Advice
Chip-budding
Chip-budding is used to propagate woody plants of the Rosaceae family, such as Sorbus, Malus and Prunus and also Laburnum and Magnolia, onto a rootstock grown from seed or hardwood cuttings. Fruit trees are budded onto commercially available rootstocks.
In mid-summer select non-flowering shoots that are a similar diameter to the rootstocks from well-ripened, current season’s growth for the bud.
Cut off the tip growth and remove leaves, leaving a 3-4 mm (1/8in) stub of leaf stalk.
Using a clean sharp knife make a cut 2cm (3/4in) below a bud, inserting the blade about 5mm (1/4in) deep at an angle of 30 degrees.
Make a second cut about 4cm (11/2 in) above the first. Cut down through the wood to meet the first cut, taking care not to damage the bud. Place it in a plastic bag to prevent drying out.
To prepare the rootstock cut off all shoots and leaves from the bottom 30cm (12in) of stem.
Make two cuts in the rootstock about 15cm (6in) from the
ground to correspond with those on the bud chip and remove
the resulting sliver of wood.
Place the bud chip into the ‘lip’ of the cut rootstock
so that the cambium layers match. Bind the join tightly with
grafting tape or strips of polythene, leaving the bud and
leaf stalk exposed.
Once the bud starts to swell the tape can be removed. Insert a cane and tie in the new shoot as it develops.
The following spring cut back the stock just above the bud. Plant out the following winter.