fellenz 50 days ago
ActivityRank: 38

My 1+ acre orchard was planted between 2001 and 2004 on a variety of semi-dwarfing and fully dwarfing rootstocks. I planted a tasting orchard with ~30 different varieties of apples. As the apples have started to bear, it is becoming apparent that several of the varieties are either too susceptible to disease, very prone to scab, are a mismatch between rootstock and variety, or just not what I am looking for in terms of flavor or productivity.

So, I am starting to consider top-working the trees I no longer want and am looking for advice and suggestions as to the best way(s) to top-work the trees to another variety.

rmc7 50 days ago
ActivityRank: 4

For a bulletin on grafting and specifically cleft grafting go to http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/UJ255.pdf

Rob Crassweller

Todd Parlo 50 days ago
ActivityRank: 66

Virtually any grafting or budding method can be performed in topworking, but there are a few things to consider. Formost is how big a hurry are you in? The most common method of "professionals" is the cleft and the rind(bark) graft. Typically this was done through a method of de-horning where most of the tree top was wacked down to a series of stumps...this is asking for trouble in my opinion. If you choose to use cleft or rind I suggest the following: Leave plenty of the tree to the old cultivar and work with some of the branches. Any diameter can work, but the bigger the branch the larger the wound. Three or four scions should be inserted on anything larger than 2". A good trick is to let all the scions grow, and then each year remove one- this will help it heal (you will eventually end up with one). This said, I hate cleft grafts and rind grafts too if the grafter cuts a large branch beyond it. Leaving too large a wound to heal and a wound that is cut perpendicular to the branch axis. Yes I know they can be done well, and they do allow for reworking a tree quickly, but I still don't like them. In a young tree like the ones mentiond above you probably have some whippy growth that you can use a whip & tongue, saddle or english speed graft. These I use exclusively, especially the latter, and have had great success. After the first year you cannot spot the graft wound and the union is strong. The downsize is that you have to have the proper size wood (which can be initiated in older trees by preceding with a heavy pruning the year before. By pruning beyond the graft the following year vigor is often just as pronounced as with cleft grafting. You just take a couple years to rework the tree. I always leave a bit of the old tree for pollination aspects. field grafting like this has a great success rate if you wait until just before tree bleed and use fully dormant (refrigerated) scionwood.

david.maxwell 49 days ago
ActivityRank: 148

I am less conservative than Todd here. I have posted a topworked picture of a tree I grafted about 6 and 5 years ago. This is a wild seedling growing on the banks of the LaHave River, which at this point is tidal, (and salty) - but this is a separate topic - a seedling, I say, which was grafted to Bramley's seedling in two stages - half the tree one year, and the rest the following year. All grafts were cleft grafts, and I grafted chosen scaffold limbs, which were cut back to 8 -10 inches from the main trunk, and finally the top of the main trunk. Each graft was simply a cleft graft with one scion on each side (not bark grafts), both of which were allowed to grow for one year before the weaker of the two was cut out with an oblique cut back from the base of the "strong" scion. The stock then healed in along the oblique cut. As you will note, the grafted variety has more than healed in; the stock shows no signs of ever having been hacked back in an oblique cut, and the grafted Bramley's has in fact overgrown the stock, with a solid collar, and no sign of there having ever having been a marked difference in diameters of stock and graft.

Todd Parlo 24 days ago
ActivityRank: 66

David, it seems you did a nice job with your cleft graft. I still maintain it introduces too much surface area to disease opportunity, especially since the saw cut is essentially internodal which can spell trouble if the grafts fail. However your point is taken that it is an option for some folks. It might be important for me to point out that the term topworking has a variety of meanings. Professionals in the field have used it to describe grafting physically high on a rootstock, working generally high on an existing tree (field grafting), and also a specific procedure of re-grafting a tree by stubbing. The last definition is the most specific, it characterizes a method in which the tree except for a few "sap riser" branches is reduced to a unit of sawed of stubs. This term is closer to the example David has posted as photo. The method I have described is closer to the method know as frameworking, in which most of the existing frame is retained and a great many scions are grafted onto it using a variety of possible methods. I use mainly the speed graft of whip and tongue, but you can literally choose from dozens. Even a cleft-type, the reverse saddle graft can be employed. The difference is that you are using same caliper woods. Inlays like stub and rind grafts are also employed. By using a longer scion, often 6-8 buds long or even larger, earlier bearing can occur since basal buds set fruit while the upper buds get vegetative. Growth is often moderately paced, counter to topworking methods that result in excessively succellent and damage prone shoots.There is less shock to the tree and less damage if you have widespread failure. It is slower. You also need alot more scionwood. It is also less of a gamble. Keep in mind, when a tree is pruned severely in topworking (de-horning), roots are starved of nutrients and die back. This will require alot of work to return the tree's root system back to where it was. Granted the frameworking method isn't practical for a large commercial orchard, but for most applications it will suffice. With all methods to keep grafts as close to the trunk that is possible, (grafting tips is not logical since we are after all trying to make a new cultivar of the tree). In keeping with the charge of this forum, it might be nice if anyone out there doing some re-working this year will try out a variety of these methods, make observations and report back on the results. Past experiences by others would also be handy too. Different dates of grafting and weather conditions should also be noted.

Todd Parlo 24 days ago
ActivityRank: 66

In considering tools for pruning in the equipment link I thought we might explore this consideration: Does the scale of the enterprise influence the quality of the approach in terms of pruning. There is an ideal in every aspect of the orcharding endeavor, and no less so than with pruning. There was a time, for example when I made saw cuts, smoothed them with with a chisel and block plane (that's right), and covered them carefully with coatings. If I had one tree, I would still be doing it. Several hundred trees later and that method is LONG GONE. The best cuts we likely all agree are with the finest tooth saws and the proximity of human to cut is inches. All cuts would be coated with helpful microbes, or maybe shellac (the only non detrimental commercial coating in my opinion). Saws are usually better than loppers, ladder work better than pole saws, and certainly pole pruners always leave a stub. But, what if you have 500 standards...or even 100? The question then becomes not what is the best, but what is not TOO bad. Does a chain saw have a place? What methods are you going to employ can be ascertained by the tools you just bought. I have brought this up, not with any wisdom but because I haven't decided what road I am heading down. When I do pruning work for customers, I am meticulous, using chisels to fix saw tear and storm damage and most of my time climbing with a small saw. Currently I do the same here, but with the number of trees that will flesh out in the future I will need to do some re-evaluating. Perhaps a way to look at this is to look at scale. If we can do a great job with 100 trees, and only a mediocre or poor job with 1000, what do we do. Techniques like fewer but bigger cuts are helpful, and experience leads to quicker and more confident engagement, but it still takes a long time to make the kindest cuts. Perhaps there is a level of acceptability in stubs and deadheads, or even the associated site infections which are outweighed by yield and time saved. Maybe not. I am wracking my brain to try and come up with a testable model, but I am coming up blank. There is without question a minimum number to plant in order to make a living, but it is kind of sad to mangle a poor tree because we can only afford 17.3 minutes per unit (if we want to stay married). Perhaps the salvation of orchardists who haven't overdone it already, is to keep scale in mind.

John Reynolds 19 days ago
ActivityRank: 8

Just a quick response. Having pruned standard and semi-standard trees in comercial orchards in Ny, university research orchards and rejuvinating trees for owners of old homesteads, I can say chainsaws have their place. Yes hand saw cuts are always better, however I have not seen a problem over time when a chainsaw is properly used (1st cutting off the branch leaving a stub; 2nd cutting off the stub so as not to tear the bark). I've seen chainsaw cuts that were 25+ years old that were completely healed and the trees were producing excellent fruit. I think the experience and skill of the pruner trumps the tool types every time. It would be near imposible to prune many large standard orchards without power equipment due to the high labor costs and fatique to the workers.

fellenz 10 days ago
ActivityRank: 38

I have my scion wood ready to store until it is time to top work. What is the best way to store the scion wood? It is now in my walk-in cooler. Would it be better to keep it in a freezer or is the cooler OK?

John Reynolds 10 days ago
ActivityRank: 8

The cooler is fine. just keep a moist towel in the bag to keep the scion wood from drying out. Good luck!

Michelle (and Chris) McColl 9 days ago
ActivityRank: 73

We wrap scion wood in damp newspaper, and then place in a plastic bag in the fridge or coolroom (about 2 degrees to 4 degrees Celcius). It will keep for a couple of months like this, so long as the wood doesn't dry out.
Be wary of the freezer - this might kill the buds.