After last years introduction to grafting I decided to step It up a notch this year. I ordered 100 Bud 118 rootstocks from Treco on the advise in Michael Phillips' book as well as a small number of Bud 9 rootstocks from another vendor. I found the Treco rootstocks to be superior to other rootstocks I have bought in the past and I will definitely be ordering from them in the future. Altogether I grafted about 30 varieties as well as several interstems using the tops of the Bud 9 rootstocks as scions. I plan on letting a few of the interstem grafts grow into "Bud 9 trees" so I will have a supply of interstem wood to experiment with.

This year I also wanted to try topworking older trees with other forms of grafting. Anyone interested in grafting should own "The Grafters Handbook" by R.J. Garner. This book contains more info. than you will ever need. With all types of grafting there is a finite window of opportunity that comes around only once a year and I was told Mid-April is the best time in my area to topwork trees. I experimented with several different grafts on some wild apple trees and found that the fancy grafts I tried almost never took. The winners were the "Cleft Graft" and also the "Whip graft" applied to the central leader on smaller trees.

To hold my grafting supplies I bought a carpenters apron here. I tried two different kinds of grafting that were recommended to me by professionals who swore by them. The two were Treekote and Gashel grafting compound. I found Treekote much more to my liking, as I didn't have to apply it with my bare hands. The cap of the treekote jar had a brush attached to it, which made for easy application. I found myself wanting a tripod orchard ladder as I tried to work some of the bigger trees, I will probably buy one before next spring. Another thing I like to do is yellow up my equipment with paint or yellow tape. This makes everything easier to find if you drop it in the leaves below and believe me you will.