Whip and tongue grafting

Grafting is a technique used to reproduce plant varieties that are not true-to-seed, meaning that they will not produce similar fruit (or other features) if reproduced by the seed. When grafting, certain parts of two plants are joined together in a particular way, so that the cambium layer of those parts matches. If this is done correctly, they grow as a single plant. Grafting can be used to reproduce fruit tree varieties and can be performed by any gardener. All you need is a scion of desired variety, a compatible rootstock, a grafting knife, some tape to wrap the graft union and some grafting wax. For winter grafting the fresh scions (of latest year growth) are usually gathered in late winter and stored in a cool place (e.g. refrigerator) until the time of grafting in spring. Grafting is performed after the risk of significant frost damage has passed.

Whip and tongue is a common grafting technique that can be used to reproduce apples, pears, stone-fruit and many other species. For it you will need a rootstock (e.g. and apple seedling) and a scion of a desired (apple) variety. They should be of similar diameter. Cuts (2-5 cm in length) are made and the two parts are joined together, wrapped with grafting tape, the end is sealed and the graft union is allowed to heal. When grafting it is essential to match the cambium of the scion with that of the rootstock on least one side. The scion usually starts to grow after 3 weeks and it is essential to remove the shoots from the rootstock (from below the graft union). The tape can be removed after 6-8 weeks and it is important not to disturb the graft union until it fully heals (first year).

Project “Growing Seed Savers in Museums” (2021-2022) was funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers program NORDPLUS.