In addition to the simple grafts used to make new sapling fruit trees, it's worth learning about techniques you can use to change the variety of more mature trees --- topworking and frameworking.  These related techniques can both be used to completely alter the variety of a mature tree, or to add on a limb of a new variety when creating a fruit cocktail tree.

So what's the difference between topworking and frameworking?  Topworking is more drastic, removing more of the current tree (so it takes longer to recover), but also costing less time and money.  Frameworking keeps the main branches and adds on new fruiting laterals, using scions with six to eight buds and joining the two with stub grafting, side grafting, or inverted L rind grafting.  In contrast, topworking cuts limbs back further and generally uses cleft grafts, oblique cleft grafts (which Garner considers better than the former), rind grafts (if you can wait until April when the bark slips), or strap grafts (a very good graft if you are skilled enough to handle the complexity).

I won't go into each kind of grafting technique here --- I recommend you check out The Grafter's Handbook or peruse some extension service websites if you want to give any of them a try.  But I'll be writing about this more next spring when I try again to change the varieties of my pear trees (this time probably using the more appropriate frameworking).

I hope you haven't gotten bored with all this talk of grafting, and that it's inspired you to consider making some changes in your own orchard.  We've got several experiments on the horizon in addition to our pear frameworking, including adding a pollinator branch to our plum tree, trying out more apple varieties by grafting a few limbs onto our existing trees, and grafting Asian persimmon tops onto our American persimmon seedlings.  Do you have any grafting experiments in the pipeline?

This post is part of our Grafting lunchtime series.  Read all of the entries: The Grafter's Handbook What can grafting do? How to grow your own rootstocks How to gather scionwood Grafting supplies Two grafts for beginners Topworking vs. frameworking

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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