One tree - 40 apple varieties

Pears from a rowan tree?

print this

Ari Mattsson, 53, has a passion for plant grafting. A stroll in his garden shows a grafted apple tree with 14 varieties, and another with no fewer than 40! There is also a crab apple tree with three varieties, blooming in three colours. Moreover, a rowan tree with pears on it is also growing in Mattsson's back yard.
     
In his garden Mattsson has concentrated mainly on various apple and pear trees, collecting 74 apple varieties.
      Typically, a plant is grafted to kindred plants. However, Mattsson is also a pioneer of cross-grafting. He first tried the cross-grafting of rowan and pear trees already ten years ago, using a rowan tree as the rootstock onto which the scion of a fruit tree was grafted.
      Mattsson embarked on his hobby at the beginning of the 1990s, inspired by his father. His actual job has been that of a maintenance man and a lawn care worker. All his free time Mattsson has spent in his garden.
     
Mattsson finds grafting fascinating, as it allows him to see the results of his own work, another attraction being the relative rarity of his chosen hobby.
      Grafting is easier than making porridge, says Mattsson. He would like to encourage people to use their imagination in their gardens. Successful grafting is possible even though it takes some practice.
      For example, a family tree with three apple varieties is fairly easy to grow using the grafting method. Moreover, it is the most cost-effective way of raising a particular type of plant.
      For successful grafting to take place, the vascular cambium tissues of the stock and scion plants must be placed in contact with each other, and both tissues must be kept alive till the graft has taken, usually after a few weeks.
     
In practice grafting begins in March-April when Mattsson cuts off last year's shoots of the trees in his garden. In order to prevent the scions from drying out, they are kept in a dark, cool and humid place, until the best time for grafting starts on May 1st, continuing for four weeks.


Links:
  Grafting (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat