Multi-grafted tree

Discussion in 'Ornamental Cherries' started by Junglekeeper, Nov 12, 2021.

  1. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    After reading about the record setting fruit tree in the article, This man won a Guinness World Record for his tree that bears 10 types of fruit, I wondered if anyone has tried to create a multi-grafted flowering cherry to produce blossoms throughout the entire seasonal bloom period for cherries. Wouldn't it be possible to do so using a selection of early-, mid-, and late-season varieties and grafting them onto one rootstock?
     
  2. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Even if that were possible, wouldn't it look strange to have only one section of the tree blooming at a time? I may be wrong but remembering a pear tree we had with 3 types of pear grafts that I wouldn't describe as particularly beautiful because each graft grew differently from the others.
     
  3. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    I suppose so but the trade-off would be a continual supply of flowers to enjoy. Certainly, such a tree would not be everyone's cup of tea.
     
  4. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    No fooling. I'm sure somebody's tried it.
    And a tree with different sections having different growth habits, so different shapes in the different sections, as @Margot mentioned. Sounds lovely, not. You can get an idea of what that might look like on trees where the rootstock has taken over, so a spreading 'Akebono' shape below, with Prunus avium limbs sticking up from the top.

    Cherries are so susceptible to disease that more grafts would seem to be more opportunities for trouble and more ways for the rootstock to take over the tree. It's already an issue for some of us that these supposed-to-be beautiful trees when grafted end up looking like bouquets on a pole instead of looking like real trees.

    But do let us know if you see one!
     
  5. Sulev

    Sulev Contributor

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    I grafted a sweet cherry cultivar onto the crown of a 10 year old sweet cherry, that came from root sprout of one of my mother's no name cherries. Now the top of the crown starts blooming, when lowest half finishes. Unfortunately those grafted branches bear fruits, that aren't so sweet as the berries of the root stock are. But as a measure to keep tree blooming for couple of weeks longer this method definitely works.
     
  6. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Pruning is employed to keep multiple scion ("combo" or "fruit cocktail") orchard fruit trees symmetric. With it being fairly usual I think for orchard fruit hobbyists interested in collecting a large number of varieties to obtain these as scions and put them on existing trees, growing them as branches rather than whole individual trees taking up a considerably larger amount of space. Surely the same could be done by those so interested with flowering fruit trees such as Japanese cherries. With as mentioned previously the effect produced by an entire tree consisting of a single variety having to not be a part of the interest so generated. But orchard fruit tree collections consisting primarily of individual branches will also have this same limitation. Yet this does not seem to put those doing so off. Of course, orchard cultivars observed for a time as branches may sometimes end up being made into single scion variety specimens later, after having been observed beforehand.

    Otherwse there is the problem of there not being all that many decorative Prunus cultivars on the North American market. With in the case of cherries there being a same small set of certain favorites dominating the commerical supply - why make a combo tree consisting of 'Akebono', 'Kanzan', 'Shirotae' and so forth when thousands of these can be seen on other properties all around? Flowering crabapples on the other hand - like orchard apples - number in the hundreds of kinds historically. And unlike with Japanese cherries have a regular procession of new kinds being put on the North American market. So it should be possible to enjoy these as collections consisting of "combo" trees also. Instead of acres of single scion variety trees.
     
    Last edited: Nov 14, 2021
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  7. Junglekeeper

    Junglekeeper Esteemed Contributor 10 Years

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    Good point, particularly here in Vancouver where there are many such trees. I suspect a multi-grafted tree would end up resembling something like the 'Charlie Brown' variety.
     
  8. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Not that there's anything wrong with that! :-)

    I know however that if I saw a tree with gorgeous flowers on just one section, my thought would not be, "How beautiful!" but "What's wrong with that tree?"
     

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