Alex Tanke

I found the following quote at here. This hits at peach nurse root grafts being successful. This also suggests that it may be important for difficult species to be allowed to develop softwood and then pile on more dirt for that new growth to root.

It is very simple, works well with all Apple cultivars, Cherries, Plums, Peaches, Nectarines and Pears. Many ornamentals may also be propagated by this method - Rhododendrons, Camellias, Wisterias and some difficult Conifers not easily produced by cuttings....

...I have noted over the years, that some plants, however reluctant to provide themselves with their own roots, will do so if a small root-piece is inserted at the bottom of them. In this case, wounding and application of rooting hormone will also help.

Others will produce roots better only on succulent successive young growth. You plant the graft at soil level and as the young growth starts, cover it with more soil so that the young roots can develop on the new growth. In this case the graft becomes a 'nurse graft'. Eventually the initial root may completely disappear.

When you are sure that this will occur on a particular plant, then you can use a rubber tie, this will strangle the initial root and allow the young plant to develop their own roots.

I am looking for advice and experience using "nurse root grafting" on Pawpaw, American Persimmon, Seaberry, Honey Locust, and Peach. Nurse rooting plants that are difficult to root, regularly sucker, are shrubs, are susceptible to trunk damage, have a short lifespan of individual stems, and/or are not compatible long-term with cheap rootstock seem especially valuable.

Here are a few specific questions I have:

How does the nurse root grafting work on each species? What are success rates?

How long must you wait to transplant each species outside?

When you have done this, have you buried the graft union in soil or kept the graft above soil and used saw dust to root the scion? Which takes longer? Which is more successful?

I have read from this post that pine sawdust works on apple. Is pine a requirement? Does pine sawdust work well for rooting the above species?

What was the specific process of your method?

Do you have books or sources that are good references for own-root plants?

I learned about this once-common method of propagation on Eliza Greenman's blog in this article. Pears, Plum, and Apple are reported to work well when nurse root grafted.