Martin Müller Baumschulen. The passion for fruit trees is hereditary

The grafting of fruit trees is the domain of the Müller nursery in Quakenbrück. But grafting - what does this term actually mean? Nursery manager Martin Müller, a nurseryman and horticulturist by training, explains it to us: "It's practically cloning. That is, you take part of a plant and put it on another plant." Here's how single-variety propagation works: a scion, which is a branch of a particular fruit variety (part one), is budded onto a matching grafting rootstock (part two). The word grafting rootstock stands for the rootstock on which the new tree will thrive. Müller obtains the rootstocks for his nursery from colleagues who specialize in the cultivation of these plant parts. Professionals distinguish between so-called seedling rootstocks, i.e. rootstocks grown from seeds, and rootstocks from generative propagation. Good to know: Apple trees thrive exclusively on apple rootstocks, cherry trees on cherry rootstocks, and plum trees on plum rootstocks. However, the close relatives are also grafted onto plum rootstocks, such as mirabelle, reneclode, peach, nectarine or apricot. Pear trees can be grown on pear or quince rootstocks. If the pear rootstock is chosen, the grafted tree can be grown to half or full trunk. If the quince rootstock is chosen, a small(er) bush tree will grow. In addition to the growth habit of the tree, the rootstock influences many other factors, including adaptation to the soil - whether the plant copes better with dry soils or prefers a moist location - resistance to pests or, for example, the quality and coloration of the fruit. The Müller nursery obtains its scions from so-called mother nurseries. This is where the mother trees are located that supply the scions needed for propagation. These trees are especially cared for and regularly inspected for plant health and pests in order to preserve the varieties. Today, only a few of the numerous rice nurseries in Germany have survived. A fact that certainly poses challenges for the nursery, because firstly, this means increasing restrictions in the selection of varieties, and secondly, in some years, simply not everything is available. For example, hail and storm damage have already meant that no plum ripenings were available. The exact timing is what counts. In the spring, the rootstocks are planted out in the nursery. The grafting, i.e. the insertion of the scion into the bark of the rootstock, takes place during the summer months. The grafting site sits about 20 centimeters above the soil. To prevent it from drying out, it is specially bandaged, and then it is a matter of waiting. Only in the following winter, about January, February, the rootstock is cut off just above the inserted branch. With the spring budding, which usually begins in May, the new tree grows in height and over time forms one or more shoots. When winter comes again, pruning, as it is called in technical language, takes place. Pruning allows the nurseryman to determine the height of growth of a tree. For example, including the crown branches, bush trees usually reach about 80 centimeters. At this height, the blade is set so that the trunk and crown branches can develop in the appropriate relationship to each other. For this to happen, however, it must first be spring again. "Each plant is unique," Martin Müller emphasizes. About two and a half years pass before a fruit tree leaves his care. In the case of the duo trees he cultivates for Manufactum, it even takes three years, because with these trees, another variety is grafted into the crown of the first variety grown. Müller puts it in a nutshell: "For us, digitization mainly takes place in the office and in the shipping process, but not in production. That is still manual work." He attaches great importance to working methods that are gentle on beneficial insects. Plant protection products are organic and are used in his nursery only as a preventive measure, if at all, for example to prevent the spread of fungal diseases such as powdery mildew. The passion for fruit trees is hereditary. "My father is a master gardener, my grandfather was a master gardener, my great-grandfather was a master gardener," he says. The nursery in its current form was founded in 1969," reports the boss. For more than 25 years, all fruit trees and some ornamental shrubs in Manufactum's extensive range of plants have come from the traditional nursery in Lower Saxony. This makes the company one of our oldest suppliers. The Müllers started shipping their plants long before the first online stores were available. After all, the expert knows that this is the best way: directly from the nursery to the customers' gardens. After all, "any additional transport weakens the plant." To keep packaging costs as low as possible, Martin Müller has his woody plants packed exclusively in cardboard boxes. Plants cultivated in pots, meanwhile, are provided with a cover made of compostable material: a procedure that saves plastic waste and enables the nursery to reuse plant pots several times.