subject and I don't mind trying to discuss it, so you're quite welcome. But don't depend on me- others here are much better informed, and there's a wealth of information "out there".

Good luck,

M

Geez thanks a bunch, I really appreciate it.

Imagine, if you will (and this is true) that your Grandmother has an apple tree which she and grandpa planted from a seed back 20 years ago and while it isn't common, this seedling apple tree produces wonderful tart-crisp green apples. Lets call them Granny Semaje's.

Well for anyone to be able to grow that EXACT apple, they would need to graft a piece of that original Granny Semaje's apple tree. In fact every tree which successfully accepts the graft of a piece of that original tree will only produce Granny Semaje's apples on whatever growth arises from that grafted piece. Years later, there could exist 1000's of trees with a piece of that original tree all producing apples EXACTLY like the apples on that first Granny Semaje's tree. Every Granny Semaje's apple in every store in the world could trace its genetic code back to that original tree (and this is true for all apples, pears and most other cultivated fruit trees)

Grafting can instill dwarfing, earlier fruiting, increased hardiness, increased disease protection among other desirable traits.

Generally speaking most of the time you will only find the same fruits grafted onto a tree. But depending upon how closely fruits are related it is possible to graft a tree with different kinds of fruit (one tree with apricots, cherries, plums, peaches and nectarines is possible...this can also frequently be done with citrus fruit as well)

~Chills

Wow, very interesting way to put it...But it actually made complete sense. Thats awesome how you can have one tree with that many different types of fruits. Thanks so much.

But one last question, does pollination still work the same way for the different branches? for example: I i have a red delicious apple tree with a yellow delicious apple scion grafted onto it, will i no longer need to have two trees to pollinate? Becuase technically thats two trees in one.

"But one last question, does pollination still work the same way for the different branches? for example: I i have a red delicious apple tree with a yellow delicious apple scion grafted onto it, will i no longer need to have two trees to pollinate? Becuase technically thats two trees in one.
"

Correct as long you have two or more different varieties on the same tree and bloom at the same time to pollinate each other you are fine.

awesome

No confirmation of any sort, but I hear tell of old timers grafting apples onto the native birch seedlings here for a cold hardy but short lived (25 years ish) apple tree, hear this from one of the original Mat-su colonists (folks who were brought in to AK in the 30's to farm in the valley Sarah Palin calls home).

Grafting can also be used to evaluate a seedling before it comes due to produce fruit, you can plant 200 seeds then graft them all onto a few large trees then in 2 years rather than 10 you can see which ones have the characteristics you are looking for in fruit. Luther Burbank pioneered this method and it brought him great fame.

Hi Brendan-

I'm intrigued by your comment about apples being grafted to birch.

It's supposed to not be possible. BUT: I know a mountain ash seedling which has done fairly well for several years in the crotch of a mature Norway maple. I would guess it's parasitic? That would suggest that some "impossible" grafts might be at least occassionally temporarily possible? I don't know.

I hope somebody tells me when they find the answer!!

:-)M

Wow, did they know it would produce a cold hardy tree, or was it just luck? Like, how would one know what characteristics the tree would have? I don't get what causes a tree to dwarf, or be more hardy.

Oh and how come when grafting, the rootstock doesnt pass on any traits or qualities trough the scion to the fruit?

Well, "they" know because of the huge amount of work done in producing and trying different rootstocks. It's almost like developing a new drug!

The rootstock doesn't pass traits on because its genetic materiel is contained in itself, and the scion's genetic materiel is in itself. The rootstock supplies nutrition but it's the scion's dna that determines what grows from the scion.

Any growth that the rootstock were to put out on its own would be the same as the rootstock. Some rootstocks sucker profusely, for example, and those shoots get pruned off as a rule.

Here's a search you might like.

Good luck,

Mark

Here is a link that might be useful: apple rootstock propagation

Alright thanks again, im finally feeling like I underdstand the concept alot more.