How to Propagate Apple Trees

If you or someone you know is growing an exceptional apple tree that you want to recreate, you can’t do it by harvesting and sowing seeds.

Most modern apple trees are propagated by grafting, budding, or via stem cuttings.

You can certainly try sowing seeds from an apple, but you never know what you’ll end up with. It might not look or taste anything like the fruit from the parent plant.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course, there’s a chance you might end up with something really cool, since the seeds you sow will be a combination of the characteristics of both parents.

But grafting, budding, and cutting propagation results in a genetic replica of the parent.

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I know that propagating apples via cuttings and grafting can seem intimidating.

Most of us sowed seeds in elementary school at some point and we have a basic familiarity with the process. But few of us have played around with grafting during our formative years.

Don’t worry, it really isn’t difficult or complicated. You can do it, and this guide will help.

Here’s what we’ll go over to help you reach your apple propagation goals:

If you need a refresher on how to grow and care for apples, read our growing guide. Then, let’s get on the same page with our propagation terminology.

The scion is the top part of a graft and includes a cutting from a chosen parent apple tree, which is then attached to the rootstock. The scion could be a substantial branch of a tree or just a little twig.

The rootstock is the bottom part of the apple tree that includes the roots and the base of the trunk and may consist of just a stem and roots or it might also have some growing branches.

You can buy rootstocks or you can grow your own. The roostock controls the size of the apple tree and can contribute disease resistance.

Buds are the small nodules where leaves, branches, or spurs emerge on a branch or limb. These look like little bumps, initially, before they start to sprout and grow.

Cambium refers to the plant tissue under the bark that surrounds the inner sapwood and heartwood. It’s the greenish layer where all the actively growing cells are.

If you plan to do a lot of fruit tree propagation, I highly recommend you purchase a grafting knife.

Now, let’s get started with four methods of propagating apple trees: budding, grafting, via stem cuttings, and finally, from seed.

Budding

Budding is a form of grafting and is similar to the traditional grafting process except that you attach a single bud rather than an entire branch (or scion) to the rootstock.

It’s usually the chosen method when you want to propagate apples during the growing season rather than when the tree is dormant.

You have two options when going this route: chip budding or t-budding. Chip budding is the most popular these days, but either will be successful.

The difference between the two involves how the bud is attached to the rootstock. The method for removing the bud from the apple tree is the same for each.

For the host parent known as the roostock, you’ll typically use a specimen that’s a bit larger than you would use for branch grafting, with a few branches available for grafting on the buds.

Anything larger in diameter than your pinky finger is sufficient. You can also graft the buds onto existing apple trees.

Choose buds from healthy apple trees that have no signs of pest infestation or disease.

The branch that you take the bud from should have active growth, with green leaves, sprouts, or other signs of life. This branch is known as the budstick.

For t-budding, you want to take the bud when the bark slips off easily from a young branch.

“Slips off” is a technical term that simply means that the bark can be removed easily and cleanly from the tree. It won’t be firmly attached and hard to remove.

This happens from around the end of May to the beginning of July, but you can test it out periodically to be sure by scraping up a bit of bark using your fingers or a knife.

If it comes up readily, it’s time. If you want to graft and the bark doesn’t slip off readily, use the chip method instead.

For chip buds, anytime during the summer or fall is fine.

Regardless of whether you use a t-bud or chip bud, the process for removing it is the same. Take the budstick branch and cut it away from the tree.

Cut off the top third of the branch because you don’t want to take buds from this new growth. Then, cut off all the leaves but allow about an inch of petiole to remain.

Next, use your knife to cut at an angle under the bud starting about an inch below the bud.

Cut up and under the bud, ending about an inch above the bud. Remove the knife and cut vertically into the wood to meet up with the cut you made and release the bud from the branch.

Alternatively, make a cut about an inch underneath the bud at a 45 degree angle facing down away from the bud and about a half inch deep.

Then, about a half inch above the same bud, make a cut at a diagonal or in an arc to meet up with the end of the initial cut. This will free the bud from the limb.

Don’t touch the underside of the bud as the oils from your skin can damage the cells of the bud.

Next, make a corresponding cut out of the chosen host parent or rootstock. This is where you need to choose whether you are going to use the chip bud or t-bud method for attachment.

Chip Bud

Make the cut on the side or upper side of the trunk or your chosen stem, so the bud you removed fits inside like a puzzle piece.

You don’t want to place the bud on the underside of a branch. It should be on the side or top, giving it room to grow without interfering with any other branches.

To do this, slice out the bark of the branch in the same shape as the underside of the bud you took. Don’t cut through the green cambium layer underneath.

You want the bud to fit into the slice like a puzzle piece.

Hold it in place – you might need a helper for this – and wrap tape around the top and bottom of the bud you took so that it is firmly attached to the tree.

Then, add another layer or two to cover the sides of the bud.

T-Bud

For a t-bud, cut a “T” shape into just the bark of the host branch or rootstock without cutting into the cambium layer below and gently peel back the bark.

Have you ever tried carving your name into a tree? The process here is similar.

Imagine that you are carving a capital letter “T” into the bark of a tree, cutting deep enough that you go through the bark but not into the soft cambium layer below.

Then, you will peel back the two triangles you made below the top of the T. Insert the bud into the “T” and seal it with tape, leaving the bump of the bud exposed.

This method helps to keep the bud more moist than with chip buds because the flaps of the “T” cover a portion of the bud, so it tends to be more successful.

To further help the bud stay moist, wrap it with a piece of clear plastic and leave this in place for two or three weeks. Drying out is your biggest enemy at this point.

With either style, once the bud starts growing and has a few leaves, cut the rest of the branch off just above the new growth.

Once the new growth feels firmly attached and sturdy enough to remain in place on its own, you can remove the tape or remaining wax.

Grafting

Propagating apples by grafting is usually done during the dormant season, meaning late fall, winter, or early spring at the latest.

There are three common types of graft unions: whip and tongue, splice, and cleft.

The goal with all these methods is to connect the cambium layer of the scion with the cambium layer of the roostock. The better the connection, the better the chances of survival.

The key to success with grafting is to take healthy scions. The scion is the top part of the graft, which will be joined with the bottom part, known as the rootstock.

Most scions are taken during the late winter, but you can technically take them anytime you want. The best results come from apple tree wood collected in the winter or early spring.

The best time of day to collect your scions is in the morning when the wood is most plump. Don’t make cuts when the wood is frozen or when the tree is drought-stressed.

Look for pliable wood that grew in the previous year and avoid any that is brittle.

You want to choose branches about the diameter of a pencil or a touch smaller, that are healthy and free from signs of pests or disease.

Don’t use water sprouts or suckers as these aren’t as strong and robust as other growth. Cut six- to nine-inch-long sections using clean pruners at a 45 degree angle.

If you can’t graft right away, wrap the wood in damp paper towels, put it in a plastic bag, and place it in the refrigerator.

The scions can last up to a month when stored in this way, provided you keep the paper towels damp and replace the plastic if it starts to develop mildew, but the faster you use them, the better they’ll take.

When you’re ready, plant the apple rootstock you purchased in its permanent spot. Then, snip the bottom inch off the scion to remove any dead wood if the scion has been in storage.

Whip and Tongue

Whip and tongue or bench grafting involves making a cut that maximizes the amount of cambium layer of each section connecting together.

Essentially, you will create a fancy “N” shape in the scion and a reverse fancy “N” in the rootstock and then you’ll connect them together like puzzle pieces.

To do this, make a single cut about two inches long at a slight diagonal starting at one end of the scion base and ending on the other side.

Now you will have a two-inch diagonal cut at the bottom of the scion.

About halfway up the cut, make a slice straight up the middle of the cutting about an inch deep.

Next, do the opposite on the top of the trunk of the rootstock to make a mirror of the cut you made in the scion.

Join the two pieces together and seal them with grafting wax or tape. With tape, you simply wrap the adhesive around the two pieces until they are held firmly together.

It can help to have a friend hold the two pieces while you wrap. Wax should be pressed around the perimeter where the two pieces are joined.

Splice

A splice graft is nearly the same as a whip and tongue graft, but you leave out the second cut down the middle, so you have a clean slant in one direction on the scion and the opposite direction on the rootstock.

Otherwise, the process of joining the two parts is the same.

Cleft

Cleft grafting requires you to make a “V” shape in the scion about two to three inches long and a cut through the top center of the trunk of the rootstock of the same length.

Then, you insert the “V” into the slice that you made and seal with wax or tape.

Typically, apple growers will use a large rootstock of at least a several inches in diameter for the base and then they will insert multiple scions into the cut.

This method is generally used when you want to graft a new top onto an existing apple tree trunk.

Instead of starting with a typical rootstock, you’ll cut off the top of a young apple tree about three inches above the ground and then make the cut in the center of the trunk two inches deep.

The scions that you will attach will then become the main limbs. To do this, simply insert the scions into the center cut and seal with wax.

Regardless of which method you choose, treat the grafted apple tree as you would any other newly transplanted specimen, keeping the soil moist but not soggy.

When the apple tree begins to develop new growth and the graft union has attached securely, typically by the fall, remove any tape.

These grafting methods can also be used to graft a branch onto an existing apple tree branch rather than onto rootstock, as well.

Stem Cuttings

Propagating apples via stem cuttings is the least reliable method. Cuttings generally don’t take well, plus you don’t have the advantage of using a rootstock to control the tree size.

That said, it’s not a difficult process, and if you want to give it a go, there’s nothing to lose but a little time.

Take a cutting from the apple tree you wish to propagate during the dormant season just before bud break in late winter or early spring.

Cuttings taken in the spring after budding tend to be less successful.

You want to choose a branch that is about the diameter of a pencil.

Cut a tip section that is about six to nine inches long, making your cut at a 45-degree angle. The cutting should have at least three buds.

Remove all the leaves but the top two, if any leaves are present.

Wrap the apple cuttings in wet paper towels and put them in a plastic bag. If you aren’t planting right away, put them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to plant to keep them fresh.

Keep the paper towels moist and replace them if they start to develop mold.

You can plant your apple tree cuttings as soon as the soil can be worked in spring and there are no deep freezes in the forecast.

Prepare the planting area by working some well-rotted compost into the soil to loosen it up.

Make a new cut at the bottom of the cutting at the same angle to re-open it and dip the end in rooting hormone.

Rooting hormone is cheap and useful for lots of propagation jobs. It increases the rate of rooting in many species.

Bonide Bontone II Rooting Hormone

You can pick up pots of Bontone II rooting hormone at Arbico Organics.

Poke a hole in the growing area and stick the apple tree cutting a few inches deep into the hole with at least one of the buds buried. Firm the soil up around it and water in well.

Place a cloche or clear bottle over the cutting to help it retain moisture. This can be removed once leaves start to grow.

Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged as the cutting establishes itself and grows. You’ll know the cutting is successfully rooted when you see green growth developing.

This can take weeks or even months, but bear in mind many cuttings will die before they develop roots and growth.

If, for some reason, you can’t put your cuttings in the ground, you can start them indoors in a five-inch (or larger) pot filled with potting soil or a mixture of one part sand and one part sphagnum moss.

Moisten the media, and after applying rooting hormone (if using) poke a hole in the center of the pot, burying the cutting about a third of its length.

Place stake or a small tomato cage into the medium for support, and tent plastic over the cutting to create a mini-greenhouse.

Keep this in an area that receives bright, direct sunlight for at least six hours a day. Mist the cutting every day, and ensure that the medium stays moist but not waterlogged.

When you see new growth on the cutting – which can take a few months – you can gently lift it out of the potting medium to check for roots.

Once new roots have formed, you can remove the plastic and gradually transfer the pot outdoors before transplanting the new apple into its permanent spot.

Seed Starting

While starting seed isn’t the way to go if you want to reproduce a favorite apple tree, it’s a great way to play around and experiment or to grow your own rootstock.

Apple seeds must be cold-stratified before they will germinate. You can do this indoors or out.

If you have a spot where you can put the seeds and then cover them with wire or hardware cloth, it’s easier to start outdoors. But, you have more control over the process if you start indoors.

To extract the seeds, eat an apple and spit the seeds into the palm of your hand. Or, if you want to go the professional route, cut open an apple and gently pry out the seeds.

Sow them right away or allow them to dry on a towel and then store them in a cool, dark area in an envelope.

If you are starting outdoors, in the fall, amend your soil with some well-rotted compost. You can skip this step if you have perfectly loamy, loose soil. And if you do, I’m extremely jealous. Can I move in?

When you’ve worked the soil, make a half-inch-deep furrow. Set the apple seeds in the furrow about three or four inches apart. Cover with an inch of sand and then put hardware cloth or mesh over the area to prevent critters from digging them up.

Water the soil carefully so you don’t disturb the seeds and wet it enough that it feels like a well-wrung-out sponge. You don’t need to water during the winter.

If you want to start the seeds indoors, fill a sealable baggie or container with sand or sphagnum moss. Moisten it well and place the seeds inside.

Seal the container or baggie and put it in the refrigerator for three months to provide the cold stratification. Keep the medium moist the entire time.

You might not want to start the stratification process until January or February, depending on your climate. You should aim to start about three months before the last predicted frost date in your area.

When the soil can be worked, prepare the area and sow the seeds as described above.

When the seeds germinate, thin out any extras if you sowed more than you needed, leaving the most robust seedlings.

Seedlings should be between five and 15 feet apart depending on the eventual size of the mature tree.

Alternatively, you can sow your apple seeds in a pot filled with a seed-starting mix. Choose a container that is at least five inches in diameter, fill it with your choice of potting medium, and sow two seeds per pot.

Keep the container in a warm location and once they germinate, provide bright, indirect light. When they are about two inches tall, thin out the weaker seedling so you have one per pot.

Transplant outdoors in the fall after hardening off over the course of a week to 10 days.