Grayson Chestnut ProjectCommunity science in Southwest Virginia
Project 04

Grafting brings the forest into the orchard.

Clone a promising survivor, preserve its exact genetics, and place it beside the trees it needs to breed with.

What grafting does

One root system. Another tree's crown.

A graft joins a small stem from a selected tree—the scion—to a compatible rooted plant—the rootstock.

When the living cambium layers align and fuse, the scion becomes the above-ground tree. Its leaves, flowers, and pollen are genetically identical to the survivor from which it was collected. That makes grafting a powerful conservation shortcut: instead of waiting for a controlled cross and hoping the offspring inherited the desired combination, we can reproduce the selected parent itself.

Grafting also solves an access problem. Most large survivors are remote, tall, and isolated. Clones can be assembled in one orchard, where they can open-pollinate or be crossed by hand without repeatedly moving pollen across long distances.

New shoots growing from a bark graft on a chestnut rootstockYoung seedling rootstock cut and fitted with a wedge-shaped chestnut scion
Map and photographs showing large surviving American chestnuts separated by long distances
Large survivors are often miles apart and difficult to reach. Grafting brings exact genetic copies together in an orchard.
The annual grafting cycle

Collect in winter. Graft in spring. Flower sooner.

Winter scion collection

We return to trees found and marked during the growing season and collect healthy dormant shoots. Each scion is labeled immediately and kept cool so its identity and viability are preserved.

Graft to young seedlings

Young chestnut rootstocks can be bench-grafted, potted, protected, and grown until the union is strong enough for orchard planting.

Bark graft to resprouts

Chestnuts resprout vigorously after cutting. At Matthews, selected scions can be grafted onto established resprout root systems. The mature roots can push rapid scion growth and may produce flowers within a year or two.

From winter collection to a living clone

The grafting work, step by step.

Teams return to marked survivors, collect dormant scions, practice grafting techniques, and establish clones that can later flower in accessible orchards.

Scion collection crew visiting a large surviving American chestnut in winter
A winter crew returns to known survivors to collect dormant scion wood.
Large surviving American chestnut marked with flagging for future visits
Summer marking makes it possible to relocate the same tree for winter scion collection.
Young American chestnut bench graft with a dormant scion
A carefully fitted scion begins as a small union between selected genetics and a rooted stock.
Completed young American chestnut graft wrapped at the union
The graft is wrapped to hold the tissues together while the cambium layers fuse.
Volunteers learning American chestnut grafting at a hands-on workshop
Workshops expand the number of people who can preserve and multiply rare survivor genetics.
Proof of speed

From graft union to flowers.

A successful bark graft can use an established root system to move quickly into reproductive growth.

Bark graft with new chestnut shoots

Spring: the graft takes

Scions push new growth after the cambium union begins to function.

Bark grafted chestnut flowering one year later

One year later: flowers

Rapid flowering creates new pollen and controlled-cross opportunities much sooner than growing a new tree from seed.

Grafting method & materials ↗Watch the bark-graft method ↗

Learn one skill and multiply the breeding program.

Every successful graft can preserve a unique survivor, create accessible pollen, and reduce years of logistical difficulty.

Join a grafting workshopSee where new trees go →
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