Learn the Art of Grafting Fruit Trees: Beginner Tutorial

Most people buy fruit trees on sale from a store or nursery, sometimes even purchasing a tree that will bear multiple different varieties of fruit on the same tree. But did you know you can have grafted fruit trees for free by learning how to do it yourself?!

I’ve shared how to plant a fruit tree, determine proper fruit tree spacing, use dormant oil spray, fertilize perennials, and how to prune fruit trees. Now it's time for a really fun tutorial on how to graft your own fruit trees!

Grafting is fairly simple once you know how to do it. So come, learn from professional tree grafters as they demonstrate the art of grafting fruit trees and the best types of tree grafts you can do at home!

Perry Paw Paws

I love to highlight other people who are doing amazing things, and one of those people is Adam of Perry Permaculture. Adam and his family grow a variety of vegetables, fruits, and herbs, as well as pasture-raised chickens. 

However, the main product they produce and sell is grafted paw paw trees! Perry Paw Paws is an extension of Perry Permaculture, and I highly recommend it as the place to purchase paw paw trees!

Paw paws are the largest fruit native to North America, but most people have not tasted them because they are not commercially viable. If you haven’t tasted a paw paw, you are missing out! 

They have a sweet, tropical flavor reminiscent of a blend of banana, mango, and pineapple. They’re definitely worth growing some of your own!

Benefits of Grafting Fruit Trees

Grafting fruit trees is highly beneficial and can result in healthier, stronger trees. It can improve disease resistance, drought tolerance, vigor, and yields. 

Grafting is used to alter the mature size of a fruit tree to dwarf or semi-dwarf, resulting in a smaller tree that is easier to manage when it is fully grown. It can also be used to grow multiple varieties on one tree, adapt plants to different soils or climates, preserve heirloom varieties, and select for specific traits.

Grafting trees yourself, from scionwood you collected, is the best way to get your own fruit trees for free or nearly free. 

What is Tree Grafting

Tree grafting is the process of fusing parts of two different trees to make one new tree with characteristics from both originals. Most commercially available fruit trees that you can buy at a store or nursery have been grafted. 

The two components required for grafting a tree are rootstock and scionwood. The rootstock is the lower portion of the tree that will develop into the established root system. The rootstock will determine certain characteristics like the tree’s mature size, disease resistance, and drought resistance.

The scionwood becomes the upper portion of the new tree after grafting. It is a cutting of fruiting wood taken from a desirable fruit tree. The scionwood dictates the fruit and foliage that will be on the new grafted tree. 

Supplies Needed for Grafting Fruit Trees

The tools you use matter! You will need:

• Scionwood - I’ve already shared a video on how to collect scionwood and save it for grafting your own trees!

• Rootstock - You can usually purchase rootstock inexpensively, or you can find and dig up your own rootstock for free (like a young wild plum tree or wild crabapple tree).

• Grafting Tape - I recommend using budding tape or rubber budding strips (like Adam uses in this grafting class video) to wrap the graft when you are finished.

• Knife - You will need a very sharp, single-beveled knife or a grafting multi-tool to graft trees. This type of blade offers the greatest control when making cuts.

How to Graft Fruit Trees

The goal of grafting is to create cambial contact, a bond where the cambium layers of the scionwood and rootstock are tightly pressed together, allowing them to fuse. (The cambium layer of trees and shrubs lies just beneath the bark and is responsible for the growth of new wood and bark.) 

This can be achieved through various types of grafts, including a whip and tongue graft, a side graft, and a wedge graft.

Whip and Tongue Graft

The whip and tongue graft is one of the most commonly used types of grafts. This is Adam’s favorite type of graft because it creates the most cambial contact and has the highest success rate. This is especially important if you are trying to graft nut trees or fruit trees other than apple.

For a whip and tongue graft, you will need scionwood that is very similar in diameter to the rootstock (as shown in the photo above). Then, follow these steps:

1. Cut Scionwood - Use a very sharp single-beveled knife to make an angled cut through the bottom of the scionwood. The oval-shaped cut face should be approximately one to two inches long.

2. Cut Rootstock - Find a spot on the rootstock that is almost exactly the same size around as your scionwood, and make an angled cut through the rootstock exactly how you did with the scionwood. The goal is for the two cuts to mirror each other.

3. Compare & Refine Cuts - Hold the two cuts up against each other to compare the size. It’s okay if the second cut isn’t perfect the first time. As you can see in the photo, these cuts are close but not identical. When that happens, continue to whittle it down by shaving off more of the rootstock until the two oval faces are the same size.

4. Make a Tongue on the Scionwood - On the cut face of the scionwood, between halfway and two-thirds from the top, make a cut straight down, rocking the knife back and forth. The cut should be ½ inch deep. Pro-Tip: Be careful with this cut! It is easy to cut through the wood and hit your finger. Ensure that you cut straight down by working the knife back and forth slowly, rather than forcing it.

5. Make a Tongue on the Rootstock - Make an identical mirror image cut, as in step 5, on the rootstock. It should be ½ inch deep, and it should fit together with the scionwood tongue when placed against each other.

6. Fit Together - Fit the rootstock and scionwood together by lining up the cut faces and sliding the tongues together so that they are interlocking.

7. Wrap - Use budding tape or rubber grafting strips to wrap the graft securely, but not tightly. This will seal up the graft and keep moisture in. Pro-Tip: You want to leave this wrap on until the following spring. It will girdle the tree if the wrap is too tight once the tree begins to grow. Read Protecting Young Trees with Tree Guards to learn more about protecting your trees from girdling!

8. Releader - Locate the second or third healthy bud on the scionwood above the graft union. Make a heading cut directly above the second or third bud at a 45° angle, removing the top of the scionwood. (For more information on heading cuts and releadering, read How to Prune a Fruit Tree.)

Side Graft

The side graft is similar to a bark graft, and both are used when the scionwood is considerably smaller in diameter than the rootstock.  (The side graft is demonstrated in the video above and a bark graft is demonstrated in the video at the beginning of this blog post.) 

Here are the steps to make a side graft:

1. Cut Scionwood - Use a very sharp single-beveled knife to make an angled cut through the bottom of the scionwood. The oval-shaped cut face should be approximately one inch long.

2. Notch Back - At the bottom edge of that cut, make a small notch starting on the back (the bark side) and angling down to the bottom of the cut face.

3. Mark the Rootstock - Cut the rootstock to the desired length with a straight cut. Then, hold the scionwood against the side of the cut end of the rootstock. Use your scionwood as a template for the size of cut you will make, and mark the rootstock on either side of the scionwood with your knife.

4. Cut the Rootstock - Using your marks, make a cut on the side of the rootstock that matches the size of your scionwood, but is a little shorter than the cut face of the scionwood. 

5. Notch the Rootstock - Place the blade of your knife at the bottom of the cut on the rootstock and make a small tongue by cutting down, peeling the bark back to make a notch that the scionwood will fit into. 

6. Fit Together - Fit the scionwood into the notch and line up the cut faces. 

7. Wrap - Use grafting tape or rubber grafting strips to wrap the graft securely, but not tightly. 

8. Releader - Locate the second or third bud on the scionwood above the graft union. Make a heading cut directly above the second or third bud at a 45° angle, removing the top of the scionwood.

Wedge Graft

A wedge graft is probably the easiest and safest to perform. Use a wedge graft when the rootstock is the same diameter or larger than the scionwood. 

1. Cut Scionwood - Using a sharp single-beveled knife, make an angled cut approximately one to two inches long that ends in the center of the scionwood. (See the video above for a demonstration.) 

2. Repeat - Repeat the same cut on the opposite side of the same end of the scionwood. This should create a wedge-shaped end on the scionwood.

3. Cut the Rootstock - Cut the rootstock to the desired length. Then, make a cut straight down into the center of the rootstock by working the knife back and forth. The cut should be as long as the cut face on the scionwood or longer.

4. Fit Together - Fit the rootstock and scionwood together by pushing the scionwood wedge into the center cut on the rootstock. Line up the sides so the cambium layers are aligned. (If the rootstock is larger than the scionwood, then just line up the cambium layers on one side.) 

5. Releader - Locate the second or third healthy bud on the scionwood above the graft union and make a cut directly above the bud at a 45° angle to remove the top of the scionwood.

6. Wrap - Use grafting tape or a rubber band to secure the graft, wrapping it a little tighter than the other graft types to ensure it is held firmly together.

7. Seal - Seal up every visible cut spot by painting them with Doc Farwell’s Grafting Seal or something similar. If you don’t, the graft will dry out before it has time to heal, and it won’t work! Pro-Tip: Adam recommends using Doc Farwell’s Grafting Seal, but it is only available in 1 or 5-gallon buckets. You may be able to get a smaller amount from a local nursery. Or you can try Treekote Tree Wound Dressing, which is available on Amazon. 

I keep our fresh grafts inside, away from sunlight and away from hot temperatures, for about 2 weeks, and then move them outside in pots. This gives the new graft some time to heal. Similarly to how you would harden off seedlings, condition your newly grafted saplings slowly to outdoor temperatures when you are ready to put them outside.