Many people are making plans for next year’s grafting. Wanted to point out through the years I learned there is no end to grafting season. You can chip graft, bud , tbud or whatever. Tbud all summer long. Whatever I get done early makes me happy as it lessons the load in the hot summer time but technically you can graft starting in March and not ending until late August. If you have the materials your set keep right on grafting. Why wait until next year? If a technique was demonstrated on citrus or figs its ok to use that method on pears. @fruitnut did a great tutorial on tbud grafting T-budding tutorial - #109 by clarkinks
Ok, I guess this is as good a place as any to ask this question…
Trees have lots of buds but few actually turn into branches. What is it about chip and/or t-budding that makes the bud decide to form a branch? Is there something that one should do to coax it to make a branch?
You cut off the other branches and buds once you determine the graft has taken. The term is called " forcing the bud" .this thread shows we did it T-budding tutorial . @fruitnut gave me some great pointers on tbudding so i could graft over some pears T-budding tutorial - #39 by clarkinks
What does “slipping bark” as I see everywhere in the written instructions actually mean?
To my astonishment my casual attempt at T-budding last summer worked. Beginner’s luck no doubt.
It was warm enough that the white stuff in the bud actually fell off leaving only the green part of the bark. I feel that this is the reason that the graft worked.
Is this necessary? Realistically, what are we talking about in terms of ambient temperature when they talk about “slipping bark”? 60 degrees? 90 degrees? What?
"What does “slipping bark” as I see everywhere in the written instructions actually mean?
"T-budding must be done when the bark will ‘slip.’ Slipping means that, when cut, the bark easily lifts or peels in one uniform layer from the underlying wood without tearing. The exact time when this condition occurs depends on soil moisture, temperature, and time of year. It varies with species and variety. Dry or excessively hot or cold weather can shorten the period when bark slips. Irrigation can be valuable in extending the T-budding season.”
To my astonishment my casual attempt at T-budding last summer worked. Beginner’s luck no doubt.
It was warm enough that the white stuff in the bud actually fell off leaving only the green part of the bark. I feel that this is the reason that the graft worked.
Congratulations on your success!
Is this necessary? Realistically, what are we talking about in terms of ambient temperature when they talk about “slipping bark”? 60 degrees? 90 degrees? What?
Good point @clarkinks . As long as the tree/rootstock is not completely dormant it’s worth a try. I was surprised when I did a clef graft Sept 22 and it was successful although bud or T-bud is usually more successful later in the season.
Did more work to prove my point on this in 2023 Late season grafting experiments only. Using green wood cuttings, Plastilina, tbuds, chips, and other methods . @fruitnut opened my eyes years ago to the fact there is no need to wait to graft until next year. We are all a year older next year and waiting to graft what didn’t take this year is a mistake! My methods might be different than some peoples and they are becoming more different every year. The main thing we all want to do is graft for fruit production asap. The reason we post is to share the wealth of information this group has with other people. Much of what we learn we have aquired by research. Sometimes our research fails miserably like mine did in this thread Che, mulberry, osage orange, fig grafting .There is still a great deal you can learn by reading that old thread.
