Cloning an apple tree

Hi,
I have recently moved my mum into a care home and will inevitably have to sell the family home to meet her care costs. In the garden sits my dad’s pride and joy, an apple tree planted around 1970 which produces the most remarkable cooking apples. They can grow up to 6 inch plus, green with a red blush as they ripen and the last ones on the tree sweeten to make them a reasonable eater at this time of year. As he’s no longer with us I have no way of confirming but I’m sure he thought it was a Macintosh. It sits about 14 foot high, although I have pruned it to keep it at that height.
The issue I have is that I need to get a viable cutting off this tree before I have to sell the property. I had a half hearted try last spring but it didn’t work. I’ve read up on rootstocks and grafting but time is running short and I’m likely to only get one shot. Initially my thought was to get it into a large pot and allow it to stabilise before finding a suitable spot for it, and maybe growing a second one for my daughter. Can anyone advise how to get this done with a high chance of a successful outcome?
Thanks,
Mike

 

You don’t say where your apple tree is. In UK, I assume? One idea is to contact these people, a family business that has been going for years, now run by a fairly elderly couple. They may be able to take cuttings for you if you are near enough or a search of their catalogue of hundreds of varieties may help you to identify your tree and let you buy a new one from them.

Fruit Trees- Rare and Traditional Varieties Grown and Supplied by Bernwode Fruit Trees

 

I'd be inclined to try to find a local nursery that grows fruit trees and ask them to graft it for you. Obviously there would be a cost, but they might like a few of the variety for themselves.

If you have an established tree in your own garden you could try grafting a few pieces yourself, on to it, just as a way of saving the variety until you can get it onto a rootstock.

 

Just in case you hadn't realised @Mozziedodger , cuttings often fail. So I would take tons of them if I were you. If you're not a keen gardener, grafting might be a bit of a stretch, so see if there is a local garden club with helpful members to come and try to propagate the tree. If you do take cuttings, make sure you put them into a really gritty compost. Using a rooting compound like Clonex would also help.

 

I wouldn't be scared of trying to graft it, it really is very easy. I grafted apples for the first time last year and did about two dozen, they all took and are growing strongly. The art is in the cut but it's easy to practice on old bits of wood and they dont have to be perfect. I used a sharp knife but you can buy grafting tools cheaply which basically do the whole cut, so it fits perfectly, for you.
It will be scion season soon meaning that you will be able to keep any pieces of the tree you wish to graft in the fridge until the spring, so you don't need to rush it. There are also plenty of places that do bareroot root stock for grafting.

 

Well thanks for taking the time to reply, certainly plenty to consider. If I’m honest I hadn’t really spent time properly researching this and the points made have made me feel quite positive about giving grafting a proper go.
I live in Southport, at the northern end close to the West Lancs border. The tree I’m wanting to clone is situated in Formby, where the soil is completely different, light and sandy. To be honest though most plants I’ve brought up here over the years haven’t struggled.
The idea of cutting Scions in February and storing them in the fridge seems manageable, and pre ordering rootstock shouldn’t be too difficult. I guess the issue would be which type to go for, I think M26 seems about right.
I had in mind a large tub for each, maybe 70cm or so to start, just to get things going, so I can move it if I need to. I’d be interested to know if anyone has a go-to compost for such things, I went peat free this summer and wasn’t overly impressed.
Looks like I’ve plenty of reading to be getting on with!

 

You ideally need a John Innes #1 compost, which is loam (soil) based, for potted trees. Multi purpose and peat-free composts are not suitable as they are too lightweight and only contain enough added plant food for a few weeks' growth. You could also use garden soil, possibly amended with 10 to 15% bagged farmyard manure and 15% grit (if you have clay soil) but do risk bringing in pest and diseases from garden soil.

 

The problem I see is that it would be better if the rootstock had a year to get established in a pot before grafting the following year.
I'm only assuming, but I would have thought any rootstock you buy now would be bare root.

 

In my case, with a similar situation where the tree was to be felled, I just grafted it onto any old apple tree so I could keep the cultivar going. I'm going to use the new growth from that to graft onto it's perminent tree in a year or two, so it's just a stop gap for me.

 

Just a quick update. Scions cut and safely stowed in the fridge. M26 rootstocks ordered for delivery at the end of the month. Just need six large containers, some grafting tape and a couple of bags of John Innes No1. I’m feeling quite giddy about getting this close to kick off!

 

Personally I would use JI3, JI1 is more frequently used for smaller cuttings and growing on seedlings.

 

That is assuming you are grafting onto established rootstocks.

 

If you are buying grafting tape then I would get it from a reputable supplier because many that sell paraffin tape, actually sell glorified food wrapping. I used some of this poorer quality stuff last year because it was all that I had. it worked but the buds find it very hard to break out and it can keep it to wet if moisture gets in.

 

Taken from the web Mozziedodger...

John Innes No 1 is designed for pricking out or potting on young seedlings or rooted cuttings. It contains a low, carefully balanced amount of fertilizer to give enough for growth but avoid scorching the delicate young roots.


John Innes No 2 contains moderate levels of fertilizer and is used for potting on plants at the next stage of growth, and most vegetables.


John Innes No 3 contains the highest levels of fertilizer and is suitable for mature plants growing in pots, such as shrubs, small trees, perennials, and conifers.

 

I'd probably also ask locally for anyone else who might like a scion or two for grafting - the more widely it's spread, the greater chance of success and future scions back for you if you need them.