Gathering scions

How to gather apple or pear scion wood for custom grafting:

If you have an old homestead tree that you would like to save – here’s your first steps.

Scion wood should be gathered after tree has gone dormant (late fall or winter) and before buds begin to break in spring.

You’ll need:

Pruners or sharp knife
Gallon sized sealable polyethylene bag
Damp paper towels
Rubbing alcohol (if gathering from multiple trees)
Masking tape
Black permanent marker

Go to the apple or pear tree you wish to propagate and use your pruners to cut approx 10” to 12” lengths of last years growth. Ideally these should have a diameter of 1/4 inch. Make sure the cuttings have several buds and they are well developed.

If you are cutting from more than one tree - rub some alcohol on your pruners or knife’s blade between cuts.

If you are gathering multiple varieties make sure to stop and add 6” of tape around your scion and label it before moving on.

Place the scions in a polyethylene bag with a few damp (but not dripping wet) paper towels and seal it closed.

Store the plastic bag above freezing (bottom of frig) until you ship to us. We like to use the envelopes with built-in bubble wrapping for shipment.

We will do custom bench graft at $9 each with a 7 tree minimum (all taxes and shipping included)

Please email us your request to wagonwheelmail@aol.com before you ship your scions then mail cuttings and a check for your total order to:

Wagon Wheel Orchard
15380 Edgerton Rd
Gardner KS 66030

We will graft apples on M111 and pears on Old Home (both semi-dwarf) unless you make a special bulk order.