Cutting the bud
The most critical aspect of budding is cutting the bud itself--it is only a very thin slice of bark and a sliver of wood beneath the bud, but it must be cut evenly and smoothly. The flat side of the blade must be flat against the budstick (Image10), with the knife held at about a 45 degree angle to the budstick (Image 11). With the thumb braced along the stick below the bud, simply draw the knife towards the thumb (again, no sawing or rocking motion!), keeping the blade flat against the stick to prevent it from cutting too deeply (Image 12). If the blade remains flat against the stick, it will normally slice under the bud and exit below it (Image 13).
10. Side view of start of bud cutting.
The most critical aspect of budding is cutting the bud itself--it is only a very thin slice of bark and a sliver of wood beneath the bud, but it must be cut evenly and smoothly. The flat side of the blade must be flat against the budstick (Image10), with the knife held at about a 45 degree angle to the budstick (Image 11). With the thumb braced along the stick below the bud, simply draw the knife towards the thumb (again, no sawing or rocking motion!), keeping the blade flat against the stick to prevent it from cutting too deeply (Image 12). If the blade remains flat against the stick, it will normally slice under the bud and exit below it (Image 13).
10. Side view of start of bud cutting.
11. Start of bud cutting.
12. Middle of bud cutting.
13. Finish of bud cutting.
Inserting the bud
Place the upper end of the bud piece beneath the bark flaps at the bottom of the inverted T and gently but firmly push it upward with your thumb (Image 16). With a good stock and slipping bark, the bud will easily slide under the bark, lifting it from the wood as the bud is pushed upward. Slide it upward until the entire bud piece is beneath the bark of the stock (Image 17). Note that the sides of the bud piece are completely beneath the bark on both sides of the vertical part of the T, with the actual bud about centered between the two cut edges of bark.
14. Bud cutoff, if necessary.
Place the upper end of the bud piece beneath the bark flaps at the bottom of the inverted T and gently but firmly push it upward with your thumb (Image 16). With a good stock and slipping bark, the bud will easily slide under the bark, lifting it from the wood as the bud is pushed upward. Slide it upward until the entire bud piece is beneath the bark of the stock (Image 17). Note that the sides of the bud piece are completely beneath the bark on both sides of the vertical part of the T, with the actual bud about centered between the two cut edges of bark.
14. Bud cutoff, if necessary.
15. Completed bud ready to insert.
16. Start of bud insertion.
17. Complete bud insertion.
18. Side view of the inserted bud.
A side view of the inserted bud (Image 18) shows mostly the bark of the stock, with the bud, its attendant thorn, the leaf base and a little of the bark of the bud piece.
Start wrapping the bud below the incision, making several turns around the stock until the entire bud and incision are covered, finishing with the end of the tape tucked beneath the last turn (Image 19). During wrapping, maintain firm pressure on the tape, but don't stretch it so hard that it breaks. If the tape breaks, remove it and start over with a new strip, using a little less pull.
Beginners will often put two or even three buds on a stock in hopes of increasing the odds of success. Since good technique has better than 98 percent success, multiple buds will not overcome poor technique. It would be more useful to practice slicing buds from a budstick until you can consistently cut them like the one in Image 15. Even then, save the unused budsticks until after unwrapping--just in case you need to rebud
A side view of the inserted bud (Image 18) shows mostly the bark of the stock, with the bud, its attendant thorn, the leaf base and a little of the bark of the bud piece.
Start wrapping the bud below the incision, making several turns around the stock until the entire bud and incision are covered, finishing with the end of the tape tucked beneath the last turn (Image 19). During wrapping, maintain firm pressure on the tape, but don't stretch it so hard that it breaks. If the tape breaks, remove it and start over with a new strip, using a little less pull.
Beginners will often put two or even three buds on a stock in hopes of increasing the odds of success. Since good technique has better than 98 percent success, multiple buds will not overcome poor technique. It would be more useful to practice slicing buds from a budstick until you can consistently cut them like the one in Image 15. Even then, save the unused budsticks until after unwrapping--just in case you need to rebud
19. Bud wrapped with polyethylene tape.
20. Bud failure.
Forcing and Aftercare
After 12 to 14 days, healing and union should have occurred, so remove the tape. The easiest removal is to simply make a vertical cut through it on the backside of the stock away from the bud, then slip it off. You can also cut it at the tuck and unwind it. If your technique was somewhat lacking or if this is just one of those one or two percent that simply don't take, the bud will be mostly brown or blackish (Image 20), and may just look rotted. In this case, select another spot on the stock and rebud it. A live bud will still be as green (Image 21) as it was when you inserted it two weeks earlier. The small stub of the cutoff leaf petiole will have turned yellow and it will readily fall off, if it didn't come off during unwrapping.
Forcing and Aftercare
After 12 to 14 days, healing and union should have occurred, so remove the tape. The easiest removal is to simply make a vertical cut through it on the backside of the stock away from the bud, then slip it off. You can also cut it at the tuck and unwind it. If your technique was somewhat lacking or if this is just one of those one or two percent that simply don't take, the bud will be mostly brown or blackish (Image 20), and may just look rotted. In this case, select another spot on the stock and rebud it. A live bud will still be as green (Image 21) as it was when you inserted it two weeks earlier. The small stub of the cutoff leaf petiole will have turned yellow and it will readily fall off, if it didn't come off during unwrapping.
21. Live bud ready to be forced.