Raven Ridge Farm: Tree work: Grafting & Pruning

Pruning of young trees:

It's desirable to prune fruit trees-- especially apples and pears-- from a young age. This early pruning is called training and is accomplished in many ways depending on the growth form you desire. For instance if the variety is 'tree-ripened' and softens on the tree, it's nice to train for a low overall form so the fruit does not smash when it falls to the ground. On the other hand, if it's a hard variety like Kieffer pear that ripens off the tree, you may like to let the tree grow tall and plant a shorter tree nearby to maximize space. These are all design considerations that i can help you with.

Call me to workshop your backyard! Planting, propagation and pruning, Geoffrey @ (828) 747-7695

Grafting services:

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do you have a crabapple or persimmon in your yard you'd like to see bear fruit?

It's possible to splice new varieties onto that tree by 'grafting'. Here is a simple run-down:

In the early spring when the sap begins to rise, by any number of methods depending on the size of the tree, you can insert the young wood of an improved fruit-bearing tree onto a genetically compatible specie. This is essentially plant surgery, but without the surgeon's 6-digit income.

The tools for grafting. i like to use parafilm for wrapping the wound and TreeKote. Clean, oiled and sharpened knives, snips, loppers and a hand saw.

The success of grafting is based on aligning the cambium of your 'bud wood' and a 'rootstock'. Budwood is mostly free for the taking, and is found on growing trees. If there's a tree you enjoy eating, call me at (828) 747-7695 to find out how to propagate more of it!

Rootstock is inexpensive from a few wholesale nurseries or can be grown by a method called 'stooling'. Like this, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stooling by mounding soil over the stump

Rootstocks also include large trees already established and growing in your backyard.

This is a 'Bark-graft' onto a crabapple in Asheville.