You can graft when they're 3/8 inch or larger with a 3 or 4 flap graft. Bigger limbs use this method.

Yes, you can plant the pecans you have then graft later. You can wait to graft at the 3-5 inch diameter, but if you look at some of the other grafting methods you can also graft earlier with those methods. I would recommend to wait after the planted pecans have been established, to make sure they survive before grafting. - Will Chaney, Senior Research Associate

Pecans being in the hickory family can be grafted to any hickory rootstock. However, some hickory species grow slower than pecan. I would only use hickory if you had a specific reason. I would use a pecan rootstock for home owner or commercial needs, which could be any pecan seedling type. There is regional considerations in the great plains area of the United States. If you are north of Interstate 40, I would use northern rootstock (Giles, Kanza, Peruque). South of Interstate 40 I would use southern rootstock (Apache, Elliot). - Will Chaney, Sr Pecan Operation Associate

If you are referring to the part that is tapped into the groove, it is too wide at that part and would cause the bark to stick out too far. It is then all covered with tape.

That exposed slant cut should callus over, form new tissue and aid in anchoring the scion to the stock in one to three years. If that slant cut were pushed too far down, its growth could force the scion to separate the long cut from the flat stock cambium.

As long as the bark is slipping, the mechanics of grafting will work. The issue then becomes, do you have enough time left for it to come into growth and get woody enough to survive winter. In Mid Missouri, I am like you, in that late May is the cut off date for grafting. If a person was in Texas, that could well extend the time available for growth and hardening off. I give myself a 2 week window from May 15th to 30th.

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That is the story I have enjoyed telling for several years. " Pecan graft 'OSU American Method' I use DUCT Tape!" I have several examples growing in my yard. Solid graft and a good story.

The rootstock does not have to have any limbs below where you place the graft. If the tree is large (generally over 6 inches in diameter) you can leave a limb below the graft to help reduce the growth of the scion wood (graftwood) once it buds out. If you are grafting large trees and removing greater than 30% of the canopy, the energy that is pushed into the new scion may result in too much growth too early causing the graft to blow out. Therefore, a lower limb can be used to help pull some of the energy coming from the roots to regulate the scion growth. If the scion is not growing well, you can remove the limb to push more energy into the scion.

@@NobleResearchInstitute If you were to graft onto a large tree, could you reduce the chance of the graft blowing out by grafting multiple scions onto the rootstock? Divide the energy so its not all going to one scion.

@@drunkenkurage4123 Grafting multiple scions onto a large tree will help some with the growth that will occur from the energy being pushed up from the rootstock. I would also recommend pruning back the scion to help increase the caliper of the scion and strengthen the graft union. Also stake up the growth to help support it. You may have to prune the scions back several times to first couple years. Also if you graft multiple scions on the same on the same trunk/branch selected the best one or two after the first year and remove the other ones. Charles Rohla, Ph.D. Pecan Systems Manager

@@NobleResearchInstitute I have top worked large trees, then cut the non graft tree away... you get pecans faster that way.

The same as grafting on any tree. Trees that are grown from seed do not grow "true", that is to say they do not necessarily produce the same fruits that their parents did, just like children that are different to their parents. Wild tress may produce smaller fruits or fruits that are not as sweet or simply, as in the case of pecans, not produce nuts that fill out or where the pith fails to peals away from the nut, or, as in the case of pistachio, produce pistachios that do not open. Almonds are grafted on bitter almonds, otherwise all the almonds would be bitter, ditto orange trees.

@@EscribanoEl I have pecan trees i ordered in the mail and they came wrapped in wet paper. They would have been grown from seed i hope they are ok. They are pretty big now that was about 6 years ago.

@@muddyriverdogz They'll be just fine. They should already be about to produce nuts this year. If you find that they are not very big, or only about half of them fill out even though the trees have enough water, you can always graft them. I have grown some from nuts and they produce very tasty pecans.

To make a tree that produces a higher quality nut. You are "cloning" the parent tree and making a copy of it using a stick taken from it.