Check the 3:20 part of Dave Wilson’s new video. That guy makes budding look so easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzsgV3SsFbo
Truth be told, it’s not easy for me. I’ve had very little success budding. Grafting is a lot easier for me.
The video is interesting and shows how they progress from bud to end of year harvest for a block of trees.
I’ve had pretty good success with chip budding, but i’m slow… i put on a lot of buds and pick the best one to keep.
That budding was so fast, I couldn’t make out if it was T or chip!
It was t-budding because he was creating a single long slit down the length of the stock.
Budding that entire block on 6" centers would take me all summer. haha
Yeah chip budding is slow…plus i have to adjust the fit most times…shave a little off to get better cambium contact, etc… adjust the bud after wrapping…yell obscenities loudly while the neighbors stare in awe when i drop a bud on the ground and can’t find it because it blends in with everything.
I find T budding much easier than grafting esp bark grafting and easier than chip budding. The thing about T budding is conditions have to be right. But when right and with care I’m nearly 100%. It’s all about having experience…and good conditions.
They Say not to put the bud into your mouth, but it’s handy
For me budding is about the last on my list of desired methods. I don’t like standing on my head to propagate fruit trees.
I’d like to know what kind of fertilizers they use. I don’t get anywhere near that amount of growth in my yard with citation rootstock
Ya me neither.
I bet it’s rich, loamy river silt. Whichever trees I grew next to my compost pile and my leaky irrigation pipe grew gangbusters too. So they must be watering the heck out of it too!
I have a pear within 8’ of the chicken coop and plenty of water this last 2 yrs. 4yr. old and 20’ tall.
Fruitnut, could you list the conditions that you think really determine success or failure. Although I have no problems with whip grafting, t-budding is still mostly a mysterious source of failure… there must be some obvious conditions that I’m getting wrong.
The bark has to be slipping very well on the rootstock. Water heavily 7-10 days prior to budding if it’s dry. The stock has to be actively growing, ie bark slipping. The scion wood isn’t so critical as it can be inserted with wood included but it’s usually a better fit if the wood is removed from the scion bud. To do that bark needs to be slipping.
Both stock and scion should be young wood with thin bark. Don’t try on older wood with thick bark as it won’t work.
Beyond that the scion bud needs to be cleanly and fully inserted under the bark of the stock. The bud needs to be under both bark flaps of the stock. Press the bark down flat and tie it up for two weeks.
They use a fertilizer called “California Sunshine.”
(That’s a joke).
@fruitnut is right.
In order to T-bud, the bark has to be “slipping.” This occurs in mid to late summer, when the hot weather has the cambium juices flowing.
If you try to T-bud in a cool season, the bark will just tear and make a mess.
If you want to bud but the bark is not slipping you can chip bud. It’s a very popular technique by both retail nurseries and home gardeners.
The bark is slipping whenever the tree is growing rapidly. That more likely in late spring and early summer than in mid to late summer. I T bud in spring as soon as the scion wood matures. That’s usually after about 24+ inches of growth. Another sign of mature budwood is the bark color changes from greenish to red or brown.
Right now a lot of my citrus trees (in ground and in container) are flushing, putting out new growth and buds. I know it’s still winter here in S. Calif. but does this qualify as “growing rapidly” and thus will the bark be slipping in cold weather. Or does it have to be warm weather combined with flushing. Tomorrow it’s supposed to get to 80F but the nights are in the mid 30’s.
Some years ago I tried chip-bud grafting on young (two years old?) Geneva 30 stocks with Ashmead’s Kernel. 50% take in rookie try. That’s fine by me.
Yeah, I was on my knees to do it, but bowing to the obsession is good for the soul.