(Continued)
If you would like to try grafting and budding, you would need the following:
- Sterilized budding knife
- One healthy rootstock plant – disease free (approximately 18 – 24 months old)
- One healthy shoot (scion approximately 6 – 10 inches long)
- Budding tape
In the case of citrus, a lemon rootstock can be used with a shoot (scion) from a lime tree. With a sharp knife cut off the top of the rootstock stem approximately 12 inches above the ground and make a one-inch cut into the rootstock.
Cut both sides of the bottom of the scion in a V slant and insert the scion into the rootstock. Wrap with budding tape to hold it firmly in place and move to a shaded area to allow the union to form and heal.
You can make a label for your plant with its name and the date it was grafted. In approximately three to four weeks, you should be able to see the callus tissue filled in all around the wound. Once this has happened, you can gently remove the budding tape.
In six to eight weeks your plant will start to grow and take shape.
The plus with this plant is that it will bear faster and the tree would be shorter than usual.
Please remember to remove all growth beneath the bud union as it is only above the union that is required to grow. So now, you know what a grafted plant is let us all use the correct term when we speak.
Happy Mash.
Until next week, Happy Gardening.
