These are my new blood oranges, bark grafted 3 weeks ago, and look how vigorous their sprouts already are. We had 70's and 50's for the last month, and these guys are very anxious. The T-bud would have been still asleep and it would just be time to force them. The bark grafts on the other hand are pushing out.

This is Ruby blood orange that I bark grafted over the Cara-Cara branch. I just did the bark graft 4 weeks ago. That is in March, and already have very nice growth.

Remember that this is my very first citrus bark graft. EZ's Kaffire lime bark grafted unto Rio Star grapefruit.

Look at the Kaffir lime now, less than a year later, and it survived the arctic blast of 2007, with lowest temp of 20 deg F and almost a month of frosty and freezing nights.

My 50-in-1 citrus tree is currentlya 57-in-1 citrus tree. Thanks to these volunteers that were bark grafted on the top canopy. These are cold hardy types, they are on the top and would serve as my natural frost blanket for the 57-n-1 citrus tree.

And yes, before you move on to the next tree, don't forget to sterilize your pruning shears and grafting knives, also your hands. Rubbing alcohol is a good massager too.

Because if you did not sterilize, your grafts could end up like these guys. They were eaten by sooty mold. Yes they took only to die a quick death, with the black traces left behind by the mold.



So it is good to sterilize. Helps prevent spread diseases too.

Great post Joe. Thanks for the in-depth photo tutorial.

Joe did you leave a little bare spot around the buds on the scion so they can grow when ready, or did you completely cover the whole scion. If you did is it the dame for other fruit trees like apples, pears etc.

Awesome! All of it.
I constantly learn something new!

Thanks Benny! You already know that you can work faster with bark-grafting citruses, so there is absolutely no need to place the scionwood in a glass of water like for other dormant scionwood as in my other bark grafting demo.

Wonderful and thorough picture demo.
Oh, yes, I am a believer for Joe's bark graft method. All my plum cultivars are 100% sucess and possibly the persimmons had my scion remained fresh but somehow my wife adjusted the tempt colder and the scions frozen but most of them are swollen now.
Thankks Joe so much.
I saved all these pictures too.

Joe,
Thanks for the great article.
Right now the sap is flowing and the bark is slipping well on my trees in Arizona. Would this method work in fall when the bark isnt slipping as much? Can this graft be performed with success all year around?