How to properly bridge an apple tree: features and advantages of grafting methods

Apple

Apple trees with severely frost-damaged and rodent-damaged bark are grafted using bridge grafting. This simple procedure restores the disrupted sap flow. The success of the treatment depends on the timing of the grafting, precise adherence to the technique, and proper care of the grafted tree.

When an apple tree is grafted with a bridge

Hares often visit dachas located near forests. They destroy young fruit and stone fruit trees by gnawing the bark around the trunk. Even old trees wither from the circular wounds. Experienced gardeners don't uproot eaten apple trees. They save them by bridge grafting. This is also used if the bark has been severely damaged by frost or sunburn.

Timing of apple tree bridge grafting

Apple trees damaged over the winter are grafted before or at the very beginning of active sap flow. In southern regions of Russia, this begins in March, while in the central and middle regions, it begins in mid-April or early May. The exact timing depends on the weather. The timing of grafting is determined by external signs:

the buds have already swollen, but are not growing;
the bark on the apple tree branches turned red;
It is easy to separate the bark with a knife, leaving a thin layer of cambium on it.

Advice:

Morning is the best time for grafting. At this time, the cambium fuses better because the movement of plant sap is slow, the garden is cool, and the cuttings don't dry out. The higher the sun is in the sky, the more active the sap flow is, which negatively impacts the quality of the graft.

A graft made after the sap has begun to flow will not take root. The growing plant will not accept the scion as part of its body, causing the cutting to be rejected. Experienced gardeners know another secret. It concerns the average daily air temperature. During the grafting process, it should not fall below 5°C.

Pros and cons of vaccination

Bridge grafting saves the apple tree from death. This is its main advantage. This technique is not used in breeding. It is used when the bark around the trunk (skeletal branch) is completely destroyed. The causes of a circular wound include:

the bark was gnawed by hares and mice;
the seedling was deepened when planted;
the bark cracked due to frost cracks and sunburn.

It's easier to achieve good results with a thick trunk. Young seedlings are much more difficult to work with; when bridge grafting, the minimum trunk (or branch) diameter is 30 mm.

Preparing for vaccination

Fruit trees are inspected periodically during winter. Any wounds found are sealed with a 1-2 mm layer of garden pitch; this protects the tissue from infection, desiccation, and the effects of low temperatures. No tools are used; the viscous mixture is applied to the wound by hand.

Var is purchased or prepared at home according to a simple recipe:

take 6 parts of paraffin and melt;
add 3 parts of rosin crushed into powder;
Heat the mixture to a boil and add 2 parts of vegetable oil.

Comment!

Large wounds can be covered with oil paint or drying oil.

Bridge grafting requires a large number of scions on an apple tree. If a 30 mm thick branch is damaged, two are needed; if the trunk is thick, at least eight are needed.

Harvesting and storing cuttings for apple tree repair

Forward-thinking gardeners always keep a reserve supply of cuttings. They are harvested in late fall, early December, or February, if there has been no thaw. Branches for trunk repair are taken from any apple tree variety, regardless of the variety.

One-year-old shoots of varying diameters, root suckers, and wilding branches are used as grafting material. Thin branches, less than 4 mm in diameter, are used to restore the bark on wounds no more than 5 cm thick; for severe damage, larger branches are used.

Tools and materials

Materials and instruments are required for the vaccination. The required kit includes:

grafting (budding) knife;
sharp pruning shears;
garden var;
material for strapping.

Advice:

If garden putty doesn't spread easily, whether it's too hard or too soft, melt it. Add vegetable oil to soften it, and pour in liquid paraffin to make it more viscous.

Gardeners use various materials to secure the scion and seal the grafting site: fum tape, cling film, electrical tape, twine, and fabric-based bandages from the pharmacy.

Preparation of the rootstock

The grafting material is brought into a warm room beforehand to warm up to room temperature. The ring wound on the apple tree trunk is cleaned of the putty applied during the winter, taking care not to damage the wood. The edges of the wound are trimmed with a knife, and the trunk is wiped with a damp cloth.

All buds are removed from the cuttings; they are unnecessary. The scion will act as a carrier, conveying plant juices from the roots to the crown. Leaves emerging from the buds will draw nutrients, slowing tissue fusion.

How to properly bridge graft an apple tree

Grafting a rodent-damaged apple tree for the first time can be challenging for a beginner. You need to know how to make T-shaped cuts in the bark, insert the cuttings correctly, and not confuse which is up and which is down. The first T-shaped cut is made at the bottom of the annular wound, and the second is directly above it.

Prepared cuttings are inserted one by one under the bark. For thin seedlings, two cuttings are sufficient; for thick trunks, about eight are required. The cuttings are inserted into the T-shaped cuts so that the cambium layers of the scion and rootstock align.

The next step is tying. First, the lower ends of the cuttings are secured with plastic film, twine, or other tying material, tightly wrapping the trunk at the grafting site. Then, the process is repeated with the upper ends of the cuttings. Once the bridge grafting is complete, the bare area is sealed with putty.

Aftercare of grafted apple trees

Immediately after grafting, the apple tree branches are pruned. Until the "bridge" is established, the crown will lack nutrition. Thin saplings are protected from breakage by driving a stake into the tree's trunk, and tying the apple tree to it. The support prevents the trunk from bending, preventing the cuttings from falling out of the truss.

Comment!

The success of the operation will be evident in 2-3 weeks by the increased thickness of the scions and the condition of the bark. If the scion has not taken, the bark will be dry and wrinkled.

In summer, monitor the graft site, removing any leaves that have appeared on the bridge scions. Water the apple tree regularly, loosen the soil, and apply mulch. Protect the graft site from inclement weather with a piece of burlap or plastic.

Gardeners' reviews

Boris Evgenievich, 53 years old, Podolsk

About three years ago, mice nibbled the trunk of a young Orlik apple tree. I grafted three cuttings, all of which took root, are working, and we're already eating apples. I knocked one cutting over, but it also took root.

Sergey Mikhailovich, 47 years old, Orenburg region

The winter was frosty and snowless, and the bark on the trunk cracked and peeled. After cleaning, a large circular wound formed. I sealed it with a mixture of mullein and clay. At the end of April, I selected a branch about the diameter of a pencil and grafted the cutting into the edges of the wound. By autumn, it had tripled in thickness.

Irina Petrovna, 60 years old, Ekaterinburg

Several years ago, the trunk of my seven-year-old apple tree was thoroughly gnawed by mice. In early May, I cut branches from the crown, but the buds hadn't yet begun to develop. I grafted eight bridges onto the 15-cm-thick trunk. Of these, only four survived, all on the north side. Now the tree bears fruit only on the side where the grafts succeeded.

Method of storing cuttings	Description
In the snow	First, a 50 cm thick snowdrift is poured onto the cuttings, then a layer of sawdust, a layer of straw
In sawdust	Wet sawdust is poured into a container, and branches tied into bundles are placed on top of it.
	They are covered with wet shavings, placed in the cold, and when the top layer freezes, dry sawdust is poured in a 0.4 m layer.
	Until spring, the container with cuttings is wrapped in film.
In the cellar	If the grafting material is stored in sawdust, then the substrate is poured into black bags and the branch cuttings are immersed in it.
In the cellar	If the grafting material is stored in sand, then bundles of branches are placed in boxes, then covered with a moist substrate.

Age	Superphosphate (g/m²)	Potassium chloride (g/m²)
Up to 12 years old	130	40
Over 12 years old	150	50