Grafting

Grafting is a horticultural art that gardening enthusiasts have mastered to produce different varieties of a particular fruit species onto one tree. Fruit trees need to be compatible and of the same genus. Stock and Scion must be genetically close (taxonomic) in order for the grafting union to form. If one parent is involved in the grafting process and the graft is successful, the tree will produce fruit identical to its fruit tree- this is called asexual reproduction. Plums and peaches can be grafted onto the same tree. Nectarine can also be added to the same tree because they closely related, but you can't graft an apple on it because it's a different specie. Bud and Scion are the two main types of grafting.Grafting is combining the best characteristics of of two, three or more plants onto the stock root of an existing healthy, non-diseased tree. You can graft four different apple varieties onto a pear root stock. With the right technique and the correct temperature, a successful graft union will form and produce a fruit salad tree. An old tree that 's been unproductive can be top worked to change it's old variety to a new variety. The scion twig that's used for grafting is the young shoot or bud that's been collected from the previous growth and stored in an airtight freezer bag in a cool dry place. During storage, the scion should be stored away from apples. Apples tend to produce ethylene gas which is strong enough to kill the scion.