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Seedlings may be planted directly in the orchard, or even seeds may be planted
where trees are to be, for seedling orchards. Seedling trees are slow to begin bearing sometimes,
waiting until 10 years old or more, and the size, season, and quality of fruit will not be known
until then. For orchard planting this may not be a big handicap, yet even there it is
desirable to be assured of a long season of fruit maturity. For city markets it is
important to have fruits of uniform appearance and season of maturity, and only vegetative
propagation will assure this.

Seedling stocks may be grown in containers or in field nurseries like orange
stocks. Grafting is more conveniently done on young stocks in containers, while budding
is satisfactory on 1-yr. stocks in nursery beds. Containers should hold a gallon of soil
to prevent stocks from becoming pot-bound before planting. Usually seedlings reach a
satisfactory size for grafting—12 to 18 in. tall with 8 to 12 well developed leaves—in about
3 months of warm weather. It is important that seedlings grow rapidly and are slow in
developing woody tissues, as such seedlings are easier to graft. Judicious application of
water and light fertilizing will keep growth vigorous.

In humid climates, grafting on young stocks is preferred; in rather arid
climates, budding on yearling stocks is more satisfactory. For grafting, both the wedge
side-graft and veneer-grafting are popular. In side-grafting sections 3 to 4 in. long
of well-natured terminal twigs are used. Preferably, they should have the lateral buds
swollen but not visibly pushing out shoots. The lower end of each scion is cut to form
a tapering wedge about 1 in. long. An incision is made in the stock, starting a few
inches above the soil and slanting steeply downward for at least 1 in. This cut
should not extend past the center of the stem. Into this incision the scion wedge is
inserted, and the stock tied with thin rubber strips for the length of the cut, leaving the
scion uncovered above this. Because the stock continues to increase in diameter while
the graft is uniting, elastic wrapping is less likely to constrict the stock than wrappings
which cannot stretch. After a month the top of the stock should be cut back one half,
to encourage scion growth, and cut back close to the scion when the latter has grown to