We occasionally receive calls from gardeners who want to know how to treat an apple seed so it will germinate. Usually, the gardener is trying to reproduce an old apple tree that was special for some reason (good quality fruit, planted by grandparents, etc.) Unfortunately, apples grown from seed will not be like the parent. About 1 in every 80,000 apple trees grown from seed will be as good as the apples we are used to eating. Apple trees grown from seed usually have small and inferior quality fruit.

If you want a tree exactly like the parent, you must propagate that tree vegetatively. In the case of apples, this usually means grafting for homeowners. Apple trees are actually quite easy to graft, even for novices. Don’t be afraid to try even if you haven’t grafted before. The step that needs to be done at this time of year is the choosing and cutting of scion wood or small branches that will be grafted on top of a rootstock. The rootstock is a separate tree that has good root characteristics and often disease resistance.  Also rootstocks can have a dwarfing effect on the grafted tree.  So our fruit trees are actually two trees spliced together.  The roots and beginning of the trunk is the rootstock.  The upper portion of the trunk and all the branches is called the scion.  It is the “good” part of the tree.  For example on apples, the scion might be a Jonathan, Winesap, Granny Smith or any other of a number of different cultivars.  The rootstock for all of these varieties may vary or may be the same depending on the desires of the propagator.  See the accompanying article in this week’s newsletter for instructions on how to collect scionwood.

If you don’t have an existing tree to graft onto, you will need to plant a rootstock this year for grafting onto next.  Fruit trees are normally grafted (or budded) onto specially selected rootstocks. These rootstocks usually reduce tree size. For example, a tree that normally would reach 25 feet tall will only reach 10 feet if it is grown on a certain rootstock. Dwarfing rootstocks also allow apples to bear fruit a year or more earlier.

Note that rootstock  reduces tree size, not fruit size. Therefore, a Golden Delicious tree that only reaches 8 feet tall due to a dwarfing rootstock, will bear the same size fruit as a Golden Delicious tree that is 25 feet tall.

A tree on its own roots normally takes 5 to 7 years before it will bear. Semi-dwarf trees bear in 4 to 5 years, and dwarf trees bear in 3 to 4 years. Unfortunately, not all dwarfing rootstocks are well adapted to Kansas conditions. Semi-dwarf trees usually are a better choice for us.  Fully dwarfed trees often are uprooted or break at the graft during high winds.  Semi-dwarf trees are usually more than 50% the size of a standard (non-dwarfed) tree.

So, where do you buy rootstocks to graft onto?  Most nurseries only sell trees that are already grafted. A company that does sell rootstocks is Raintree Nursery, Morton, WA, (360) 496-6400.  See https://raintreenursery.com/collections/apple-rootstock for apple rootstocks.

Another is Cummins Nursery, (865) 233-3539, https://www.cumminsnursery.com/buy-trees/index.php?type=rootstock .

What rootstock is best?  There are a several choices that should work well in Kansas.  An old favorite is Malling-Merton (MM) 111 as it is well-adapted to Kansas conditions and can tolerate heavier soils.  Trees will be 80% the size of a “standard” tree.  Malling-Merton (MM) 106 is a good choice for well-drained soils.  Trees will be about 70% the size of a standard tree.  Other rootstocks can be used but make sure they are well-anchored and not described as brittle.

It is also possible to buy a tree from a local nursery and graft your clone onto a side branch.  This will give you one tree that produces two different apples. One disadvantage of this method is that it is possible to prune off the special clone by mistake in later years.

This information does not include the details of grafting or budding or subsequent care.  The Missouri Extension Service has an excellent publication on grafting at

https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6971  as well as a second publication on budding at https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6972  .

If you use a knife, be sure to practice your cuts on wood you prune off in March. After you do about 100 cuts, you will start to get the hang of it.  A grafting tool can make this job even simpler as it makes the proper cut automatically.  Do a search on “grafting tool” to see what is available.

If you find grafting intimidating, Raintree Nursery does custom grafts.  In other words, you must collect your own scionwood and send it to Raintree Nursery.  They will make the graft and send it back to you.  See https://raintreenursery.com/collections/pear-rootstock/products/custom-graft for details. (Ward Upham)

Multiple Grafts on Apple Trees

Nurseries often sell apple trees that bear more than one variety of fruit. The secret is grafting. All apple trees are grafted, which is done by grafting the apple-producing variety (the scion) on a variety chosen for its dwarfing effects (the rootstock). A tree with more than one variety simply has more than one fruiting variety grafted onto a single rootstock. Grafting allows growers to have a single tree that could produce Jonathan, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples. These trees can be a unique attraction and a good conversation point in a fruit garden. If space is limited, a multiple grafted tree may allow growers to have a greater variety of fruit than with individual varieties on separate trees. However, there are some possible drawbacks. Whoever prunes the trees may not recognize the individual grafts and may unknowingly prune off one of the varieties. Also, varieties may vary in vigor, and stronger varieties can crowd weaker ones. There also may be a difference in susceptibility to disease among varieties and among different kinds of fruit. Some may have resistance to a disease and not require protection, but others are susceptible and do require protection. If the susceptible fruits are protected, the more resistant ones will be sprayed unnecessarily.

Ward Upham, Extension Agent

If you wish to save vegetable seeds from one year to another, there are certain things that must be kept in mind.  Seed from hybrid varieties will not come back true.  In other words, the plants grown from seed from a hybrid will grow but will be quite variable and will not be like the parent. For example, if you save seed from a hybrid tomato, you will still get a plant that produces tomatoes but yield will likely be much less and the fruit will lack many of the good characteristics of the parent.   If you want a plant just like the parent, you must use seed from an open-pollinated variety rather than a hybrid.  Heirloom plants are open-pollinated.  Any plant listed as an “F1” is a hybrid.

Not only must you use open-pollinated plants but you must prevent contamination from other plants of the same species.  Note that contamination from other varieties has absolutely no effect on the current season’s fruit characteristics.  It only affects the fruit grown from seed of those contaminated varieties.  Preventing cross-contamination can be done via several methods.

• Distance: make sure that your plants are far enough away from other varieties of the same species that the pollen from neighboring plants cannot reach yours.  The distance varies considerably depending on species and whether the plant is wind or bee pollinated.
• Mechanical: This can be as simple as covering the unopened female flower of a bee pollinated plant with a bag and then hand pollinating with the male flower of the same variety. The bag is then placed back over the flower until the fruit starts to form.  This is commonly used for the vine crops such as squash, muskmelon and watermelons as these produce separate male and female flowers and are bee pollinated.  Another mechanical method is to place a screened-in cover over plants that are bee pollinated.  This would work well for peppers.
• Time of Flowering: Commonly used for sweet corn.  Many farmers will plant a small area of sweet corn in with their field corn even though sweet corn quality is much less if it crosses with field corn.  The reason this can work is usually the sweet corn has finished pollination by the time the field corn tassels, thereby preventing contamination.

This seems way too complicated.  Is there an easy way to start?  Yes there is!  Start with tomatoes.  They will not cross-pollinate unless you grow a potato-leaved variety.  Therefore, you can grow several different open-pollinated varieties in the same garden without worrying about contamination.

If you would like to save seed from other species, I would suggest you buy a good reference.  The book I use is “Seed to Seed” by Suzanne Ashworth.

Ward Upham, Extension Agent

Home gardeners have had to rely on proper storage conditions (cool and moist) to prevent potatoes from sprouting. But sprouting will eventually occur even if the gardener does everything right. Research by Mary Jo Frazier, Nora Olsen and Gale Kleinkopf from the University of Idaho have found products that should help home gardeners.

These researchers were looking for an organic method to control potato sprouts. They found essential oils from some herbs and spices to be effective sprout inhibitors. Specifically they found that spearmint oil, peppermint oil and clove oil suppressed sprouting by physically damaging rapidly dividing cells in the sprout. Each of these products is so safe that the FDA has approved them for addition to food.

Several application methods were considered though most were only suitable for commercial storage facilities. The only practical method for homeowners was one the researchers labeled a “low-tech” wick method. This was accomplished by placing a small piece of blotter paper saturated with spearmint or peppermint oil in a box with the potatoes. This method was not recommended for the clove oil. Though it was found that peppermint and spearmint oils were equally effective in suppressing sprouts, the peppermint oil was less likely to affect flavor of the potatoes. Reapplication at two- to three-week intervals will be needed for continued sprout suppression. Little to no residue was found on the potatoes from these products due to their high volatility. The first application should be done before sprouting occurs.

Blotting paper is much more difficult to find than it was in the past and so you may want to substitute blank newsprint. However, if blotting paper is desired, try herbarium supply houses. Blotting paper is used to press plant specimens.

Ward Upham, Extension Agent