← The orchard
H12-04 · Module 4 of 7 · Pages: 20 · Worksheets: 5
Grafting: budding, cleft and saddle grafts
Three proven grafting methods for the homestead, from scion wood to a successful graft, and top-working old trees to save a heritage variety
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In short
- A graft takes when the green layer under the bark (the cambium) of rootstock and scion touch on at least one side.
- Scion wood is cut in winter from healthy, cropping trees and kept at 0–4 °C (32–39 °F) in damp.
- Budding: July–August, when the bark lifts easily. Cleft: March–April, when the rootstock starts growing. Saddle: in dormancy and early spring.
- Make each cut in one stroke with a sharp knife, and don't touch the cut surface with your fingers.
- Seal all wounds and the tip of the scion with wax, and loosen the tie in time.
- Top-work an old tree over two years, not all branches at once.
What's inside
Chapters
- How a graft unites
- Tools and materials
- Scion wood: cutting and storing
- Budding (T-budding)
- Cleft grafting
- Saddle grafting
- Top-working an old tree
- Aftercare of a young graft
- Why grafts fail
- Common mistakes
- Printable checklist
Worksheets
- Grafting calendar
- Grafting log
- Mother trees and scion wood
- Scion and materials calculator
- Top-working plan
Fields and checkboxes can be filled in with Adobe Acrobat Reader (desktop and mobile), and the calculator adds up by itself. Filling in may not work in some browsers. A print version comes with the screen PDF.
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