News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
You can learn more about grafting Thursday through the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District.
Soil Conservationist Janet Dowlen said grafting is a process of propagating plants and trees that are difficult to grow by attaching a scion or portion of a branch to a rootstock so they will grow together. Dowlen said the class will be teaching people how to propagate an apple tree as apples are a highly desired fruit.
“It can be used to reduce the size of the tree,” Dowlen said. “That’s actually one of the big reasons people who only have a certain amount of land, using a dwarf rootstock, that’s going to be a rootstock that’s going to keep the tree size actually smaller.”
Dowlen said propagating an apple tree presents many benefits, such as being more resistant to soil disease and controlling the size of the tree.
Dowlen said apple trees can take up to 10 years to bear fruit if grown from seed. Dowlen said grafting cuts down the time for a tree to bear fruit and reduces the risk that comes with growing an apple tree from seed.
“If you do graft, you’re bypassing all of that,” Dowlen said. “But the main thing is the length of years for the fruit, because even then it may not be a good apple so you wasted all that time if you did try to grow something from seed.”
Dowlen said grafting is an important process that is often used in the Upper Cumberland.
“I wanted to be able to offer a class to the public for them to really learn about that,” Dowlen said. “You know, it’s a really interesting thing, and all of our fruit crops are grafted just about.”
Dowlen said those who participate in the class will need to bring an eight-inch apple tree scion that is the diameter size of a pencil. Dowlen said the class is $25 per person and is limited to 20 people. Dowlen said the class will provide apple rootstocks.
The grafting class will take place Thursday from 9am-11am. The class will be held in the country store building at the community complex located at 1398 Livingston Road in Crossville.
