Budding is a method of plant
propagation that involves joining parts from two different
plants so that they produce one plant. One part is the rootstock
and the other is the scion. The rootstock is the base of the
plant that produces the root system and the scion is the part
that will produce the shoot of the plant.
When preforming budding you can
cut a slit in the bark of the rootstock and place the bud of the
other variety under the bark to hold it in place. It can take
anywhere fro two to three weeks and the two parts will bond
together forming one plant. This plant that is formed will be
the same plant variety as the parent plant that the bud was
taken from.
When preforming the method of
bud grafting and depending on what method used, the bud or scion
can be dormant and other methods they can be actively growing.
Budding is also faster and creates a lot stronger union than
other methods of grafting.
Other methods of bud grafting
are patch budding, chip budding, t-budding and care budding.
Patch budding is done on plants
that have a thick bark and is done while the plant is actively
growing. A rectangular piece of the bark is removed from the
rootstock and replaced with a rectangular piece of scion.
Chip budding is a budding
method that is used when the bark is slipping. To preform this
method you slice a notch into the rootstock at a 45 degree angle
downward and upward about one quarter the thickness of the wood
part of the rootstock. Remove a bud from the scion to match the
notch cut into the rootstock. Once the scion is placed into the
notch of the rootstock the union needs to be wrapped to hold the
chip into place.
T-budding is the most common
technique of budding that is used. Make a vertical cut in the
bark of the rootstock. Then at the top of the vertical cut make
a horizontal cut and loosen the bark away from the wood part of
the rootstock. Once you finished loosening the bark cut a piece
of scion in a shape of a shield that include a bud, bark and a
thin layer of wood. Place this piece of scion in back of the
bark of the rootstock and wrap to hold in place.
Care budding is done in the
later summer months by placing a scion bud into the rootstock
and cutting the rootstock off three to four inches above the
bud. In the following spring when the union is strong cut the
rootstock as close to the bud as possible.
You can create many unique
plants by these methods of budding.
