Thread: How to Top Work a Pecan Tree to Change It's Variety

A successful Graft is just the beginning. Years of maintaining the tree's sprouting growth below the graft is needed so as much growth energy as possible can be directed to the new variety without washing the graft out from the inside with sap, without reducing the tree's natural ability to produce growth hormones & energy, also protecting the weak Bark Graft Union until the day comes that the Scion wood has grown to completely heal the top of the Pecan tree Stump. This tree below has not had its sucker growth pruned yet this year as well as trimming the Nurse Branches back to redirect more of the tree's energy into the Scions boosting growth.



Just get a load of all that suckering growth, not that the Scion's could handle all of that. The tree looks "Hairy". You can't tell the Scion wood from the Suckers.



Now you can at least make out where the Scion wood is located. Still if left in this stage little energy would be directed to our Graft Unions.



Here it is easy to see the Scion wood is very healthy just not growing as well as I think it could. In the past I have made the mistake at this very point to cut off the Nurse Branches thinking the Scion wood would start bolting upwards but no, without the Nurse branches providing something to use for growing the Scions they will just die back. You need a certain amount of nurse Wood to keep the tree in Vigor growing. Like Walking a Tightrope.



Hard to see but from the backside I have started removing Water Sprouts & Suckers from both Nurse Limbs leaving some energy producing growth for the Tree's overall health.



Here you can see I shortened the Nurse Branches as well as trimming them up. This is what you want to see, healthy growth but not too fast, Pecan trees are weak wooded to start with. Too fast of growth I have found the Graft Unions can't take our Tropical Weather and break. I hope these examples help promote better Top Working skills for whomever takes on the challenges of Top Working a tree.