There are many graft combinations that are compatible but short lived. The best results are grafting to a specific rootstock that can handle your local soils and diseases. Seedlings do not provide such protection and may be short lived, too.

A ‘good cherry’ onto a wild, or seedling cherry should be fine – though seedling cherry trees have no dwarfing effect and can easily reach 40+ feet if not religiously pruned (I’ll let you convert to meters). It helps if the seedling is relatively young; and Bud grafts work better on “stone fruit” (fruit with single pits or seeds) like cherries. I’m pretty good at cleft and ‘whip & tongue’ grafting but have had consistently dismal results with cherries – even young ‘perfect specimens’ have failed. Bud grafting, when the bark is thin enough and receives enough sunlight is a far better method, though I’ve not done it.

Pear on Apple (or vice-versa) is interesting; just this spring I grafted three ‘apple varieties’ onto a friend’s pear tree, using an “interstem” variety compatible with both. “Winter Banana Apple” is one of few apple cultivars (I know of) compatible with pears, so I made whip & tongue grafts with the apple varieties at one end of the Winter Banana scion - then inserted the WB scion under the pear bark with a Bark graft. It’s been excitedly reported to me, “They’ve got little green leaves!” …we’ll see " title="Wink" />

Plum on Plum should work… but from experience – it’s critical to allow sunlight to the grafted piece. Placing a scion under an established canopy is usually a death sentence for the graft. Providing the amount of sunlight necessary to allow the graft to compete with the rest of the tree often requires removing a lot of material from the ‘base tree.’ I suggest grafting to young trees; there’s less competition and the eventual graft becomes a more balanced part of the tree’s structure.

- That said, why not start a stand alone tree on well known rootstock?

There are some excellent tutorials online, but they leave out many of the nuances experience brings, and some of the absolute basics, like canopy removal for sunlight... Materials and practice are also key components. Viable ‘Bud Sticks,’ dormant scion wood, correct sealing methods that don’t interfere with the cambium. Wrapping and binding – and how and when to remove the same…

T-Budding is done in late summer. You will need a fresh cut “bud stick” of the variety you want. Our organization has a class but the date’s not yet listed. It’s one of the easiest methods for grafting – if your materials are assembled and you’ve done some homework. Obviously, you’ll not be attending our class, but neither have I… Budding is pretty simple. The after care, again, is critical. When you get closer to making these grafts, check in and describe your plan. I’m sure others would/will have some great suggestions – and welcome to our forum