So I know not everyone on here does only fig trees. I recently received apple trees, peach trees, nectarine, cherry trees, pear trees, as well as several other kinds of fruit trees. Sadly once I received them I noticed that they were all grafted. Now by my logic if I take cuttings off of them and rooted it, I am assuming they would grow to be a standard size. Can anyone tell me if my assumption is correct to back up my hypothesis? I never wanted stunted growth trees so I'm hoping the cuttings would grow to full (standard) size.

Your assumption that the prospective cuttings would be "standard" is correct, but your assumption that your purchased, grafted trees would be "stunted" is not.  Check the rootstock.  Many rootstocks improve the health of the tree while keeping the tree nearly (e.g., 75-85%) as big as a "standard."  And dwarfing rootstocks usually enhance productivity, for example by reducing the space between fruiting spurs.  

A good nursery will have grafted the desired scion on appropriate rootstock (though you as a consumer could always fine-tune your choices to optimize the selection based your own space and growing conditions).  Depending on what you actually purchased, the trees might not be quite as big as you expected.  So you might have to adjust the planned spacing.  But you probably didn't get an inferior product.  And who'd want to climb a 20-30' ladder to pick apples anyway?

In recent years, I have bought roughly a dozen fruit trees -- apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, and persimmons.  With maybe one exception, all of them are grafted.  I'm very happy with my choices.    

One of the reasons why fruit trees are grafted is because propagation by cuttings is difficult or even impossible. The eventual size of your tree will depend on the vigor of the rootstock and the cultivar, the growing conditions and your pruning style.

Thank you for the info. Now let me ask this. Do I have to prune or would it do just fine letting it grow naturally? I have no problem letting the extra fall for the local wildlife after all I am a hunter. So anything I can't reach by hand or a 6' ladder I am planning on letting go for the local birds and deer

You definitely need to prune, but generally if you are diligent in the first three years then the rest can be relatively easy.

Do some research -- The web is full of instruction; check out university sites.  Best bet is to head the peaches at ~2-3' with 2-4 main scaffolds forming a big vase; apples can be headed higher at ~3-5' ("modified central leader") with 4-6 scaffolds arranged in a spiral around the trunk; pears really want to grow upright, so you want to encourage a single central leader.  But developing a well shaped tree takes a few years.

Note that deer will aggressively browse fruit trees.  Since you can't hunt 24/7 or in summer, you'll need to put a fence around each tree (or all the trees collectively) at least until the branches extend higher than the deer can reach.  I've often seen deer on their hind legs, browsing 6+' high.  Don't expect any leaf, twig, or fruit to survive below 6' without protection.  

Regarding ground fall, if you can be certain that the wildlife will eat ALL of what's on the ground, fine.  That might work for deer and apples in autumn.  But if not, you could have trouble.  Rotting fruit (even those immature and unappetizing apples that drop in June) is a home / breeding ground for insect pests.  For example, fruit flies in the rotting fruit on the ground will move to (and ruin) the otherwise beautiful fruit on the tree.  Coddling moth larvae in this year's dropped fruit will become next year's breeding adults.  So it's best to rake and remove fallen fruit.  Also, the raccoon or squirrel or possum that is attracted by fruit on the ground will have no hesitation climbing the tree -- I've begged them to eat only the fruit on the ground, but they ignore me.  [Once during a drought, I had a woodchuck climb 4' up a tree to get peaches.] So your worst case scenario would be uneaten but rotting fruit on the ground with eaten and rotting fruit in the tree.

As always I truly appreciate all the information. This conversation has truly been a eye opener. I definitely have more to research. While I have your attention do you think I would be better off trying to make my own grafted trees or should I just try to root out cuttings directly off of the tree? I started this collection because I wanted one of each tree and eventually turn it into a small orchard. So I was hoping to turn one into 10-15 of each

I am not a expert but I agree with Timo that taking cuttings would be extremely difficult.  Also, you probably wouldn't like way the rooted trees perform (compared to grafted scions on a good rootstock).  So grafting may be the only choice.

You'd need good rootstock.  You could try growing it from seed, but that would be a time-consuming project.  Instead, maybe you could buy 1-2 yr old bare-root rootstocks fairly cheaply and then graft scions from your trees, basically duplicating the work of the wholesale nursery.  But that's easier said than done.  Grafting is a skill, so you'd probably have a multi-year learning curve.

Before starting, the best bet would be to get some local professional advice.  Try a nearby agricultural extension school. 

Do you guys have any recommendations in rootstock? Something cold hardy and high quality?

It varies by species (apple, pear, peach, etc).  My apples are mostly on MM.111, pears on OHxF 87 and 97.  But seriously, get some local advice.

I agree with everything Joe D. said.
I also prefer M111, but have used quite a few. I took grafting classes from extension out of Va Tech. 

Do not ever hesitate to get a hold of your extension agent as he/she is paid to help you and I have found them to be friendly and extremely helpful.

Hey -- I used to live in Camp Hill! We had  a property with an old and very strong spring and our property backed up to the Conodoguinet Creek. I spent a wonderful part of my youth in that creek canoeing and fishing, etc. We also raced pigeons and and hunted quail and pheasant. Ahhh the memories!

Hey Nic40,

if you really want to propagate your trees, you could airlayer them in summer. I would plant the trees and airlayer them (depending on available space) and plant the airlayers later as well.
If you have a vigorous tree you could still graft more than one variety on one tree! That saves space and also looks awesome.

Which rootstock do you have right now? Is it M9?

Great advive here ^^^

All of my nonfig trees, with few exceptions, are on dwarfed rootstock. I live in a desert and want a smaller canopy to retain water better. Every situation is different. Plus picking fruit on a ladder is dangerous.

Grafting pears is pretty simple and easy for even a novice. Dig up one of the many wild Callery pears, easy to spot when blooming, and you have instant rootstock!

Halfwurst
Right now I don't have any rootstock. I'm not even sure where to find it.

How do I get in contact with an extension agent in my area? What do I google lol?

what state do you live in?  near what city?

I'm in Pennsylvania just outside of Harrisburg. I'm in the process of moving to dillsburg not sure if that would make a difference

http://extension.psu.edu

Penn State has a program.  Start with the link.  There's a function that lets you search by county for the closest office.  Call or visit.

hey Nic40,

what I meant with rootstock, was, on which rootstock are they currently grafted.
The M9 was for apple, which is a dwarfing rootstock.
Also, you could look up the varieties, choose the most vigorous ones (maybe also resistance to diseases), airlayer them and graft the other varieties onto that one.

In Pennsylvania you can probably get away with size reduction rootstocks. Up in zone 3 and 4 we use only antonovka or ranetka seedling rootstock (standards) for apples, OHxF97 for pears