Grafting your own apple

[Speed Gardener]

I have an old cooking apple tree (approx 80 years but might be older) in my garden that unfortunately will have to go to make way for an extension. I think it's a Bramley but I'd like to save it for the future by grafting it onto rootstocks myself. The apples have really crisp white flesh and cook without disintegrating to a mush.
My questions:
Where can you buy good rootstock from and when is the best time to graft?
Where should the scion wood come from, the tip of a branch, or a cut section of older wood?

I want to do half a dozen or so grafts and keep the best one after a couple of years.

[yummersetter]

I doubt if its a Bramley - the special quality of that as a cooker is that it goes to a puree. This would be a really good time to take some apples and leaves to an Apple Day event for identification. Jim Arbury is doing that at Wisley this week.
He could also give you excellent advice on grafting, I did a course led by him once. You will need young, healthy shoots as scion wood.

[yummersetter]

RHS Fruit Identification Days

[Paulieb]

Grafting is done in Feb/Mar using disease/pest free 1 year old growth. I've ordered some rootstocks from Blackmoors but I'm sure there are other sites.

Another way to propagate apples (and other fruits) is by budding in Jul/Aug, which requires far less scion material.

Either way can be fiddly, but as long as you followed some good instructions you should end up with a decent result.

[Speed Gardener]

I've been reading the RJ Garner book on grafting and it mentions a whole range of options for sealing the grafts. Does anyone have a preferred material they've used successfully? I was thinking of keeping it simple and using pvc tape, covered with plumber's putty.

[boundtothesoil]

I've been reading the RJ Garner book on grafting and it mentions a whole range of options for sealing the grafts. Does anyone have a preferred material they've used successfully? I was thinking of keeping it simple and using pvc tape, covered with plumber's putty.

I learnt to graft a few years ago by repeatedly watching short videos made by Stephen Hayes posted on you tube, mainly saddle grafting, but also whip and tongue. He uses lengths of polythene (1-2 cm width) cut from freezer bags to bind the graft, nothing else. Out of around 100 grafts following this procedure, I've had less than 10 failures, so it seems to work pretty well. I tend to cut my lengths from very large polythene bags. The only problem I've found with them is a tendency to pull apart if you stretch the lengths over quickly and vigorously as you are tying the graft. However, you do have to tie them tightly. I'm sure that PVC tape is equally as good, although when it comes to long term contact between plastics and plant material, personally, I've always favoured the Polyethylene family over the PVC or polystyrene families, on the grounds of potential phytotoxicity of the latter (e.g. in hydroponics).

[BUFFS]

I budded a bramley onto a previously braeburn(top got canker so I lopped it 12 ins from ground), following the internet video instructions and found that ptfe tape, as used by plumbers worked great as it lets you pull it tight. both the buds seem to have taken(it will be grown as a W shape as an experiment), there seems to be loads of "show how" videos out there, good luck..

[Paulieb]

Ive just got some ptfe tape for grafting this winter because it works well when you pull it tight. However what also works is an elastic band. Cut it into a strip, trap it at the bottom wing it round and tie it at the top always keeping it really tight. Then cover with 'grafting wax'. Dont forget to cover all open cuts with grafti g wax to stop any infection.