Weeping question? (Maybe an experiment for later)

[dr.tenebris]

Had a strange thought and I'm not certain it would work or even look good... But has anyone grafted a regular cherry branch onto a weeping cherry beyond where the tree begins weeping?

I imagine it would turn back around and grow up towards the light again, but could the weeping branch hold as the regular cherry grows larger?

Can it heal... And will it look wrong or interesting...

Has anyone tried this? I can't seem to find anything on it, I know regular cherrys are used for rootstock on weeping cherries and so sometimes the pop out of the top of the canopy but I couldn't find anything that looks like what is proposed... Or warnings against trying it

 

[dr.tenebris]

If there are any resources available they would be appreciated!

If not I might just have to purchase a weeping cherry and try it out just for the heck of it

 

[Paradox]

Don't know if it's been done but as you said, cherries are grafted all the time.

IMO having different growth patterns on the same tree wouldn't look natural and just be weird

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I have wild cherries in my landscape - both standard and weeping. I would assume if you grafted a regular branch onto a weeping tree, all growth from that regular branch would be regular.

A couple of considerations if you try this. First, at least at the trees in my yard, the weeping and standard varieties bloom on a slightly different calendar. You might end up with a tree with blooms coming into peak at different times (which may be good or not if you planned for it). Additionally - the standard cherries may have different growth rates versus the weeping ones. You might get different growth characteristics on the different branches.

This reminds me a little of "fruit cocktail" citrus or stone fruit trees where several different citrus or stone fruits are grafted on the same rootstock. I tried these trees several times in SoCal and it was very difficult to keep one graft from taking over the tree. You see a lot of photos of small trees (a year or two after grafting) but few of successful larger trees. (Here is a tree that started with 40 different stone fruit grafts. I'm not sure how many are still alive... but it looks like quite a few!)

 

[dr.tenebris]

I have wild cherries in my landscape - both standard and weeping. I would assume if you grafted a regular branch onto a weeping tree, all growth from that regular branch would be regular.

A couple of considerations if you try this. First, at least at the trees in my yard, the weeping and standard varieties bloom on a slightly different calendar. You might end up with a tree with blooms coming into peak at different times (which may be good or not if you planned for it). Additionally - the standard cherries may have different growth rates versus the weeping ones. You might get different growth characteristics on the different branches.

This reminds me a little of "fruit cocktail" citrus or stone fruit trees where several different citrus or stone fruits are grafted on the same rootstock. I tried these trees several times in SoCal and it was very difficult to keep one graft from taking over the tree. You see a lot of photos of small trees (a year or two after grafting) but few of successful larger trees. (Here is a tree that started with 40 different stone fruit grafts. I'm not sure how many are still alive... but it looks like quite a few!)


View attachment 530559

I've seen the multiple variety trees but never as many as 40 in one! That's insane.

Yeah there are a few different ways I could see grafts working, I could create basically a tier system were I graft regular cherry on the top of the weeping cherry then let that graft heal maybe a year and cut it back to maybe half a foot and graft more weeping cherry upon the new higher apex, and just pruning the weeping cherry back like an umbrella per tier slowly tapering up?

Or the way I originally envisioned it, but I do worry the different grow rates will create odd reverse taper in spots, which could be reduced by carving but that leaves a large scar, and if the reverse taper is at the graft along one of the weeping sections that might look very odd,

I do have a standard ornamental cherry tree upfront my grandparents planted 15 years ago and has had a borer insect infestation, which caused me to have to carve away just recently, im going to probably put more pesticide on it come spring before i let it dry out again but this tree might be worth trying this on, especially since everytime my family sees it they grumble about how it continues to grow upright, i do love seeing the mix of flowers on your 40+ variety tree so i might try grafting two different weeping variations onto it ( a white and pink one)

Plenty of areas to graft on the poor thing (photos included,

 

[Betula1]

If there are any resources available they would be appreciated!

If not I might just have to purchase a weeping cherry and try it out just for the heck of it

If you simply do a quick google search there is loads of information out there about how and when to graft cherries. Nurserymen do it frequently....!

 

[dr.tenebris]

Post note, the black on the trunk is some pruning spray, accidentally carved too far in a few spots, which I suppose should be expected when you try something new and are doing it with hand tools

 

[dr.tenebris]

If you simply do a quick google search there is loads of information out there about how and when to graft cherries. Nurserymen do it frequently....!

I mean specifically in regards to similar projects! I have been obsessively watching Cherry tree videos, from pruning to cuttings, and occasionally some bonsai! (think I might have a slight obsession in that regard! Love cherry trees far too much)

 

[Betula1]

Just make sure you use disease -free scion material and disinfect tools and hands before, during and after grafting to reduce risk of cross infection from fungal, bacteria and virus diseases to which Prunus are very susceptible.