Like Mary Shelly’s Victor Frankenstein character (The Modern Prometheus), you too could create new life from old life, in a new and improved variety of America’s second most favorite fruit -- the apple.

There is a difference, you don’t have to create a monster, (unless you think that the crab apple is one) -- your apple clone could be a better tasting and unique variety of apple (or the re-creation of an endangered apple).

If you have a sharp locking pocket knife, there is really no need for special tools for grafting and budding apple trees. Some will tell you that you need all sorts of other things, like special tape, sealing ointments, etc. That's nice, but totally unnecessary.

Budding Knives and Grafting Knives

The world of gardening in terms of marketing, would have you to believe that you need special budding knives and grafting knives, along with an assortment of "special" tools to graft fruit trees. If you step into that trap, you could find yourself spending twenty dollars or more for a "grafting kit." If you really want to get crazy, you could a special grafter that can cost most than seventy-five dollars.

Also, with them, come the expense of buying "replacement" blades. I don't mean to offend anyone, but when did we (especially the males among us) forget how to sharpen tools?

I'm not saying that these aren't nice tools, but you really don't need them to be successful in grafting apple trees.

Additionally, the most important thing to remember when grafting and cutting scions or buds -- make sure the tools you use are absolute sterile and remain so by cleansing them before each new slice with rubbing alcohol.

Tapes for Binding the Graft

Yes, you can buy special grafting tapes. You can use electrical and plumbing tapes. Or, you can simply recycle strips of plastic freezer bags or trash bags.

For the purposes of this hub, I'm sticking to an overview of the various techniques or methods for budding and grafting apple trees.  I've not included some of the more complicated grafting methods. 

I don't think it's useful to re-invent the wheel, and you'll find many fine university based online step-by-step instructions for the actual grafting your apple trees.

What I am providing is a foundation in determining what type of apple tree grafting might be desirable in your particular case, and a general knowledge of what budding and grafting are all about.

Budding is still another way of grafting, and in the opinion of many -- it is the easiest way to graft on apples and other fruit trees. The favorite method is known as “T” budding.

It’s popularity is due to the fact that it is the fast grafting method.

Additionally, for beginner in “pomology” (the science of growing apples), it is generally the most successful method compared to other grafting techniques. Unlike other methods of grafting, budding is when you use a single undeveloped bud, as the scion, in place of a section of the stem.

In most parts of the world, budding is done during the summer. Lots of garden calendars of past, urged family farmers to complete their budding between July 15 and August 15. That’s because during this period of apple tree life, the bark of the stock will reveal well-developed and established grown buds.

Originally, for the purpose of this hub, I was going to include instructions and some drawings of budding -- but I think the video clip below illustrates it better than I can. It takes a little practice, but it is easily learned and almost always successful.

If you’ve never heard the term “scion” -- this is last season’s new growth sections with buds. The time for collecting them is of the essence, as they are dormant in the winter, and is best done before new growth in the spring. If possible, you want to harvest them at the very end of fall, or early winter.

If you wait until spring, these buds could surprise you and start to grow prematurely, or be injured by cold freezes in an early winter.

In terms of actual grafting, it is of course, best done in the spring, just as the host tree’s buds are beginning to open.

If you live in a warmer climate you are going to have to use your own best judgment in terms of your "Spring."

However, this can be accomplished up until the normal apple blossom time. April and May are great months for grafting depending upon where you live.

The Bridge Graft is primarily used in special circumstances, when you have a tree that has been girdled completely around the trunk. Girdling is usually caused by rodents, especially mice. gophers, and rabbits, who will gnaw on apple trees during the winter.

This is a serious and life-threatening event for your apple tree. It might survive that first year after the damage, but will die in the second year unless the tree somehow has managed to make some new shoots below the girdled trunk.

Some people attempt to solve this by covering the wound with water based asphalt grafting compound. It's widely debated among the universities that teach horticulture and Master Gardener programs as to wound dressing products, really being effective or just post-poning the inevitable.

The main body of thought on this, is that if the damage is caught early enough and treated immediately, the injury will not dry out, and new bark from grow around the tree tissue (cambium). Then, this is followed up at the appropriate time of year by a bridge graft.

Note: If you select the wrong wound dressing product, or substitute one that do-it-yourselves have used for decades (such as roofing tar, oil based paints, or other oil based products), you risk injuring your tree even more.

Side grafting is usually reserved for tree branches that are too large for whip grafting, but not large enough for a cleft graft. T

The basic technique of side grafting is that the scion is placed into the side of the tree stock, in a place that is slightly larger in diameter than the scion.

With older apple trees, the cleft graft is the preferred method of top working. It’s done sometimes on the trunk of small trees. Alternatively, it’s also done on side branches of bigger trees. Ideally, this technique of grafting is suited to apple tree branches about the size of one to two inches in diameter.

Another consideration in cleft grafting is the height of where the graft is made. Here, you want to being doing the graft within two and one-half feet or the main branches and not more than five feet above the ground. Otherwise, the new topping out of the apple tree will be too high

This simple grafting technique is both easy to learn and a fast method of grafting if you have a number of trees. It’s best reserved for new field grown apple trees or potted apple trees.

In this grafting method both the scion and the rootstock should be of the same size. It’s also best performed in the middle or later part of winter. The root stock should not be larger than one inch in diameter.

For the young apple tree, the whip graft (aka tongue graft) is the best grafting technique to use.

This kind of grafting is reserved for the under stock of the young tree. It’s branches are still small (not over one-half inch in diameter) and the scion you choose to use for this should be of the same diameter.

This spring, April 24 - May 3, in Winchester, Virginia there will be the 82nd Annual Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. It's a popular annual event, located just seventy-five miles west of Washington, D.C. on the border of Virginia and West Virginia.

Over the course of the several day festival, this small town family is packed with fun and has it all -- from band competitions to dances, to parades, and even a 10K race. Nationally known celebrities are always a part of this festival. They also feature a Coronation of Queen Shenandoah and hold a circus, this year’s is the Col Bros. Circus.

This year's theme is "families celebrating the good times they've had in the past," in the spirit of packing up your troubles and remembering to have a good time anyway. They are urging everyone to go local, go apple blooms, and just plain celebrate life.

In some movie versions of Frankenstein -- Victor Frankenstein's famous line comes to mind in when you realize that your graft or budding has taken:

"Look it's moving! It's alive. It's alive. It's alive! Now, I know what it's like to be God!

Sort of gives you a clear picture of the possible thrill in creating new life out of dormant, damaged, lost, or unproductive wood (although nothing will be moving except you), when you eventually harvest your first apples.

This apple punch recipe came from the 1908 diary of Margaret Ann Todd of Louisiana, Missouri.

Main ingredients:

• Eight cups of cold water
• Seven large apples (cored, quartered, but not pared)
• Cup of raisins
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 stick of cinnamon (grated)
• 3 lemons (juiced)

Step #1 Instructions:

• Mix all of the above ingredients together
• Bring to a boil

Step #2 Instructions:

• Add eight more cups of cold water
• Boil for 45 minutes
• Drain
• Add 2 pounds of sugar
• Add juice of 2 lemons
• Stir until dissolved
• Add one dozen maraschino cherries
• Add skinned and seeded raisins

Serve chilled or warm depending upon time of year.

Professionally, my background is that of a market research analyst for Fortune 500 companies in the business of selling information. I see an opportunity for someone out there and am hoping to inspire someone to step up to fill a void. With over sixty-eight hundred heirloom apple tree varieties extinct just in this country, and even more world-wide -- there is an apple opportunity extraordinaire.

Currently, there is a huge void in online tracking and registry of endangered, lost, new, or revived apple trees. No where, is there a global central clearing house registry for apple trees. This could and should be set up, to be profitable in a similar manner to art collection registrars.