The shagbark makes the best stock on which to graft the named varieties of shagbark, shellbark and hybrid hickories. However it has one very serious drawback in that young shagbark seedlings are so very slow growing. It usually takes five or more years to grow a shagbark stock from seed to a size large enough to graft in the nursery row.
However, when shagbark stocks are large enough to be grafted, all of the named varieties we have grafted onto it have grown well.
SHELLBARK, Carya laciniosa
We have never had any experience with shellbark seedlings as stocks, but as it is so similar to the shagbark, I expect that it would make a good stock.
The production of grafted hickory trees is a serious problem in the nursery, taking many years to grow the stocks and the grafted trees are difficult to transplant, resulting in a high rate of mortality.
However, the grafting of young hickory trees growing in a permanent location is not difficult, and such grafts will grow much faster and bear younger than will grafted hickory trees from a nursery.
PRESIDENT MacDANIELS: My experience with bitternut stock with only two varieties, the Strever #1 and the Champigne, has not been good. The grafts have been stunted, the stocks have tended to sprout and make vigorous growth, and the fruiting has been sparse. Neither have I had success with the pecan stock with only three varieties. The trees have been very slow coming into bearing and have made rather stubby growth.
MR. MCDANIEL: I was about to remark that we have had similar experience at Urbana with bitternut stock with pecan and shagbark varieties. It warps the shagbark and very likely those trees won't live long. We have already lost the Weschke hickory grafted on bitternut.
MR. CRAIG: Have you tried hickory on pecan? The pecan is O. K. there.
PRESIDENT MacDANIELS: Tomorrow we are to have a round table on hickory propagation and suggest that further discussion of stocks might be left until then. Has anyone any comments on hickory varieties?