Skip to main content

When is the best time to graft your fruit trees? Here are our suggestions

Grafting fruit trees is a great way to make sure you know what variety of fruit you’re getting, diversify your orchard or yard, and get some extra fruit for snacks or meals! The process itself is fairly simple, and there are plenty of resources out there to help you with the technical parts. The timeline can be a little more confusing. When is the best time to graft fruit trees? How long does grafting a fruit tree actually take? If you aren’t sure about when to start grafting to get the best results, then this guide is for you.

Orange tree
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When is the best time to take cuttings?

There are two types of cuttings: hardwood and softwood.

Recommended Videos

Hardwood cuttings are taken in late fall, winter, and early spring, when the tree is dormant. These cuttings are the growth from the previous spring and so have had several months to a year to mature. They’re less flexible but sturdy.

Softwood cuttings can only be taken in spring as they are the new growth for the season. These cuttings are more flexible and tend to attach faster but aren’t as sturdy.

When grafting trees, flexibility is more important than sturdiness, so take softwood cuttings in the spring. You can still use hardwood cuttings, but they take longer to adjust to being part of a different tree and are slightly more likely to fail.

Recently grafted tree, with the new branches still secured to the tree
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When is the best time to start grafting?

The best time to graft fruit trees is around spring, when plants begin gearing up to grow, making it easier to establish a connection between the two trees. There are a few routes you can take with this.

If you’re taking softwood cuttings, you can graft your trees right after you take the cuttings without issue. If you choose to take hardwood cuttings, or if you’re purchasing cuttings and have to wait on them to arrive, you can graft them in summer. It may not recover as quickly, but the difference shouldn’t be significant. If you have hardwood cuttings or softwood cuttings that have been stored, another option is to begin grafting in late winter, right before spring.

The only times that you should avoid starting your grafts are fall and early winter. This is when trees are dormant, meaning they aren’t putting out new growth. The grafts will attach in fall, especially in early fall in a mild climate, but it takes roughly twice as long. Late winter is OK because the graft won’t have to wait long before beginning to grow. If you graft in fall or early winter the cut ends of your graft will be exposed to the elements for much longer and are more susceptible to rot or disease.

A grafted tree with a healed graft, the smaller branch is growing fully out of the older, larger branch
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How long does grafting take?

The amount of time it takes depends on the type of graft you use. In general, the more material you have grafted or the larger your graft is, the longer it will take to heal and grow. Grafts that are only a single branch grafted onto an existing tree will heal and become part of the tree in a week and a half to two weeks. From there, the branch grows as normal, and you can expect flowers and fruit on schedule with the type of tree you’ve grafted from.

Larger grafts, however, take longer. If you’re using a technique such as whip grafting to grow a new tree from the root stock of another, that is a more strenuous undertaking for the tree. A graft like that will take three to six weeks to heal and become a single tree. It then grows as normal, and you can reasonably expect to see flowers and fruit a year later.

There you have it, the timeline for grafting fruit trees! Now you know when you can expect to be able to take the dressings off your graft and how soon after that you can expect fruit. Be sure your shears are sharp when taking your cuttings, bind your graft tightly, and start in the late winter, spring, or summer for the best results. Small grafts should take only a week or two to heal, while larger ones may take a month or two. Enjoy your extra fruit!

Cayla Leonard
Cayla Leonard is a writer from North Carolina who is passionate about plants.  She enjoys reading and writing fiction and…
The best time to prune dogwood trees: Everything you need to know about dogwood care
How to grow a lush and thriving dogwood tree
Dogwood tree with pink flowers

Dogwood trees are a great choice for almost any garden or yard. They’re medium-sized with lovely flowers in white or pink and grow bright red berries that birds love to eat. If you’ve decided to add a dogwood tree to your life, but aren’t sure how to care for it, then you’re in luck! In this helpful guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know to make sure your new tree thrives, from how to plant your sapling to when the best time to prune dogwood trees is.
Planting

After choosing your dogwood tree, the first thing you’ll want to do is put it in the ground. Before that, however, you have to choose a planting site. Dogwoods, being shorter trees, are understory trees. This means that, in the wild, they’re shaded and protected by taller trees. Keep this in mind when choosing where to plant your dogwood, and select somewhere with morning sun and afternoon shade. In milder climates, you can plant them in full sun, but remember they’ll need to be watered more frequently.

Read more
This is when blueberries are in season
How to tell if your blueberries are ready to harvest
Blueberries on a bush

Blueberries are a sweet, delicious treat in the summer, and harvesting them from your own blueberry bush makes them an even more convenient snack. They're an easy-to-grow addition to any fruit garden. If you’re ready for your blueberry harvest and feeling a little impatient while watching them ripen, you might be wondering how long you have to wait. So, when are blueberries in season, will they ripen after you pick them, and how do you know when they’re ripe? We’ll answer all your questions!
When are blueberries in season?

Like any plant, the exact time your blueberries will be ready to harvest depends on your climate. Blueberries are in season from late spring to late summer, typically from April to September. Start watching your blueberry bush (or your grocery store produce aisle, if you aren’t planning on growing your own blueberries) when the weather in your area starts to heat up.

Read more
9 tasty companion plants for tomatoes in your summer garden
Plant these next to your tomatoes for a thriving harvest
Tomato plant preparing for harvest

When building out your summer garden, you might have tomatoes on your mind. With ample sunlight, well-draining soil, and a sturdy trellis, you’ll be able to start a healthy and delicious crop. Luckily, there’s no shortage of delicious tomato companion plants out there that help repel pests, bring in pollinators, and improve fruit yield. When planning your garden beds and borders around tomatoes, here are the best plants to keep by their side.
1. Borage

Borage, a flowering herb with star-shaped blue flowers, goes well with tomatoes because it helps repel destructive tomato hornworms, which feed on tomato leaves and fruits. It also attracts pollinators thanks to its blossoms. You’ll commonly find tomatoes, borage, and squash planted together because squash shares similar care requirements as tomatoes and benefits from borage's pollinator-attracting properties. What's great about borage is that you can also use it as a garnish on your dishes.
2. Basil

Read more