Espalier Apple & Pear - Notching didn't work

Please tell me you're not trying to do it in what looks to be little more than a 12" pot? That's probably struggling to provide enough food / moisture for what's already there let alone growing anything new.

I have experience both in the making of incisions to force the sprouting of the buds, as well as in the techniques of grafting for the production of new branches.
But first of all you have to start talking about rootstocks.

What varieties of rootstock have you in your apple and pear trees? .

Growing an apple tree in such a small pot is a crime, even with an M-27 rootstock.

Now we go with the incisions.
It is a very effective agricultural practice to invigorate buds that are beginning to sprout, as the incision cuts the upward sap and favors the development of the future branch.
This is not a 100% safe technique, since sometimes it works perfectly and others do not.
The most recommended time to make the incisions, is at the late winter and beginning of spring when the buds begin to sprout.

Sometimes, there is a dormant bud, but it does not want to sprout, and it is necessary to make the incisions to invigorate the buds and form branches in the fruit trees (the most problematic in this sense are apples and pears trees)

I attach some photographs of my incisions in apple trees, so you can see how they are done (it is convenient to apply copper oxychloride to avoid infections in the cuts).


Incision in apple tree

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Incision in apple tree -2

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Application of oxychloride and copper in the incisions

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Bud invigorated after incision

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As for the technique of grafting for the creation of new branches, the two most recommended techniques are :
The grafting to Chip Budding, with refrigerated wood (from the end of the winter to the month of June), and the T-graft with green wood , which you can do all spring and all the summer.

It is a nonsense to explain both grafting techniques since there is much information on both techniques on internet

Best regards
Jose