I did a thread search but did not find what I was seeking, so hopefully I am not repeating an existing thread. My question is with regards to multi-grafted Apple and Cherry Trees. I have a relatively small area which is set aside for a few fruit trees, but after looking at options from our local garden center / nursery I am tempted to go with just two trees. One is a five graft apple tree and the other is a five graft cherry tree - if these are an effective alternative, it would save me a heck of a lot of space? The particular grafting's are geared towards my climate zone here on Vancouver Island, so they are definitely 'location appropriate' fruits. Are there any major drawbacks to a multi-grafted tree? Are they more susceptible to disease? Any special care considerations? I have a great rapport with my local garden center and they have a terrific reputation for standing behind their plants - and they are very particular in regards to sourcing them. The currently available trees look very healthy with nice clean grafts - I am always a little mystified with the science of grafting, do not really understand it but is seems to have been practiced for a long, long time. Any advice on this subject matter is appreciated...
I have two espalier trees, one with 3 varieties of apples, the other with 3 varieties of asian pear. I am very pleased with them (see my recent post). Most varieties of fruit trees nowadays are grafted onto dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstock, anyhow, so I'd give the idea a thumbs up.
Thanks, and you have a very nice blog ... great photos of your espalier trees. Is it true that you get the maximum amount of fruit from an espalier vs. a traditional tree? That is what someone had mentioned to me and I have been contemplating trying and espalier of some fruit variety ever since...
I am still new to fruit trees (2 years), but there are at least 3 factors involved in espalier, which seem to encourage high yields of fruit: 1) Compact growth due to grafting on dwarf stock 2) Restricting vertical growth, so tree directs its energy into the fruit production 3) Heat reflected from the wall or fence, which is usually where an espalier is located In addition, they are so beautiful, and can be maintained at eye-level, for maximum enjoyment and access to the fruit. I wish I had more room for dozens of espaliered trees! Apparently, the apple & pear are best suited to the horizontal form of espalier, but I would love to try a stone fruit (e.g. peach).
I find multi grafts are a pain in the behind because the varieties grow at different rates, makes it tough to prune but otherwise, a good use of limited space. :)
I was wondering about the pruning issue - do I just prune in the fall and try and keep each graft equidistant in branch length with the other ones? Also, for the first couple of years should I remove any new fruit to allow the grafts to focus on growth an strengthen?
Tiger Lilly, you 're a life saver. I have ben trying to do exactly what you have done. But I can not find multi-grafted pears in Vancouver.. where did you purchase your pear??
I bought mine at Triple Tree Nursery in Maple Ridge, but I've seen them at Gardenworks in Burnaby also. The best selection of the fruit trees seems to be in very early spring (Feb or March?), after which the interesting ones sell out. I'd suggest you phone the nursery, to find out when their stock comes in. Mine is an asian pear, but I think I've seen pears also.
I have a multi-graft cherry tree (with five cherry types; Monmorency, Bing, Lapin, Rainer and Stella) bought at Home Depot and planted in the spring of 2006 in Zone 5a and it surivied the first winter and gave me a few cherries the first year (though not more than a dozen). I loved the look of the few chrries on the Rainier grafted branch so I thought I should try grafting a branch from Rainier onto Monmorency branch some time when I have more than one branch of Rainer. I also have a multi-graft pear tree planted this summe of 2007. I hope it survives the winter in Zone 5. The pear tree flowered in August (out of synch with the season) and had one pear fruit but raccun or squirrel got to it first. I hope the pear tree blooming get synchronized next year.
I have a 5-in-one apple tree with varieties all suited to my climate. It might as well be a 2-in-1 tree because two varieties dominate the others no matter how much I prune. The other three aren't much bigger than when I bought it. If you are considering an espailier, I would plant 5 seperate apple trees on dwarfing rootstock (Bud-9 works great) 18" apart and train as a belgian fence.
Mmmm.. that was going to be my alternative. But I was thinking of three pear trees in cordons - you know, single stem. I am going to Google Belgian Fence, see what the advantages may be. Thanks!
