Have you ever wanted to grow fruit trees but didn’t know how to begin. Or do you have a favorite or heirloom fruit variety that you want to save? The Sawtooth Botanical Garden is hosting two exciting spring workshops, Fruit Tree Basics and Fruit Tree Grafting, on Saturday, April 2, 2016, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From 10 a.m. to noon.

Jon Wilkes, owner of Branching Out Nursery in Bellevue, will cover basic fruit tree selection, soil preparation, planting, pruning techniques and common diseases. Wilkes’ specialty is delicious, locally adapted fruit trees. From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Bob Purvis, master grafter and owner of Purvis Nursery and Orchard in Homedale, will demonstrate how to graft cuttings (scions) of apple, apricot, pear, or plum varieties onto dormant rootstocks.
 

Participants will practice grafting and then take home new fruit trees for their yard. After 2-3 weeks, the scions will grow leaves and shoots and, given good care, will grow into trees able to bloom or fruit in 3-4 years.