Horticulture Fact Sheet
H-00-049
Cooperative Extension Service
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Kathryn C. Taylor, Stone Fruit Horticulturist, Horticulture Department, CAES
University of Georgia, 21 Dunbar Rd., Byron, GA 31008
Do you have a neighbor, friend or relative that has a really wonderful peach variety that you would love to have in your yard? Maybe it produces fruit earlier or later than your tree; or it is really good for pies or preserves or has a better munching quality. Whatever the reason, you wish you had some of your own. But possibly you don't have room for another tree or you don't want to start from scratch with a new tree? Or perhaps you aren't really sure what the variety is, but you would like to have a few of those fruit every year.
A fun way to bring this variety into your garden is by producing a "cocktail" tree, one with a mixture of varieties on the same tree. You may have had some propagation experience: possibly with budding trees or with rooting suckers or other cuttings. Even if you haven't, you may enjoy adding this variety to your existing tree by way of graftage, if your tree is in good health. To do this the somewhat difficult method of saw-kerf grafting is preferred.
Saw-kerf grafting can be accomplished over a long period (February through March). The scionwood (the portion you are adding to the tree) must be collected during the winter when the scion source is dormant. Select shoots of the previous season's growth with 3-4 buds, that are 3/8 to 1/2 inch in diameter and free of insects and diseases. Bundle the scionwood and store it in green, pine sawdust or slightly moist sphagnum moss in the cold (an un-heated basement or a refrigerator). Ideally, the scionwood should be held at 34-36 degrees F until it is used. When you are ready to graft, remove the scionwood from storage, but don't allow it to dry out. Cut the pieces that you will be adding to your tree in a wedge shape (Figure 1). Then cut the scion off at the top of the piece, leaving 2 or 3 buds. For tree training, it is best if the lower bud is located to the outside of the budstick near the top of the wedge cut. Set the wedged scionwood to the side (where it will not dry out), while you prepare the stock or the portion of the tree to which the graft will be made. The stock is the tree to which you will add the new variety. Generally, you must remove the top portion of a scaffold (larger, weight-bearing wood) [Figures 2 and 3], in order to add the scion. The tree will likely not allow the added scion to flourish if it is added to small wood without the removal of other tissue. Cut the stock with a fine-toothed saw, using approximately a 45-degree angle with the flat surface of the stock.
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| Figure 1. Scionwood wedge with lower bud to the outside. | Figure 2. Scaffold to be removed for saw-kerf graft. |
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| Figure 3. Remove scaffold from stock with fine-toothed saw. | Figure 4. Cut notches along the saw-cut in stock to match scionwood wedges. |
The saw cut should go into the stock so that it extends 4 to 5 inches from the surface along the outside. Using a heavy bladed knife, notch the stock along the saw-cut to fit the scion wedge (Figure 4). Insert the scion into the notch, lining up the cambium of the stock and scion (the cambium is the cell layer between the bark and wood) [Figure 5]. Precise matching of these cambiums is essential to the success of the graft union. Put two scionwood wedges in the stock scaffold. Paint all exposed surfaces of the graft with a wound dressing or pruning seal (Figure 6). Allow the grafts to grow about 18 inches. If both grafts on the scaffold grow, select one to be the new scaffold and remove the other.
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| Figure 5. Insert scionwood wedge into the notch. | Figure 6. Cover all exposed surfaces with wound dressing. |
After the graft has taken and the scion portion has begun to grow, you will need to take care to remove any sprouts that form in the older tissue (tissue below the graft), so that the old variety on that scaffold does not overtake the new growth. Finally, as the growth of the new scion flourishes, it is wise to tack a 1/2-inch x 2-inch slat to the stock by each graft to support the new graft and protect it from wind damage.
Departmental Fact Sheet/H-00-049 July, 2000
The University of Georgia and Ft. Valley State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and counties of the state cooperating. The Cooperative Extension Service, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences offers educational programs, assistance and materials to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability.
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Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.
Gale A. Buchanan, Dean and Director