On 2/20/2014 9:13 PM, Guv Bob wrote:
"David E. Ross" wrote in message ...
On 2/19/2014 2:11 PM, Guv Bob wrote:

What kind of trees can I graft an apple branch onto? In the yard I
have meyers lemon, avocado and a living fake-orange tree stock that
had a real orange branch grafted onto originally.


You have to graft to a closely related plant. Apple to pear, rose,
quince, and crabapple are possible. (My mother had three different
varieties of rose all grafted to the same apple stock.) Even apple to
loquat might work.

The best would be to an apple seedling. The seedling would unlikely
bear fruit similar to its parent but might have strong roots. This is
how apples are propagated for commercial orchards.

No, you cannot graft an apple to citrus or avocado. It just won't work.

Note also that less than half of the attempts to graft even the best
like-to-like actually succeed, except possibly for the most experienced
orchardists.


Thanks David. My neighbor has a couple of trees that have the
sweetest apples I have ever had. I didn't know apple trees would
grow at sea level until moved here. The current residents let them
rot on the tree like typical city folks. Previous neighbor had
planted the trees and took care of them for many years.

Growing up in the mountains of NC in the 60's, I remember watching my
uncle graft all kinds of fruit and nut trees. Said he learned from
the "old timers."


If the trees are getting a good crop in a coastal, mild-winter area,
they are a "garden variety", not a commercial variety.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary