Course Description
You’re interested in the world of grafting!? It is indeed a fascinating practice. Grafting combines the qualities of a flowering or fruiting plant with the roots of another vigorous plant. We usually graft fruit and nut trees that are difficult to root as a cutting. With fruit in particular, grafting onto clonal dwarfing rootstocks has become standard practice in modern horticulture, allowing growers to produce smaller, more manageable trees that bear high-quality fruit earlier in life compared to trees grown on their own roots.
Join our Fruitnut Matthew McEvoy to gain the understanding of principles and practical skills to graft your own orchard, on any scale. This workshop will focus on apple trees and is suitable for beginners and those more experienced!
Rootstocks, scion, grafting knife & tape provided on the day. You should expect to bring home as many trees as you graft, with rootstock options.
Please bring
People can bring a stanley knife with new blades as a grafting knife.
If you wish you may bring your own scion wood (length of strong growth with Vegetative buds on it) that’s been stored in the cool and dark to prolong dormancy – north side of hedge/building in sand, that is damp not wet.
Activities on the day will include:
Rootstock selection
Rootstock propagation
Why do we graft
Dormant & Summer grafting
Scion selection
Whip and tongue grafting
Cleft grafting
Date: Saturday 18th April 2026
Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: Síolta Chroí Carrickmacross Monaghan (eircode available after booking)
🍽️ Lunch: will be provided. Please get in touch if you have special diet requirements.
A note of our Pay Scale
A balance we constantly seek to achieve at Síolta Chroí is making our offerings affordable while also covering the cost of running and paying our excellent facilitators a fair wage. We have three tiers: supporter, regular, and inclusive. The supporter tier will cover the extra cost of those who require the inclusive tier to participate. We are trusting people to pay what they can afford, and asking those who work for an organisation that will benefit from this educational experience, to pay the highest end of the scale, if possible. If the lower end of the scale is prohibitive for any individual please email gareth@sioltachroi.ie and ask for the scholarship form.
