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Hi, folks!
I have watched a few video clips on Youtube about grafting - grafting apple trees, grape vines etc. It didn't look too difficult, so I have tried to do it myself:
In March I dug up two young Hawthorn saplings - the wild Hawthorn trees that have single white flowers ( their stems are about half a pencil thick ) - you don't need to keep the soil in tact, but try to dig them up with as many roots as possible. I also cut 2, 3 small cuttings ( about 4, 5 inch long ) of red double flowered Hawthorn tree.
I planted the Hawthorn saplings in pots with compost and STRAIGHT AWAY:
I cut them down to 2 or 3 inch high. I split the tops with a sharp knife down to 1 inch deep. Using the sharp knife, I shortened the cutting to 3 inch long and tapered the cut end into a V shape. I insereted this V end into the split top of the Hawthorn sapling. I then used a postman's rubber band to tie the grafting up tightly. I covered the cutting and grafting loosely with a piece of cling film to keep them moist and fresh.
I then placed the pots into a big garden waste green clear plastic bag, blew it up a bit and tied the top up to keep the warmth and humidity in and placed it in the shade. The humidity helps the graftings heal faster. After 3, 4 weeks, the graftings started to grow - you can see the leaf buds have developed into green leaves. After 2 more weeks I will remove all the rubber bands and bags before they choke the graftings.
I have also grafted very dark red eating apple cuttings onto young wild plum saplings, double flowering cherry onto wild cherry saplings, pink flowered Horse-chestnut onto Conker saplings - all graftings have healed and are now growing nicely.
You can try it. It's fun!
You can do it now - March, April, May - when the weather is just warming up, the trees are still bare and dug-up saplings are quick to regrow once potted up.
Tip: If you watch a few video clips on Youtube about apple grafting, you'll see how it's done and how easy it is. They even show you how to graft cucumber seedlings onto pumpkin seedlings for stronger plants.
I have watched a few video clips on Youtube about grafting - grafting apple trees, grape vines etc. It didn't look too difficult, so I have tried to do it myself:
In March I dug up two young Hawthorn saplings - the wild Hawthorn trees that have single white flowers ( their stems are about half a pencil thick ) - you don't need to keep the soil in tact, but try to dig them up with as many roots as possible. I also cut 2, 3 small cuttings ( about 4, 5 inch long ) of red double flowered Hawthorn tree.
I planted the Hawthorn saplings in pots with compost and STRAIGHT AWAY:
I cut them down to 2 or 3 inch high. I split the tops with a sharp knife down to 1 inch deep. Using the sharp knife, I shortened the cutting to 3 inch long and tapered the cut end into a V shape. I insereted this V end into the split top of the Hawthorn sapling. I then used a postman's rubber band to tie the grafting up tightly. I covered the cutting and grafting loosely with a piece of cling film to keep them moist and fresh.
I then placed the pots into a big garden waste green clear plastic bag, blew it up a bit and tied the top up to keep the warmth and humidity in and placed it in the shade. The humidity helps the graftings heal faster. After 3, 4 weeks, the graftings started to grow - you can see the leaf buds have developed into green leaves. After 2 more weeks I will remove all the rubber bands and bags before they choke the graftings.
I have also grafted very dark red eating apple cuttings onto young wild plum saplings, double flowering cherry onto wild cherry saplings, pink flowered Horse-chestnut onto Conker saplings - all graftings have healed and are now growing nicely.
You can try it. It's fun!
You can do it now - March, April, May - when the weather is just warming up, the trees are still bare and dug-up saplings are quick to regrow once potted up.Tip: If you watch a few video clips on Youtube about apple grafting, you'll see how it's done and how easy it is. They even show you how to graft cucumber seedlings onto pumpkin seedlings for stronger plants.
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