Do you love fruit trees, are creative, and want to help shape Susan Poizner's new book?

On behalf of Susan Poizner, the creator and host of the Orchard People podcasts and Orchard People fruit tree care educational website, and author of gobs of articles and books:

"Want to help shape my new book, How to Design a Fruit Tree Garden?
Join my Book Development Team!

You’ll get early access to draft chapters, sneak peeks of gorgeous orchard photos,
and my private audio journal where I share what I’m learning about climate zones, chill hours, and how to choose fruit trees
that actually produce in your unique conditions.

You’ll also explore disease-resistant cultivars, follow real examples from growers around the world, and get a free
Kindle copy when the book launches.

If you love fruit trees and enjoy being part of a creative journey, I’d love to have you on the team."

Currently working on:
How to Design a Fruit Tree Garden
Choose the Right Trees and Create a Garden (or Orchard) That Actually Produces Fruit
By Susan Poizner of OrchardPeople.com

The signup page is here:
https://orchardpeople.com/newbook

What's in it for you?

You get early access to the book.
You’ll see preview chapters long before the public does.

You help shape a practical, science-based guide.
Your comments help make each explanation clearer, whether it’s climate zones, chill hours, soil, or choosing the right cultivars.

You get the private audio journal.
You’ll hear what I’m learning as I research climate, microclimates, and how growers around the world choose fruit trees that actually produce.

You get a free Kindle copy when the book launches.
Once it’s published, the finished eBook is yours.

You learn how to pick fruit trees that will thrive in your unique conditions.
You’ll follow the same step-by-step process I teach in my courses—now woven into the book.

You get a first look at real examples from growers around the world.
These stories and photos will help you see what works in different climates.

You understand the science behind fruiting, in a simple, friendly way.
No jargon, just clear explanations you can use right away.

You explore disease-resistant cultivars and smart variety choices.
This will help you avoid some of the most common—and expensive—mistakes home growers make.

You join a small group of curious, supportive fruit-tree lovers.
You’ll be part of the conversation as the book takes shape.

You get to be part of the creative journey.
It’s not every day you get to walk alongside an author as a book like this comes to life.

Sound interesting? The signup page is here:
https://orchardpeople.com/newbook

This is one of the nurseries (Frank P Matthews in the UK) that inspired Susan:

Hello everyone, if you'd like, I can present a technique I've invented (if it hasn't already been invented, of course...). It's called Braided Grafting. Virtuous Fruit Spiral.

Let's take an apple tree as an example, grafting a common apple tree onto a wild apple tree. If we look at it closely, this is brutal. I propose postponing this massive trauma, breaking it down into mini-traumas, so that the plant never stops growing.

We will begin by braiding the new branches, which will become trunk-branches. These will grow from an early pruning of the bud at the main tip of the crabapple tree. This will cause the weak lateral branches, or "suckers," to each become a new trunk. These new trunks, without touching each other, will serve only as an initial guide with ample space, because later they will fuse together, forming a single, much more solid structure than the previous one. I say "will eventually" because this will happen in the not-too-distant future, when they reach the indicated age of about two years, during the winter.

Let's assume we have left four branches on the crabapple tree and have braided them (a little) together, if desired. They will still retain some capacity for interlacing for a while, always with care. All the trunk-branches are twisting together and pointing upwards.

And here we will begin grafting onto the four new trunks of the crabapple tree. And we won't do it traumatically, because... if it takes more than 60 days to begin photosynthetically functioning again, to provide energy to the root system's capacity... these first 60 days are for starting to "recharge the batteries" of the energy spent by the roots to supply the energy needed to "weld that external agent." I'm talking about common grafts where the plant has to be in the dark, and if we look at it closely, that's a long time... let's simplify... a graft is made on a 2-year-old wild apple tree that takes 2 months to take root. What does that mean? That the apple tree will suddenly not only have to be without energy, but will have to use a large part of that residual energy to fuse the graft itself.

How long does a small tree live if you cut off the trunk and branches? How long does a stump with some trunk live? I want to start this topic in case there's interest and I can share it with you.