I read over here using notching with BAP to get a blind node to bud. I tried it on a Plum, Aprium, and Fig. It seems to be working on Plum and Aprium. I used Keiki Paste and these were notched 10 days ago.
Kuban Comet Plum
Flavor Delight APrium
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I posted about this a while ago
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Yeah, I did read your post. Although it didnt seem to work on a mature fig tree. Perhaps, the branch is too old?
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Not sure. On mature wood, the buds are quite dormant. They will likely need a lot of time. Even if they grow, the growth might not be very vigorous.
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@ramv this is fascinating and something I never heard of before! I know many growers are adverse to notching because it can provide fire blight an entry point. Do you think this eliminates that because you’re not cutting the tree? I suppose the new growth could also be an entry point too, however, less than a cut.
Where do you buy your paste? Any negatives?
After some more years of experience, I would only notch relatively young wood — 3 years is the oldest I would go.
Cutting really old wood is unlikely to cause any latent buds to wake up -unless the entire tree was girdled or cut down.
You can buy Keli paste or BAP on eBay for pretty low prices.
Do you make the notching cut with a rough blade like a hacksaw? Or just a regular knife? Last year I tried notching with my grafting knife (no keiki paste / BAP) and didn’t get much response.
did some with hacksaw blade and a few with a pocket knife.
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What works for me, when it works, is a notch about 1/4" wide, just above the node but not so close as to threaten it, and long enough to overhang the node significantly. Doesn’t seem to matter what you make the notch with; when caught short I’ve done it with the sharp part of my nippers, but that’s the hard way.
In other words: node (or stem that needs some encouragement) of about 1/2 would have a notch at least an inch long made about 1/4 -1/2 inch above it. I often do this when grafting lower on the tree and it does help.
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