Spring budding of fruit trees

Propagation of fruit trees and shrubs by grafting among summer residents is considered “aerobatics”: this method is subject only to the most experienced gardeners with great experience. But after all, even beginners really want to get some rare and expensive variety into their garden, but it is not possible to buy a real seedling. In this case, such a method of grafting fruit trees as budding is useful. The most important advantage of this method is the high percentage of plant survival. It is possible to perform budding even in adverse weather conditions, and for its implementation it will take only one kidney of the desired culture.

This article is about the effectiveness of budding fruit trees and shrubs, about the advantages of this method of grafting and about the technology for its implementation.

What’s this

The first thing a novice gardener who decides to start propagating his trees will encounter is terminology. To begin with, it is enough for a beginner to master only two terms: rootstock and scion. In this case, rootstock they call that plant, on the roots or other parts of which a new species will take root. Privoj the same is a part of a tree that a gardener would like to propagate and get on his own site.

To date, at least two hundred methods of grafting fruit trees and berry bushes are known. And one of the simplest is budding.

Budding is the grafting of a plant with one bud or one eye. The methods of such vaccination differ in the technology of execution, which can be individual for each summer resident.

A kidney is taken from a cultivated plant that needs to be propagated. You can graft it on any stock, whether it is a “wild” or a varietal tree. Budding may differ in execution time, dividing into summer and spring:

• in spring, trees are propagated by a bud that formed last summer. Cuttings with such buds should be cut at the end of winter or autumn and stored in a cool, dark place (in the basement, for example). Such a kidney will grow already in the current season, so the method of grafting is called budding with a sprouting eye.
• For summer buddings take a kidney that has matured in this season. Grafting material (eye) is cut out immediately before transplantation. A peephole grafted in summer should take root, overwinter and start growing only next spring. Therefore, the method of vaccination is called budding with a sleeping eye.

Benefits of grafting trees

Grafting fruit trees by budding has clear advantages:

• ease of vaccination, accessible even to a beginner;
• slight traumatization of the rootstock and propagated plant;
• the minimum amount of graft material is only one eye;
• execution speed;
• the possibility of repeating the vaccination on the same part of the tree if the procedure was not successful;
• good survival of the kidneys – most often the vaccination is successful;
• compatibility of varietal crops with wild game and any other rootstocks;
• vaccinated twice a year.

It is very important to observe the recommended timing for budding and harvesting cuttings. It is at this time that the bark easily peels off from the tree, and the eye can be cut off without traumatizing the shoot. Intensive cell division of the cambium during the same period ensures good survival of the scion and guarantees an excellent result.

Execution technology

Budding fruit trees can be done in many different ways. Any summer resident can even develop their own eye grafting technology. Below we will consider a couple of the most popular and “win-win” budding options.

Vaccination of eyes in butt

The simplest and fastest method of budding, which consists in attaching a cut section of the bark with a kidney to the same cut on the rootstock.

To carry out the vaccination of the eye in the butt should be as follows:

1. Prepare the necessary tools: a sharp knife with a thin blade, winding tape.
2. Wipe the rootstock site with a damp cloth to remove dust and dirt.
3. With a knife, you need to cut along the stock to a depth of 2-2,5 cm, making a “tongue”. Less than half of the resulting “tongue” must be cut off.
4. From a cutting of a valuable variety, a shield with a kidney of the same size (2-2,5 cm) and shape should be cut.
5. The shield is wound behind the “tongue”, combining its edges with a cutout on the rootstock bark. If the shield protrudes beyond the edge, it is cut with a knife. When the scion is already cut, at least one of its edges is connected to the cut on the rootstock.
6. The grafting site is tightly bandaged with polyethylene or special budding tape. The kidney itself can be either bandaged or left outside – the opinions of gardeners on this matter differ, but practice proves the viability of any of the winding methods.
7. After two weeks, the vaccine should take root.

In this case, the thickness of the rootstock is not significant, so the eyes can bud on overgrown shoots. Another advantage of the butt method is the slight dependence of the success of the event on the time of year: you can engage in budding from mid-June until the last days of summer.

Shield grafting into the T-neck

The essence of such budding is to rub the kidney to the cambium layer in the rootstock through an incision in the bark. It is very important to choose the right moment here: the sap flow in the tree at the time of grafting should be the most intense.

It is very easy to perform incisional budding:

1. From a varietal cutting, you need to cut a kidney along with a rectangular or oval section of the bark: about 2,5-3 cm long and 0,5 cm wide. The thickness of the shield should be small.
2. A T-shaped incision is made in the rootstock bark, the dimensions of which correspond to the size of the scion. First a horizontal and then a vertical incision is made. After this, the edges of the vertical cut are slightly bent to form a “pocket” for the shield with a scion.
3. A scion with an eye is inserted into the “pocket” from top to bottom. The upper edge of the shield is adjusted with a knife so that the edges of the bark of the scion and rootstock fit snugly against each other.
4. The shield is tightly bandaged to the rootstock with plastic tape or electrical tape. They begin to bandage from below, and it is better to leave the kidney open.
5. With a spring vaccination, the kidney should grow in 15 days. The success of the summer event is evidenced by the easy separation of the petiole located above the kidney.

Secrets of success

In order for the vaccination to be successful, some requirements must be met:

• choose young shoots for budding, the diameter of which does not exceed 10-11 mm;
• the bark on the knot should be smooth and elastic;
• do not plant an eye on the south side of the crown – the sun will dry out the place of the rootstock;
• for guaranteed success, two buds can be grafted at once on both sides of the stock, only they should be tied at the same time;
• to perform the method, putty is not required, polyethylene is enough;
• on one shoot, several eyes can be grafted in a row, only the interval between them should be 15-20 cm;
• the lower kidney should be grafted at least 20-25 cm from the fork of the trunk;
• it is strongly not recommended to breed in rainy weather;
• in summer, a cloudy cool day is chosen for vaccination or budding is done in the morning, in the evening;
• a couple of weeks before the summer vaccination, it is recommended to water the tree in order to activate the sap flow process in it;
• fully matured, large eyes located in the middle part of the shoot take root best;
• only well-ripened cuttings are suitable for grafting with a kidney, which can be recognized by the characteristic cod when bending.

Conclusion

Budding is the easiest and most affordable way to graft fruit trees and shrubs. Inexperienced gardeners are advised to start with this method of reproduction, because the injury to the stock in this case will be minimal. If the kidney does not take root, the procedure is easy to repeat and you can use the same shoot.

Read more about budding fruit trees in this video: