Upcoming Grafting Class at Yancey County Cooperative Extension

Spring is approaching and The Cooperative Extension is planning an apple grafting class for March. With the proliferation of apples that can be successfully grown in our mountains, grafting is a very useful skill to have in your arsenal. It allows you to expand the types of apples you can produce using existing trees.

Class participants will work with root stock (which if from the existing tree) and a scion (which is a cutting from a different tree). The process of grafting fuses the scion to the root stock which allows the tree to produce two different variety of apples. Grafting is an excellent way to turn a tree that produces apples that may not be to your taste into one that produces your favorite apples.

This class will give you all the tools you need to have a successful grafting experience. The Cooperative Extension will be offering classes at 9am and 5pm on March 4th and 5th. All four of the classes will cover the same material. We limit the class size to 5 participants to allow for individual instruction. Classes will be held at the Cooperative Extension office in Burnsville. Root stock and scions will be provided, or you may bring your own scion to graft if you wish. We will execute a graft as part of the instruction using the bench graft method. Other methods of grafting will be covered during class. All participants will be able to take home root stock and grafts for planting. The best time to graft and plant is just after the chance of a hard freeze so now is the time to prepare your grafts.

Please contact the Extension office at 682-6186 to sign up for one of the sessions. Cost is $20.00 per person and is payable by check or cash. These dates are subject to change, but you will be contacted if your class date or time changes. Grafting is a very useful skill to have and we hope to see you in one of our classes.