Fruit Scion Exchange & Grafting Demo

Happy New Year, and what better way to ring in 2019 than with a Fruit Scion Exchange… yes, diversity is the spice of life!

Did you know that apples are not ‘true to seed’? This means that the seeds from any apple variety will not grow to be the same variety as the apple tree they came from. If you take the seeds from a Granny Smith apple and plant them, you will end up with a wide variety of different and unknown apple tree types. Why do plants mix and match their genetic material and constantly change? Basically to create genetic diversity and variation, as a mechanism to adapt to different conditions and enhance their chances of survival and reproduction.

If you want to grow an apple variety that is the same as the parent tree, one way to do this is to take a stem, (scion), from the tree and graft it. The scion contains the genetics of the parent tree to be duplicated. Knowing how to graft opens up a world of possibilities for gardeners.

The Monterey Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers host a “Fruit Scion Exchange” twice every year… one in the spring & the other in the winter. Their winter exchange will be on Sunday, January 13th from noon – 3pm this year at the Cabrillo College Horticulture Center, which is a fabulous facility!

Just think of all the rare and delicious varieties of fruits you could be growing by simply grafting a few scions onto your ordinary back yard fruit tree! There will be hundreds of rare, heirloom and novel cultivars available to choose from for this… & who knows where all this newly acquired grafting knowledge will lead? Maybe that same old apple sauce you make every year will transform into a splendrous wonder of culinary delight!

This event is free to CA. Rare Fruit Growers members and $5 for non-members. Our group will meet at the enterence of the horticulture center at 12 noon.

What to Bring: freezer bags, Sharpie marker, and masking tape to store and label scions. Those who would like to share their own disease-free plant material should bring it pre-cut, bagged & labelled.

For more information, visit the California Rare Fruit Growers website at:
http://mbcrfg.org/scion-exchange/