Greening Chinnor: Donkey Lane Community Orchard

About the Project Stories

Renovation and restoration of the Orchard means we need to ensure the heritage fruit trees are not lost to posterity and in February 2023, a new Orchard nursery was established to safeguard the genetic lines of the apple trees.

Most of the fruit trees are well in excess of 100 years old and as such are starting to come to the end of their natural life. With the need to preserve such varieties as “Lane’s Prince Albert”, the decision was made to graft some of the ‘more vulnerable’ apple trees. Grafting essentially clones the tree. It enables the forming of a new tree with the same genetic makeup as the original tree. This way we can preserve the variety true to form. At present we do not know the names of all varieties of apples in the Orchard although DNA testing, results which will be available the end of the year, should give that information. We do know however, that two of the apple trees have been lost in the last year due to storms.

“Grafting is the act of joining two plants together. The upper part of the graft (the scion) becomes the top of the plant, the lower portion (the understock) becomes the root system or part of the trunk. The scion is typically joined to the rootstock at the soil line; however, top work grafting may occur far above this line, leaving an understock consisting of the lower part of the trunk and the root system. Although grafting usually refers to joining only two plants, it may be a combination of several. In most cases, the stock or rootstock is selected for its roots and the scion is selected for its stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits. The scion contains the desired genes to be duplicated in future production by the grafted plant.[1]"

In February, members of the group took scion cuttings from five of the apple trees and attended the Mid Shires Orchard Group ‘Scion Swap’ at Buckingham Nurseries. Here they were advised on what rootstock would be suitable for the Orchard trees and chose M111, a vigorous and disease resistant root stock which should produce heavy crops in 3 to 4 years.

To make the graft, the scion and the stock were cut at a slanting angle and then joined and bound together with grafting tape. The top of the scion wood was then sealed with wax. We were fortunate that Claire Conway-Crapp, the Chair of Midshire’s Orchard Group had visited the Orchard in 2013 when it was heavily overgrown, and took scion wood from all the fruit trees. These she has successfully nurtured and was able to provide scion wood from two of the trees that had been recently lost. This meant that we had seven new apple trees!

On completion, the newly grafted trees were planted in the prepared nursery at the Orchard. Tree protectors and fencing was placed around them to discourage any wildlife damage. These trees will spend several years in the nursery before replanting in a permanent position. We are pleased to report that all seven grafts have taken and are all producing new growth.

This is an ongoing programme that will enable the heritage varieties of the Orchard to continue to be enjoyed by the Chinnor community for many years to come.

This page will be update as and when new trees are added to the nursery.

Linda & Alan Brawn July 2023

7 trees grafted as at February 2023 are: