Just bought some Krymsk1

Looking at making a few multi grafts (plums/pluots) and also redoing some of my potted stock hopefully. Tried T budding in the past which ended in disaster, so I figure if do some chip budding this year. Any of you have any tips, photos, etc.

I’ve watched just about every video I could from tropical, to roses, to apples, etc and they all seem about the same. With the tropical they do it whenever, but with the apples I’ve seen it done dormant, and seen it done when the tree I’d leaving out. Would the same hold true for stone fruit? Should I collect some wood when I start my late winter pruning and keep it in the fridge then try when the rootstock break? Should I not worry and do it whenever this summer? Should it be last summer’s late growth, early growth, etc???

I’ve had better luck with whip and tongue and saddle grafts as opposed to t-budding on apricot,plum and cherry. I would start harvesting scion wood right away and keep it in the refrigerator, then start grafting as soon as the buds start breaking on the rootstock.

Sean,

Actually I’ve had better luck with T budding vs. chip budding, although I’ve produced trees from both.

Last spring I had the best luck with scion grafting for stone fruits, but my scionwood was budding out.

I’ve done “June” budding with scion wood budding out and it hasn’t worked well for me, yet last spring, even with budding scionwood, I had a decent percentage of takes with grafting small pieces of scions.

T budding has worked very well for me most of the time on pome and stone fruits. The key is bark must be slipping very well esp on the rootstock. Best size is up to 1/2 inch caliper and best if rootstock is somewhat bigger than scion wood. I do it as soon as the scion wood matures. That usually means ~2ft of new growth on scion and I use the lower more mature buds.

Also had good luck doing chip buds in Sept last yr.

Mainly it’s experience. But does require dexterity so as to insert T bud without damage to bud or bark. I wrap with budding rubbers.

Now after reading a few articles many say the pro for chip budding is that it can be done any time of the year because the bark doesn’t need to slip… But some videos say to do it in July or August. If that’s the case then there doesn’t seem to be a huge advantage to it… It seems easier to chip bud then to t bud… I haven’t had much experience with chip budding, but what I have had with t budding either I am just horrible (10 tries, 0 takes) but then again I may not be doing it right.

" It seems easier to chip bud then to t bud…"

Sean,

The thing I like about T-budding is there is no fighting to line up the cambiums. I sort of compare chip budding to whip grafting. You can cut a good match b/t scion and rootstock, but once you start wrapping the graft, the scion wants to move so that it’s pretty hard to know if you have good cambium alignment once the graft is done.

Same thing with chip budding. The chip wants to move once you start wrapping, plus the chip and the cut in the rootstock have to be a descent match, or at least line up pretty good on one side.

With T-budding, one just has to split the bark in a T, open it and insert the bud, then wrap. No worries with alignment, or trying to cut a perfect bud.

I’ve read an experienced team of two can bud 1000 trees per day in the field.

Ok, then let me ask a question… with T budding how deep of a cut does one make? Should the cut be down to the wood on the rootstock? The one thing that gets me is I know on every other type of graft or even chip budding the cambium has to line up to get a take. Now maybe I’m asking a stupid question but with t budding how do the 2 layers (rootstock and bud) match?

Sean:

Yes cut must be down to wood. Wood/bark interface is where the cambium is located. You can’t bud or graft if you can’t find cambium layer. The bark has to be slipping very easily on the rootstock. When you make the T and put side pressure on bark it should slip open easily. But that has to be done without damaging bark.

There is a thin outer layer of bark on stone fruit. I get the feeling some may be sticking buds under that outer layer that’s nowhere near the cambium.

Better that bark is slipping very well on scion because that allows removing the wood for a better fit when scion and root are about the same size. If wood is removed from bud you have full on cambium to cambium contact over entire bud surface. But wood doesn’t need to be removed to still have cambium contact around edges of bud.

To get bark to slip water a lot a week ahead of budding. Vigorous growth equals bark slipping.

It’s really not that hard. Under good conditions I could teach you in 10 minutes. On your own it’s practice, a lot.

If rootstock is over 1/2 to 3/4 inch T budding is not the right technique. The take rate drops to near zero on big stock.

I’ve only used chip budding. I usually start in July and try to finish before Sept. I find it pretty easy as long as you size things up correctly and make sure you get that solid cambium contact (green on green). Wrap everything tight. Rubber band. Hardest thing is if you are trying to bud to an older tree, u usually need a ladder to find good wood to bud onto…So prune hard EARLY and you should get a lot of new growth down low still that year to bud onto later. I did that with an apricot last spring and had plenty of grafting wood later in the season to bud onto.

This is a plumcot that i budded onto an Alderman plum. Its my basic process for budding.






Nice chip bud. How long before you removed the wrap?

What type knife do you use to make those beautiful cuts? Making the cuts is the only hard part about chip budding.

Fruitnut if I remember correctly you used, or still use krymsk 1 as rootstock in your greenhouse, correct? In terms of success with compatibility what have you had luck with, or if it’s easier what have you had that hasn’t turned out to be compatible?

Warmwx,

That’s interesting you wrap the bud first w/ parafilm, then put the budding rubber on. I’ve always wrapped the graft first with the rubber (rubber electrical tape is what I use) then wrap the whole thing with parafilm.

I don’t know that either way would make a difference in success rate, but I like the way you can still see the chip placement when you wrap the parafilm first.

Sean:

Everything (peach, nectarine, apricot, pluot, plum) seems to be initally compatible with K1. I made about 60 T buds last June and every tree is growing nicely some even bloomed. It’s long term compatibility that’s an issue. I’ve grown all those except apricot about 5-6 yrs on K1 in the past. Fruit was very high brix and about 2/3 the size of fruit on Citation trees. The pluot trees looked very normal in size and habit, like Citation. Nectarines looked like the genetic dwarfs: very small tree, very short internodes.

Just leave it…it will breakdown quickly…some of it may hold on over winter…but just peel it off in the spring before things wake up.

The knife is just a small TJMaxx bought Wustof… 8cm… just make sure its sharp… Also make sure your first cut is a “stop” cut or whatever they call it. So when you go to remove a bud, the blade doesn’t keep going right down the branch. I also will “rock” the knife some so i’m not just forcing it…The hardest part is right behind the bud…the wood there must be really dense or something…like a small knot.

Remember green to green…cambium contact is key…make sure it doesn’t dry out. The buds take pretty quickly, but mine all stay dormant until the following spring…in warmer climes you can force them yet that summer.

Yep… being a wood worker that’s exactly what’s behind there. Every branch has a knot in the wood where in connects. Did you do those grafts with dormant wood on growing stock, or did you remove the leaves?

Also I clicked on your pic and it took me to photobucket… If you don’t mind me asking are you the same franktank from GW?

Yeah…changed my screen name here… always meant to do it over there…

The grafting is done with current years growth…just remove the leaves… don’t let the budwood dry out (refrigerate/moist toilet paper in there)

I actually had a bud start growing last summer only a week or 2 after placing it…never saw that before. Not sure if it survived winter…find out soon enough.