Orange Pippin Forum Board

Hi,

I would like to grow some Katy,( katya, katja) on its own roots, I have read somewhere that if the scion is grafted as normal and then buried in the ground the scion will root and the rootstock will die off.

my plan was to graft on to M27 in pots, then the following winter when the graft has taken and i have a maiden to plant it out with the soil level above the graft.

I am planning on planting 50 trees so i would like to get it right 1st time if possible, has anyone got any comments?

Cheers

Nurse-grafting on to M27 followed by planting with the union buried the following season is a good approach. However I think you will need to experiment for a few years before you can go into production. It's a very hit and miss technique in my experience.

Thanks for your thoughts, I have sourced some root stocks and scions at a very reasonable price so i think i will give the 50 trees a go, it will give a better idea of how hit and miss it is, the more trees the better statistics. I would also like the chance to see them in there mature state, so not being a young'un i need to get started asap.

Please keep us updated on you success rate. Interesting post.

An option might be to hire a tissue culture lab to do a batch for you. If you can convince them that there is a market, you could get the price down to about $4/tree.

Find a lab that already does something in malus. Try Prairie Tech in Bonnyville AB. I have bought thunderchild crabapples from them.

sgbotsford wrote:An option might be to hire a tissue culture lab to do a batch for you. If you can convince them that there is a market, you could get the price down to about $4/tree.

Find a lab that already does something in malus. Try Prairie Tech in Bonnyville AB. I have bought thunderchild crabapples from them.

As i am grafting my own i am already less than $4/tree, i am also in the UK so not sure this service would be available here.

You might do better to take cuttings. That will give you a full sized tree of your desired variety, and less work.