Grafting Dwarf Interstem Apple Trees 2/3: Grafting the parts together

Grafting interstem apple trees in one year instead of two. I think most interstems are grafted by budding, which would require two years, but would also require less scion wood. If you have the materials, it's no problem to do it in one year.
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An inexpensive, but quality grafting knife is the Victorinox Gardener: amzn.to/1Fut9Gg (affiliate link) If you have a Swiss army knife or similar pocket knife, you can use that for grafting and it should work fine. If you want a real grafting knife that is sharpened on one side only, I like this one a lot. It has a grippy handle, it's cheap and the bright color makes it hard to lose and easy to spot when you need it. It also has a thin and easy to sharpen blade. The only significant difference between this and the more expensive victorinox grafting knife is that the grafting knife has a flap lifter for budding, which isn't necessary unless you do a whole lot of budding, so don't waste your money. Having lost several grafting knives in the field, I highly recommend the neon yellow handle version.

[@JRHimself1]

I grafted 200 apples on semi-dwarf last year and feel like I wasted my time! If this works as well as you suggest it does, this is my new standard! Great videos generally but this one is Stellar. Thanks for sharing!

[@SkillCult]

There are some potential down sides too. More expense to get a stock and interstem wood both. Often means buying a bunch of dwarf stocks. The suckers are an issue. some say burying deeper will help. a friend just told me he still has a lot of suckering on his though even planted with the graft union below the soil. And it's more grafts to make. One guy said his did not anchor well. all of mine seemed to be well anchored, but I dont' have soggy soil or high winds usually. Potential upsides, are self sufficient trees that are small, but self supporting. Only one way to find out is try it and compare.

[@adimaladakeleamahiariml5495]

SkillCult thank you very much

[@guymansford7123]

Thanks, that was really helpful. Encouraged me to try interstems in one year. Six on top of each other is insane!!

[@SkillCult]

i think we can do more. I might try this year if I can cut out the time.

[@SkillCult]

Just plant them with the interstem buried a little. They do sucker very bad. Some say different stocks will sucker less, but I think it's more the interstem than the stock type. That is the downside. If I were growing under higher rainfall conditions or with water and fertility, I probably would just do dwarfs intead. But these trees have done very well with minimal watering and some years none at all. But suckers suck.

[@chikambambam3492]

❤

[@maks4igus]

Hi, thanks for this amazing video, I'm from Ukraine I'm going this year to try interstam grafting on apples stock 54-118 + interstem M9. It will be great if I manage to do it in one year.

[@SkillCult]

+Maksym Karpenko it is easy to do in one year if your wood is good and the grafts are clean and tight. Even if not, it's still pretty likely to work. If you are a new grafter, practice on scraps until your grafts are clean and tight. If you're already a good grafter, you don't need me to tell you that ;)

[@michaeldavidson9939]

+SkillCult I have access to unlimited amounts of bamboo. Would it be advantageous to tie a stiffened of bamboo to the graft until they heal?

[@SkillCult]

+Michael Davidson it shoulnd't be necessary, if it is wrapped tight and staked normally, but it sure shouldn't hurt anything either. I have done splints like that before on very long or fragile grafts. I do stake them at least.

[@michaeldavidson9939]

+SkillCult Thank you.

[@ontic2354]

While your success at grafting the bud9 and top scion wood at the same time has been pretty fantastic-as an alternative what would you think of grafting a longish piece of bud9 onto the rootstock, and then at the same time chip budding the desired top wood cultivar at the desired height a bit below the top of the bud9 and letting the bud9 grow for a little while from the top (feeding the chip bud) before cutting off the top down to the chip bud? I ask because I’m looking at planting a few acres of apple as a heritage apple bank (in Australia), for small scale apple production and scion wood and grafted tree sales, and trialling some breeding like you have helped inspire. I’ve been pretty lazy with my grafts so far focussing on whip and tongue, but have recently had a lot of success with trickier stuff and out of season stuff doing chip buds and letting the top grow for a bit before chopping down to the chip bud. Thanks for your work and dedication.

[@SkillCult]

I don't see any reason that would not work and it might be a really great strategy. I would put the bud at 8 or 9 inches, so you can have plenty to graft to the next year, if it doesn't grow. also, as soon as you think it's healed, notch above the chip even if it is starting to grow. That should push it harder. I would also cut the top as soon as the chip is really underway, to drive everything into it. Let me know how it goes, I think it's a great idea. The reason they likely do it in two years is to save materials, but not sure. Might just be conservatism.

[@esiljander2362]

Have you ever tried double budding? Double shield bud method.

[@SkillCult]

No, I haven't. Seen pictures I think.

[@Christian-jz3xt]

Would an interstem graft of honeycrisp cause other grafts on it to suffer from lack of calcium?

[@SkillCult]

I don't know. Interesting question though.

[@Christian-jz3xt]

@@SkillCult about to find out. I top worked a lot of varieties on a grafted honeycrisp last year. lots blooming already so may get to see if they get bitter pit or not

[@jessicamd8232]

Hi SkillCult! I enjoy your videos very much. Just to be sure: you do that all at once, with dormant rootock and dormant scions? And you did Goldrush on Bud 9 on M111, whip and tongue?

[@SkillCult]

Yes, I have used mostly M111 and Bud 9, dormant. Whip and tongue or cleft are okay, but I almost always use whip and tongue if the scions are about the same size. If your grafts are clean, they should take fine. I've had a very high success rate. I do have goldrush. the interstem goldrush is probably the best grower of all of them. It's got a great form and just vigorous enough. My biggest caveat is to plant the interstem below the ground. Suckering is actually a major problem and planting deep is supposed to supress it.

[@jessicamd8232]

Thank you very much. Have a good grafting season !!

[@SkillCult]

You're welcome, you too :)

[@stephenluna7932]

I had a thought last night im wondering if you've ever done or know anything about doing an interstem of bud 9 on a full size tree rootstock such as the malus antonovka. If it would still have the dwarfing effect but with an even deeper rootsystem. I'm curious of would live as long as the standard tree. Also how long can I expect an interstem m111 bud 9 to live?

[@SkillCult]

It should be fine and similar size. The only reason I use M111 is that it's available and a proven drought tolerant stock for this area. Also, it's almost full size, even though it's considered semi dwarf. I don't know how long they live, but not at long as a regular standard. don't plant them as legacy trees, put those on seedling or full size stocks.

[@stephenluna7932]

When doing a modified central leader with plans for a frankin tree is it ok to just do the bud 9 and m111 and use that for the scaffolds or do you need the 3rd part to make the scaffolds?

[@SkillCult]

You could, but I would do a top still. Some rootstocks are prone to bur knot and if any branch dies or something unforseen, anything that sprouts from the main stem will be an edible variety. But you don't have to.

[@rvk671]

Hlo agn , why you have used such a large interstem 6 inch i think , as an interstem role is just a socket ,dont u think it should be as small as possible may be 2-3 inch ?

[@SkillCult]

The length allegedly has an effect on how dwarfed the tree is. Most of my trees I've actually been pretty sloppy about the interstem length and haven't noticed a lot of difference. You do want it long enough to be sure the top won't root if the interstem is partly buried, which I do recommend to reduce suckering of the bottom stock. So, 6 inches would be 2 inches buried and 4 above the ground.

[@rvk671]

SkillCult Ok .thanks !

[@rvk671]

SkillCult Most commonly used combinations are M111 and M9 or bud 9 ,but I am s thinking of M111 and M106 as m106 has more vigour,so will thrive,have you done one in this combination?

[@SkillCult]

I haven't. I've used seedling with bud nine though.

[@rvk671]

SkillCult Bud 9 on seedling ,so how it did, is it thriving ?

[@nwlady1844]

what are you using to wrap? thank you

[@SkillCult]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaPEqoJnmrV-d9U

[@nwlady1844]

@@SkillCult thank you... lots of good options

[@rvk671]

Hi Steven , Do you know the process of creating a new rootstock vareity ,I mean just like M111 / M9 etc, I dont mean from cloning .I want to know the sceintific approach

[@SkillCult]

I don't really know much about it. I think they probably choose parents with resistant traits, like crown rot, wooly aphid or fire blight resistance, drought, etc and then start cross pollinating and growing them out. I'm sure the trialing process is very long and drawn out. You might find some information on the Geneva rootstock breeding program that has been releasing new apple stocks.

[@rvk671]

SkillCult But how they control the size of a specific rootstock ,is it all done in a laboratory

[@SkillCult]

That is just standard breeding. Some plants are dwarf and those are used in breeding new dwarf varieities.

[@rvk671]

SkillCult Ok Thank you ! What is you views on using hard wood cuttings as rootstock (of a fully grown tree) which traits will be there in that cutting propagated rootstock, have you tried it ?