Chops and Grafts

imyerhukleberry

Will chopping the tree below the graft eliminate the fertility of the tree?

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bonsaikc

Hmmm, it shouldn't have any affect other than removing the desireable foliage that was grafted on in the first place. What species are you talking about? I hope it's deciduous LOL. Can you give us any more information? Is there already sucker growth below the graft that you would like to keep? What was it about this piece of stock that caught your eye?

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imyerhukleberry

The tree is a 10 or 15 year old orange tree that I saved from a neglected garden. It just looked like a pole with dead foliage on it so I took about six inches of the top late summer last year. Every new branch has started below the graft.

At the moment I think I do want to keep all the branches that sprout.

However I would like to see some appear in the upper half of the grafted tree.

jeremy_norbury

Surely what's below the graft is a different sort to what's above the graft...I'd argue that you may not want the grafted part.

...and don't call me Shirley

Jerry
AMsterdam

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imyerhukleberry

I believe the reason for the graft in this case is so that this orange tree will produce fruit. Does anybody know this to be true?

jeremy_norbury

Propogation from cuttings and grafts is generally done because the resulting plant has the characteristics to the scion plant. Flowers and fruit will be produced the year after the graft. Thus the scion was/is the important plant and the root stock serves a purely utilitarian purpose.

In your case, it's likely that the scion was some special orange sort, and the roots are common orange (or maybe even some other citrus fruit).

Jerry

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imyerhukleberry

That makes sense to me Jeremy. I know that Walnut growers generally use a Black Walnuts to start and then graft English Walnuts to the top. I was always told this is because the English Walnut is more prone to disease with out the trunk of a Black Walnut.

I have also been told that some trees like Cherry trees or some types of Apple trees do not produce the fruit unless they are grafted with the right type of Cherry or Apple.

I think the answer was brought to my attention here.

I am assuming now that if I cut the graft off that the bottom portion will still produce fruit, however it will be the fruit of whatever tree it is on the bottom.

This does bring to mind another question, and that is: Do fruit trees need a male and female tree in order to produce fruit?

TreeBay

Some plants are dioecious - male and female flowers on different plants. Those you would obviously need two of to bear fruit. Persimmon is one example.

Other plants carry flowers of both sexes but you still require two trees because they will reject their own pollen at feritilization to help insure cross pollination takes place. Those trees are called not "self fruitful" and include most apples, pears, and cherries. Generally, trees will produce more abundantly if fertilized from a neighboring tree, even if they are considered self-fruitful.

Regards,

Matt

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imyerhukleberry

Here are some shots of the orange tree I'm talking of.

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