Better Trees Begin Long Before They Reach the Orchard
At Forrest Keeling, we talk a lot about what happens below ground.
Roots matter. Soil biology matters. How a young tree is grown matters.
But for many specialty crop trees, there’s another important decision made long before planting:
What do we want this tree to become?
That’s where grafting comes in.
For generations, growers have used grafting to propagate exceptional fruit and nut trees—not simply hoping the next generation will perform like its parent but intentionally passing desirable traits to it.
At Forrest Keeling, we use grafting on specialty crops such as pecan, Chinese chestnut, and pawpaw to help growers plant with greater confidence in the trees—and the crops—they’re growing.
Why not simply grow it from seed?
Because every seedling is an individual.
Plant a seed from a tree that produces outstanding fruit or nuts, and its offspring won’t necessarily produce the same crop. Much like a child inherits a mix of DNA from two parents, a seed-grown tree carries a new combination of genetic traits.
A scion is different. Because it is taken directly from a selected parent tree, it carries that tree’s same genetic makeup—and the desirable characteristics that made it worth selecting.
That’s important in nature, where genetic diversity helps plant populations adapt and persist.
But an orchard has a different job to do.
A grower may be looking for a particular nut size, earlier ripening, better flavor, disease resistance, cold hardiness, consistent yields, or complementary pollination with other cultivars in the orchard.
Grafting allows us to carry those selected characteristics forward with greater predictability.
A desirable tree’s scion is carefully grafted onto compatible rootstock. As the tissues heal, the two become one tree.
The rootstock provides the root system.
The scion provides the selected cultivar that grows above the rootstock.
And the grower receives something immensely valuable:
Greater predictability.
See the Craft Behind the Tree
Grafting is part science, part skill, and part experience.
The cuts must be precise. Living tissues must align. Timing matters. The graft must be protected as the union forms.
In our video, you’ll see the hands-on process our Forrest Keeling team uses to graft young specialty crop trees—and why a few careful minutes can influence decades of growth and production.
Grafting Is Only Half the Performance Story
At Forrest Keeling, we’re not interested only in what happens at the graft.
We’re interested in what happens after the tree goes into the ground.
That’s where our patented Root Production Method® (RPM) becomes especially important.
RPM production develops the dense, fibrous lateral root system that has become a hallmark of Forrest Keeling plants. Our proprietary living soil media supports that root system by providing beneficial microorganisms and the biological activity plants depend on.
The result is faster establishment, superior survivability and lifetime vigor.
For specialty crop growers, there is another significant advantage:
RPM-produced trees grow, flower and fruit up to twice as fast as conventionally produced stock.
That can shorten the time between establishing an orchard and producing a marketable crop—improving the potential for an earlier return on investment. Forrest Keeling’s RPM specialty crop trees have demonstrated more than 90% establishment success, while accelerated growth and reproductive maturity can give growers a valuable head start. Put the two approaches together, and the strategy becomes clear:
Grafting selects for the crop. RPM builds for performance.
One gives the grower greater above-ground predictability. The other creates the foundation below it.
Think in Harvests. Think in Decades.
A specialty crop tree isn’t a seasonal investment.
Pecans, chestnuts, pawpaws and other productive woody crops may remain part of a farm, orchard or agroforestry system for decades.
That makes the quality of the original plant especially important.
The right cultivar matters.
The right root system matters.
The right site matters.
And the decisions made during a tree’s earliest stages can continue influencing its performance years after it leaves the nursery.
That’s why Forrest Keeling offers grafted selections chosen for traits important to growers. For example, our current pecan offerings include cultivars selected for traits such as early maturity, cold hardiness, scab resistance, nut quality, production, and pollination compatibility.
It’s also why we produce those trees using RPM.
We’re not simply trying to get a young tree ready to sell.
We’re growing it for what comes next.
The orchard.
The first flowers.
The first harvest.
And all the harvests still to come.
Where the Best Trees Begin
For more than 75 years, Forrest Keeling has learned by observing plants grow.
We’ve learned that healthy trees begin with healthy roots. That provenance matters. That living soils matter. That careful selection matters.
We’ve learned that when traditional horticultural knowledge is paired with improved production technology, growers don’t have to choose between time-tested practices and innovation.
They can benefit from both.
Selected for the crop.
Grafted for consistency.
RPM-grown for performance.
Because better harvests begin with better trees.
And better trees begin long before they’re planted.
