Monthly Tip

When pruning dormant fruit trees, you may want to save cuttings (scions) for later grafting onto other fruit trees. Grafting is a technique that allows you to have multiple varieties of compatible fruit on one tree and is a great space saver. It works by joining the vascular tissues of a shoot (scion) from one tree to a different tree that provides the root system. If the graft is successful, the scion will continue to grow and maintain the characteristics and fruit of the scion plant. Fruit trees can have new varieties grafted to them when they are dormant in January and February.

Scions are available in January or February at the California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG scion exchange). Their January event also includes training classes. Check the CRFG - Santa Clara blog for the date.

More information on grafting can be found at:

• Grafting and Budding on the UC Home Orchard website
• Grafting Dormant Deciduous Fruit Scions at the California Rare Fruit Growers website
• Budding and Grafting Demystified presentation slides from the 2011 California Master Gardener Conference website