I have about 50 Trifoliate orange seedlings that I am planning to graft Satsumas on to. What is the right time of year to graft and how big do the seedlings need to be? Most of them are around 12 inches high and almost the size of a pencil. I plan to T-bud them. Never done this before.

You can T-bud any time the bark is slipping which is when the trees are in active growth. Pencil size is perfect although I have done many much smaller.

If the temps are above 90F I always put them in the shade until I unwrap them.

Thanks, I will give it a try. All new to me.

Have a look here, it's not hard at all.

link

I t-bud in the spring when bark slips to May 15 and then again Sept 15 until bark stops slipping. I am in Beaumont,TX

I like the spring once the bark is slipping. I then can force the buds during the summer and get some growth instead of impatiently waiting all winter before forcing the buds. I think I remember Joe Real also saying that he liked using budwood from winter cuttings since the buds tend to be swollen and ready to break dormancy.

As others have suggested though, you can bud at any time that the bark is slipping. I just seem to have poorer results during the heat of the summer. If you do bud during summer months, just make sure you water the tree well. I didn't realize this for some time and had very poor results until I saw the error of my ways.

Phillip

Thanks for all the info from everyone. Great link on how to t-bud Laaz. I can't wait to get started. It's a little to hot right now and I need to let my root stock plants get a little bigger. The breeze from Debby is feeling good and keeping the temps down some. Thanks again. DH