Chip Budding

Question 1

Chip budding - suitable for which types of plant?

Answer 1

Fruit trees eg. apples and cherries.
Acer
Hawthorn
Robinia

Question 2

Chip budding

Time of year?

Answer 2

From mid summer and early autumn.

Question 3

Chip budding.

Advantage over T-budding.

Answer 3

Chip budding can be carried out from mid summer to early autumn.
T-budding can only be carried out in mid summer.

Question 4

Choosing and budsticks.

Answer 4

From mid summer choose budsticks.
Should be non flowering shoots with similar diameter to rootstock, current season’s growth and well ripened..

Budsticks are removed from parent plant.

Question 5

Preparing budsticks.

Answer 5

Remove soft fleshy tip growth and all leaves, leaving 3to 4 mm stum of leaf stalk ( 2 to 2.5cm for container grown plants)
Use a sharp, clean knife.
Cut into the stem about 2 cm below bud, about 5mm deep at 30 degree angle.
Make second cut 4cm above first.
Cut down to first cut being careful not to damage bud.
Results in sliver of wood with bud in it.

Question 6

Preparing rootstock.

Answer 6

Make two cuts about 15cm from the ground to match those that have been made on the bud chip and remove this sliver of wood.

Question 7

Joining rootstock and budstick.

Answer 7

Place bud chip into lip of the cut rootstock.
Match up the camping layers as exactly as possible.
Bind together tightly with grafting tape or strips of polythene.
Leave bud and leaf stalk exposed.

Question 8

Chip budding aftercare.

Answer 8

Once bud starts to swell remove tape.
Tie the new shoot to a cone to make it grow upwards.

In spring the stock stem is just above the bud.
Plant out the following winter after the bud has grown into a new tree.