A kind soul has just sent me a bunch of different pieces of budwood, many of them mandarin. But I'm not sure this is a good time to graft/bud them. I'm in S. Calif, in the SM Mountains near Los Angeles. I have three old citrus trees that I want to graft on to. Right now they don't have many pencil size branches, mostly larger branches and a lot of very young new branches... my first question is can I insert buds into the larger branches/trunks?

The budwood is thin, 1/8", and mostly angular, each about 5" long. If this is the wrong time of year, how long can I keep the budwood fresh in my refrigerator. Also, given my situation, should I be thinking of t-budding or bark grafting. And is budding only done when the bark slips easily, or can this be forced.

I'm new to grafting/budding citrus so any advice would be very helpful.

jc

T-budding is done when the bark is slipping. This time of year you will need to bark graft or cleft graft. There are many tutorials here to help you out.

Budwood will keep for a long time in the fridge. I have had some last over six months & still be viable.

Even an 18 month old budwood properly stored in the fridge will be viable. that's my worst neglect on them, and there's nothing to lose by trying and retrying.

Scan the different forum topics here, one of them are tutorials for grafting.

Well... thanks for the quick replies. I'm familiar with the tutorials here, they are the best resource I've found anywhere. The trees I want to graft onto were neglected until this year and are just starting to send out new branches, none large enough for grafting. And I've cut off all the water sprouts on the navel citrus...and just read that they would have been great for budding. They'll be back but not for months...they're coming off a cutback branch from the original rootstock so they'll grow quickly.

Looks like the best plan is to store the budwood. I read in a tutorial that they should be sanitized and stored in the refrigerator. Could you tell me exactly how I would sanitize them (spray with 70% alcohol, dip in bleach?? ). If using bleach, what proportion bleach to water. And should I put some wet paper in a bag to store them in the refrigerator? Anything else I should know about storing.

Doesn't the bark have to be slipping for bark grafting? Is this something that happens only when the weather warms up or is there something else that triggers it.

Looks like I'll be counting the days until spring.

jc

JC, If you did not cut the limbs back all the way to the trunk, those stubs will make good places to use the bark graft. Since your budwood is small, bark grafting is the best method. Following Joe's tutorial, I have done many bark grafts with toothpick size wood---the trick is to get as long of a bevel cut as you can with the small wood and still be able to insert it in the slit-- also make those tiny cuts on the side.

Good luck.

Skeeter, doesn't the bark have to be slipping to do a bark graft? Would you try this now, with winter coming on. I'm in S. Calif. but it still gets cool where I live.

jc

jc there are multiple budding & grafting you could use now. Chip budding, veneer grafting...

Have a look here http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/grafting.html

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/budding.html

I'd soak some paper towels in a few % ordinary bleach(I eyeball it). Squeeze out as much water as possible and wrap the budsticks. Wrap the first one with paper towel covering all sides and then the second, etc. Put in ziplock bag and store in the refrigerator. Should keep a few months. Check about once a month. Grafting citrus works best when the tree is growing.

JC, Joe would be the one to ask-- he is the real expert-- I only mastered it this summer, but I have several bark grafts that I did a little over a month ago that are fine. If you have the budwood and the places to try it, why not do it and see-- at least it would be good practice.

I have a question as a follow up to this thread. I had some budwood from the end of January that was photosanitized and stored in the fridge. I pulled it out today since the bark on my trees is now slipping, but the budwood seems a little dry and my fear is that it won't take. It's only two months old, so I thought it would do better than it has. All of it is still green, but just not the fresh stuff like it was when it arrived. Any suggestions?

I was thinking about a little rooting hormone mixed with water to soak the cut buds in. I'll probably bud the remaining budwood this week so could I just soak the entire budstick to try to rehydrate it?

Thanks,
Phillip

Phillip, I don't have an answer for you, but I have a question. Could you describe exactly what you mean by the bark is slipping. I'm trying to understand how I can tell when that grand moment (slip-ability) is reached.

My biggest problem so far is that I've never found any bark that was slipping. Last year I checked throughout the year, figuring that it would be very obvious when it happened. That never happened. The citrus trees in question are old and were neglected until a few years ago, so there aren't many young branches. When I've made a T cut in the bark of the old branches, or even the trunk(s), when I try to spread or lift the bark it only lifts if I force it...and when I do that it usually tears, and it seems obvious that it isn't ready for budding or bark grafting.

Are there particular kinds of branches (age-wise, size-wise, color-wise) that are best, or even necessary? In the tutorials I always see photos of pencil+ size green branches, which I don't have...are those two year old branches? If so then I have many young shoots from last year, that just magically popped out over the length of old branches and trunks (after I started watering and fertilizing the trees). I'd guess that in another year they will be pencil size, even though some already have fruit hanging from their tips. Most are 1-2 feet long, but not yet 1/4" diameter

These questions are for anyone reading this, but I'm interested that the bark is slipping in San Diego, and I'm in Los Angeles (Topanga Canyon) so my time slipping time should be coming up soon. Nights are still cool here(37 deg a few nights ago, mostly 40's now), 1200 ft elevation, but
days are warming up. Phillip, what are your temperatures down there?

jc

jc what is the diameter of the wood you are trying to bud to ?

You want to bud to green wood. If you are using a old trunk or very old branch you will want to do a chip bud or bark graft.

Phillip,
As long as the budwood is green it should still work. When I do pecan grafting I collect budwood in JAN and store in fridge and wait until buds begin to break --in April. The dormant wood has time to make connections and take in fluid before the demand is too high.

I see what my problem has been, I've been trying to get brown wood bark to slip. That explains why it never did all last year. I'll be waiting for some green wood to grow large enough to use.

jc