Grafting And Budding

Notes for 01 March Propagation Class:

Please note there is a change of plan for tomorrow's lecture. We will not be able to do grafting, but we will start, instead, with t-budding. Here are a few links that discuss t-budding. Please bring your knives and pruners to class – they will be needed.

Budding

Budding is grafting when only a single bud is used. We will only do 't-budding,' sometimes called 'shield budding.' It is an easy method of grafting with a very high success rate. Once shield budding is mastered, one can work on other forms of budding that are more specialized with confidence.

The name 't-budding' is reference to the shape of the cut in the rootstock, while the name 'shield budding' refers to the shape of the bud placed in that 't.' These cuts are very shallow – it is desirable to avoid getting below that very thin layer of cambium directly under the rind of the plants involved.

We will practice working with our knives as we learn to master shield budding.

Links to some additional t-budding data, these have illustrations I am unable to make:

http://www.n8ture.com/hort.html

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/propagation/budding/budding.html
Note: they've left a stub of a leaf petiole on the bud – this is useful to help manipulate the bud (use it like a little handle). This is on an apple, I think.

Here is a video on t-budding and chip budding from the Midwest Fruit Explorers, I don't necessarily agree with all he has to say, but it is still lovely to get to watch him do what he does.



Grafting

This links you to grafting films on youtube. I don't agree with all his ideas either, but it's still a good video.


This is a saddle graft which we will hopefully be doing March 8th.

david

Propagation Field Trip to the Huntington Finally Confirmed!

Notes from one of your fellow students. I would like to note that 'donor' is normally referred to as 'scion' and 'receiver' isn't really 'parent' at all, but is usually referred to as 'rootstock.' The terminology isn't just nice, but is integral to the understanding of the process.

It's been a long time coming, and I realize it doesn't work for some folks, but despite my best efforts, this is the time that works for the greatest number of folks (especially our tour leader and guest instructor that day!).

If you wish to carpool, I would suggest you arrange that during break time in class. As a whole class we will meet at The Huntington entrance at 9:00 AM on March 14th.

IF YOU ARE LATE, YOU MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY FINDING US. Also remember that The Huntington isn't really open until 10:00 AM so once we have left the gate area, you might well not be admitted until 10. Get there early, keep my cell phone number on hand just in case.

The address to The Huntington is in your syllabus as is my phone number.

david

Propagation Class Notes

A volunteer is preparing a piece of scion wood to be grafted using a saddle graft. The knife isn't sharp enough because you can see the bark torn and splayed down the cut. A grafting knife must be kept razor sharp and should never be used for any other purpose.

Our first field trip is this Saturday for the California Rare Fruit Growers meeting in Santa Monica - I'll be at the Garden no later than 7:30 to get scion wood for those who would like to have scion wood to exchange at the meeting - see the post below regarding the process to collect scion wood and keep it. We probably won't do any grafting until the 1st of March so you'll need to store the scion wood in the fridge.

NO CLASS THIS SUNDAY - it's a University Holiday. Seems likely to rain anyway.

If you need more information than is available here, call or email me.

david

Southern California Gardening: What To Do And When To Do It

These tomatoes and red peppers were part of my harvest last summer: This summer they could be from YOUR garden! This is the first class in a monthly series, the first Saturday of each month covering all you need to know to grow tremendous tomatoes and piquant peppers this year!

March 7th, 9:00 AM to Noon Getting Your Summer Garden off to a Great Start! Want mouth watering tomatoes and fresh-picked sweet corn this summer? Learn how to start a successful garden now, so that you can enjoy a bounty of fresh tasty vegetables and fruits this summer. Participants will get a basil or tomato plant to start their garden off. This is the first of a new workshop series, Southern California Gardening: What to Do And When To Do It, held on the first Saturday of each month. $25 per workshop, or $100 for five workshops if you prepay. Advance registration requested, email the Gardenmaster.

The Learning Garden is located on the Venice High School campus, 13000 Venice Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90066; we are on the corner of Venice Blvd. and Walgrove Avenue - enter the Garden through the Walgrove gate.

Southern California Gardening: What To Do And When To Do It

These tomatoes and red peppers were part of my harvest last summer: This summer they could be from YOUR garden! This is the first class in a monthly series, the first Saturday of each month covering all you need to know to grow tremendous tomatoes and piquant peppers this year!

March 7th, 9:00 AM to Noon Getting Your Summer Garden off to a Great Start! Want mouth watering tomatoes and fresh-picked sweet corn this summer? Learn how to start a successful garden now, so that you can enjoy a bounty of fresh tasty vegetables and fruits this summer. Participants will get a basil or tomato plant to start their garden off. This is the first of a new workshop series, Southern California Gardening: What to Do And When To Do It, held on the first Saturday of each month. $25 per workshop, or $100 for five workshops if you prepay. Advance registration requested, email the Gardenmaster.

The Learning Garden is located on the Venice High School campus, 13000 Venice Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90066; we are on the corner of Venice Blvd. and Walgrove Avenue - enter the Garden through the Walgrove gate.

Scion Wood Exchange: Preparation!

In a backyard in Westwood, this avocado clearly has been grafted. The main trunk and upper structure on the left is one avocado variety while off to the right, the lighter bark is evidence of a different variety. This graft, probably made more than forty years ago, created a tree with two varieties that fruit in different times of the year for a longer harvest. The variety on the right, at one time, was just a short piece of wood, a scion, which was grafted to the tree. This avocado is a graphic example of how lasting a good graft, a union of science and art, can be.


From the West Los Angeles California Rare Fruit Growers Chapter newsletter about the upcoming scion wood exchange on February 14th:

Scion Wood Preparation

Prepare a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water. Immerse your scion wood cuttings in this solution for about ten seconds before placing them in the plastic bag. This will insure the prevention of the spread of most diseases from one garden to another. One infected twig can kill the whole tree onto which is grafted, and possibly surrounding trees too. A newly infected tree from your garden may not be showing visual signs yet, but without proper processing of cuttings you could unintentionally be responsible for killing trees in the gardens of many of your fellow members.

Select straight wood from last year’s growth and cut as near to our scion wood exchange date as possible.

Wood should be ¼” to 3/8” diameter (pencil size) and contain several buds.

Cut to lengths that fit easily into a Ziplock-type bag. Cut with a slanting cut on the top (distal) and a flat cut on the end that would have been nearest the trunk (medial).

Bundle by variety in a moist paper towel(s) and place in a Ziploc-type bag, leaving a slight opening in the bag for the wood to breathe. Put only one variety in each bag. Make sure that the towel(s) stay damp for as long as the wood is stored..

Label the outside of the bag with the fruit type and variety as well as any additional information you feel is pertinent (i.e. minimum chilling hours; needs pollinator; vigor; area where successfully grown, etc). It's nice to add your name so that those collecting your wood know where the wood came from and can ask you questions about the parent tree.

Keep the scion wood bag in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator until the morning of the exchange. Be careful not to let the scion wood freeze!

At the exchange, please wait to make your selections until directed by the Chair. Please limit your selections to two of any one variety until everyone has had an opportunity to collect wood. Then feel free to go back. Please do not collect wood you do not plan to use.

What to do with your collected scion wood after the scion exchange:
If you don't plant to graft as soon as you get home, remember to add moist paper toweling to the bag and refrigerate until you have time to graft. Do not freeze! Be careful with the label. An all too frequent mistake is to put the label in the bag with the wood. When you add moist paper toweling, the label becomes unreadable.

N. B. All meetings and activities of the West Los Angeles CRFG are open to the public. You do not need to be a member to attend. However, membership is only $8 a year and puts you on our mailing list. Membership also helps pay for our meeting sites, supplies, and mailings. Please note, paid members who bring wood choose first! You can click to WLA Chapter's site or to the California Rare Fruit Growers site.

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If students want to participate in the scion wood exchange, I will make a few of TLG's trees available to them for wood collection.

This is our first field trip. The wood collected will be used in subsequent classes.

david