I've been hunting around in the "hedges and highroads" looking for apple trees to release from surrounding brush and trees. My goal is to get the trees into better shape to be able to produce fruit for wildlife. As I have been working on this project I have found smaller apple trees or seedlings that I plan on grafting disease resistant varieties onto. Attached is a photo of one of the young trees that I have found before I pruned back growth and afterwards. How did I do? Did I butcher the poor thing? I have had luck using the whip and tongue technique in grafting but might try some different grafting approaches on some larger branches. I believe these young trees are worthy of attention since they seem to be well adjusted to where they are situated having grown from seed.
Any thoughts?
