Meetings

January 16 Meeting: Grafting Demonstrations

The 2025 grafting season is about to begin. In preparation for the Great Scion Wood Exchange (see below), a fabulous group of volunteers will be demonstrating various grafting techniques.

Some of the grafts that will be featured include:
  • Budding
  • Cleft graft
  • Crown bark graft
  • Dragon fruit grafting
  • Omega grafting tool
  • Side graft
  • Whip and tongue graft
Knife sharpening techniques will also be demonstrated.

Bring a grafting knife to be sharpened at one of our two sharpening stations!

You can also drop-off your scion wood at this meeting. We will store your cuttings in a cooler and bring them to the scion exchange for you. Even if you are unable to attend the scion exchange this year, we still very much appreciate your contributions.

Please join us in person for this meeting. Because there will be multiple demonstrations going on at the same time, we will not be broadcasting this meeting on Zoom.

Attendees are encouraged to bring fresh fruit from their garden and other snacks to share at the tasting table. 

For more information contact Jeff Warner 
[email protected]
2023 Grafting Demonstrations


Thursday 1/16, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Red Hill Lutheran Church
13200 Red Hill Ave, Tustin, CA 92780

Click here for a Google Map. We meet in the CLC Fellowship Hall.


Events

January 18: The Great Scion Wood Exchange (GSWX 2025)

The Great Scion Wood Exchange will once again be held in the Millennium Barn at the Orange County Fairgrounds. GSWX has always been a very successful event, but that success depends on the scion wood donations of our members and guests. Please take the time to bring in cuttings from your favorite varieties to share with others. If you are unable to attend the exchange, please drop off your cuttings at the Jan 16 meeting or contact Dick Malueg to make other arrangements.

Members and guests dropping off scion wood and/or breakfast items may do so between the hours of 8:45 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. Those who donate scion wood will be given early access to collect scion wood at 9:45 a.m.

Always check the patent status of varieties before sharing any cuttings. We do not accept varieties that are protected by an active patent. Here are two lists of patented fruit varieties.


Note: the list from CRFG has not been updated since June 2018. Varieties that have been patented since then are missing from our list (e.g. the recently patented Luna avocado from UCR.) It also appears that some common names are missing, making it more difficult to search for the variety (e.g. the Prime Ark Freedom blackberry is listed under its patent name APF-153T.) 

We cannot except any citrus cuttings because of the ongoing citrus quarantine.

The experts table will open at 9 a.m. to answer questions about grafting and rooting cuttings.

Sally & Laura Holly will be hosting the breakfast buffet again!

Saturday January 18, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

  • 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. - drop off scions and breakfast items
  • 9:45 a.m. - early access for scion donors
  • 10:00 a.m. - official start time
  • 12:00 a.m. - end of the exchange & start of Isabel's grafting class (see below)
For more information contact Dick Malueg - [email protected]
A chilly damp day at the 2024 Scion Exchange

Fortunately, it was warmer and dry inside the barn

Millennium Barn in the Centennial Farm
Orange County Fairgrounds
88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Park in Lot B off of Fair Drive. Enter the farm area through the back gate. Parking and admission for the Centennial Farm is Free.

Click here for a map of the OC Fair & Event Center.


Jan 18: Branching Out: Beginner's Guide to Grafting Fruit Trees

One of our club's most accomplished grafters, Isabel Barkman, will be teaching a grafting class at 12 p.m. just as our scion exchange wraps up. If you are new to grafting or want to improve your technique, Isabel is an excellent instructor. The class is being held in the Silo Building which is right next to the Millennium Barn.  

The class is being offered by the OC Fair and Event Center for a fee of $7. For more information and to register click here.


*** The OC CRFG Grafting DVD is now available to watch on our YouTube channel ***

 Five OC CRFG members demonstrate methods they have used with success for grafting, air-layering and clonal propagation.

Click here for the full video.