The cherry trees - like other fruit trees - are propagated through grafting. This involves combining two plant parts – a base and a scion – into one. In this way, a pure descendant of the desired variety is created.
How do you graft a cherry tree?
A cherry tree is refined by connecting a scion (annual shoot of the desired variety) to a rootstock (rooted part of the cherry tree). Common grafting methods include bark grafting, goat's foot grafting or inoculation. Grafting takes place in spring or summer, depending on the method.
Underlay
The rooted part of the cherry tree is called rootstock, also known as wildling. The rootstock primarily determines the growth strength and intensity; it is responsible for the lifespan, flowering ability and yield of the future cherry tree.
For grafting, vegetatively propagated rootstocks or seedlings are used. There are slow-growing, medium-strong and strong-growing rootstocks. Bird cherry, sour cherry or steppe cherry are used as a base for the sour cherries. For sweet cherries, rootstocks that slow down growth are used, such as Weiroot, GiSelA, Colt or Piku.
Scion
Scions are the annual shoots that you cut between December and January from the cherry tree whose properties you want to increase. The scions should be around 30-40 cm long, as thick as a pencil and come from he althy, fertile trees. They are kept in a cool place in damp sand during the winter.
The scions primarily determine the following characteristics of the future cherry tree:
- Taste, color and quality of the fruit,
- Resistance to fungi,
- Frost sensitivity.
Refining process
Refining is the actual transfer of the scions to the base. The right time for this is around the end of April/beginning of May, when the cherry trees start to sprout. Before sprouting, the rootstock is cut back so far that only a branch remains next to the crown stump. This is used to supply the noble rice with nutrients and water. The scion is grafted onto the rootstock by sticking it behind the bark and firmly connecting it to it.
A distinction is made between bark plugs and goat's foot plugs. While with bark grafting only the bark of the base is cut, with goat's foot grafting you cut a notch in the wood behind the bark. In addition, a scion can be connected to an equally strong rootstock by means of copulation. The ends of the pieces to be connected are cut diagonally, placed on top of each other and connected. The finishing point is always connected with raffia and covered with tree wax.
Another refinement technique is called inoculation. In this method, a bud, the so-called eye, is cut out of one cherry tree and inserted into the other, in whose bark a T-cut has been previously made. This type of refinement is used in summer, usually at the beginning of August, when the eyes of the noble variety are sufficiently developed and the bark of the rootstock can still be easily removed.
Tips & Tricks
The sweet cherry varieties usually need a pollinator variety nearby. You don't have to plant a second cherry tree straight away. You can only graft individual shoots if a pollinator is missing for the first variety.