Grafting fruit trees. How to Graft Fruit Trees Combining Rootstock and Scion

Copulation- this is a method of joining a scion and a rootstock of the same or almost the same diameter. Copulation is considered the most difficult grafting method not only for apple trees, but for any other fruit tree. Therefore, for beginners, this grafting method works very poorly and very few grafts take root. For quality performance this type of vaccination, you must first practice well and "fill your hand" so that the sections come out the maximum area and the most even (smooth). These two conditions are the key to successful vaccination. In this case, even for professionals, it is important to remember the skills by practicing on the branches of other (non-fruit) trees. Copulation is usually done in the spring, when the juice is actively moving and the cambium is in the active phase of its life.

A simple copy is, that two shoots of an apple tree are cut obliquely and applied to each other. The procedure (procedure) for copulation of apple trees is as follows:

1. On the rootstock we make an oblique cut so that the cut plane is maximum. To perform the correct oblique cut: you need to take the cutting in left hand, put it 3-5 cm forward holding it with your index finger and hold it with all other fingers so that it is motionless fixed. Next, you need to make a cut from yourself to the end of the handle, its top. The cut must be made with the sharpest possible knife, because only in this case it will be smooth and even. The cut, of course, must be as smooth as possible, this can be checked by attaching a knife to the cut, and see whether it fits snugly against it or not. If the cut turned out to be as smooth as possible and cut at the right angle, then you need to wash it off warm water and put it in a glass of water, in which you first need to add a drop of honey or sugar. This is necessary in order to the cambium layer is not dried or oxidized in air. It can stay in sweet water for a long time, retaining its properties. If the cut on the handle is not made correctly or it has been in the air for a long time, there is Great chance the fact that the graft will not take root, since the layer of dead tissue between the stock and the scion will not allow the living tissues of the apple tree to grow together. It is important that there is a kidney on the reverse side of the cut, right in the middle, it will stimulate the rapid growth of the scion and rootstock. A properly harvested cutting is only one third of the hard work you need to do when doing easy copulation.. The other two stages are even more difficult and require a great deal of gardener skill.

2. On the scion, you need to make an oblique cut at the same angle as on the rootstock so that the cuts are formed as evenly as possible without gaps. This operation must be done as correctly as possible (slowly) so as not to damage the scion. Desirable make an oblique cut 5-10 cm from the ground the lower, the better the vaccine will take root. If the inoculation is made high, then it may not take root, and even if it takes root, it can easily break from the slightest movement of the wind.

Copulation is difficult and not very reliable, so professional gardeners use improved copulation. This method, although difficult to implement, is much more reliable and graft survival rate is 25% better. The sequence of the improved copulation operation consists of the following steps:

1. The first stage is similar to the first stage of improved copulation, with only one difference. This difference lies in the fact that make another cut. In order to make such a cut, you need to conditionally divide the cut into three equal parts. Between the middle part and the top (the one at the end of the cut), you need to make an incision from the cut towards the base of the cutting along the growth of tissues. This cut must be made in the direction of tissue growth and must be at least 0.5 cm deep and not more than 1 cm deep.. After the cut is made, you need to put the cutting in a container, preferably with sweet water, so that the cut is completely immersed in water.

2. During the second stage, which is similar to the second stage of simple copulation, the same cut is made as on the handle.. It is performed according to the same technique, but it must be done as quickly as possible so that the oblique cut does not oxidize in air. When oblique cuts and cuts are made inside, you need to make a scion and a rootstock with a "valet" cut to cut and connect them into a lock. This connection must be strong and, most importantly, there should be no free space between the scion and the rootstock.

3. If the lock is tight and strong, it is wrapped with a special polyethylene tape, starting from the bottom, so that a quarter of the tape leans on the previous turn. Then you need to fix this tape so that it fits snugly and motionlessly against the bark of the wood chips. On the top layer of the tape, you need to anoint with garden pitch or paraffin so that water does not leak, air does not enter, bacteria or light cannot enter. If the vaccination site is not large, you can over the tape apply paraffin, which will additionally isolate the vaccination site.

In order for the grafting of an apple tree to be reliable and not break from a strong wind, it is advisable to hammer three fixing sticks nearby, in which a cutting could be tied in three places. Wearing a vaccine paper bag with holes, polyethylene is also put on top of it, preferably dark and with holes. Such a shelter must be checked after a while to remove drops of condensed moisture. It is also advisable to regularly, at least once a week, inspect vaccinations for 63 days, although exact date No. Since it depends on the quality of the vaccination, on the climatic conditions and the biological proximity of the scion and rootstock. When the buds swell, you need to remove such a shelter, since it is no longer necessary to protect the stalk on the wood chips from excessive evaporation of moisture. Since the shoot will grow intensively in thickness, it is necessary to periodically change the insulating tape so that the old one does not bite into the wood, since such a graft will not be very strong and can quickly break. The thickening that occurs at the grafting site is made up of very soft and loose tissues, so it must be protected for a year so that the chips do not break. The protective bandage and supports can only be removed when the bark grows over the thickening and it becomes hard. If you want to transplant wood chips, you need to plant them so that the graft is underground at a depth of 8-10 cm. This is done so that the chips have additional protection from the wind and if the shoot dies, the cultivated part of the shoot could sprout again.

If you want to learn graft apple trees using the improved copulation method, you need to study the vaccination technique and get a good hand so that all operations come out almost perfectly and are done quickly. Only then can you have almost one hundred percent successful results of your activities.

We keep getting to know different ways grafting of trees and shrubs. The first part was devoted to grafting with a single kidney. Today we are moving on to another type of vaccination - a cutting. And the first way we'll get to know - copulation.

This is the most popular and convenient option for thin rootstocks. And thin rootstocks are what we most often deal with: young wilds that we want to turn into varietal trees; berry and ornamental shrubs; grapes and young branches of crowns of fruit trees, the variety of which we want to improve.

Specifics of copulation

At the same time, both the advantage and the complexity of copulation is that it is used only in cases where both participants in the operation - the rootstock and the scion - the same diameter. The rootstock can be a 1-2-year-old wild game or a fruit tree twig of the same age with a diameter of less than 1.5 cm. The graft should be selected accordingly.

Advantages of the method

This method got its name from the Latin copulo, which translates as " connect» . The characterization is absolutely accurate, because the whole essence of the method is reduced to a simple connection of rootstock and cuttings.

This simplicity is a big plus. For even a novice gardener is quite capable of mastering the technique of such grafting and connecting to the breeding of new varieties in his garden. In addition, with the help of copulation from a young game, you can quickly get a fruit tree of the desired variety. And the third great advantage of copulation can be called a high percentage of survival rate of vaccinations.

Copulation is carried out spring, before bud break on the rootstock. The operation is started as soon as the temperature allows you to work in the open air. Stone breeds are grafted first. It is known that grafting cherries and sweet cherries gives the best results if done before the start of sap flow. The best time for this is end of March - beginning of April. Seed breeds are grafted from the beginning of April to the middle of June.

The key to successful copulation is to carry out the operation during the period when the rootstock “wakes up”, and the scion (varietal cutting) is still in a dormant state. This can be achieved if they were harvested at the end of autumn or at the end of winter. - in early spring, when the shoots were in a state of complete rest, and until the moment of vaccination they were in the cold.

Gardeners successfully use two types of copulation- simple and improved.

Simple copulation

It's really simple technology. Its essence lies in the fact that cuts of the same size are made on the stock and scion, and these cuts are pressed tightly against each other so that they grow together at the point of contact.


How it's done

Even a cursory glance at the diagram is enough to understand the technology of simple copulation. But there are subtleties even in the most straightforward procedures. Let's focus on them step by step.

  • Step 1: rootstock preparation
On the rootstock (trunk or branch), you need to choose a smooth place without bark defects (and it would be nice even without buds). Rootstock wipe with a clean damp cloth. This is not a trifle - remember how easy it is to bring an infection into an open wound, and we will just make such a wound.

With a sharp (copulation) knife, make oblique even cut at an acute angle(about 20-25°). This is necessary so that the area of ​​​​contact between the scion and the rootstock is large enough, so the length of the cut should be about 3-5 times greater than the diameter of the rootstock itself - 2.5-4 cm (depending on the thickness of the rootstock). The cut must be done in one motion (toward yourself). Here you can’t do without training, since it is within the power of any summer resident.

  • Step 2: scion preparation
On the handle, make a cut of the same length as on the stock. To do this, you first need to select those 2-3-4 buds on the handle that "will be vaccinated." Start the cut 1 cm below the first lower bud and make it at the same angle as on the rootstock ...

Then, above the third kidney (or the second or fourth according to your idea), at a distance of about 2 mm, the stalk should cut at a 45° angle to the bud(the figure shows that the cut goes towards the kidney and slightly above it).

If you are already performing the cutting procedure confidently, it is more convenient to first select 3 well-developed buds on the handle, cut off above the upper bud, and make a working cut after that.

  • Step 3: joining scion and rootstock
Attach the scion to the rootstock with a cut so that a single shoot is obtained. If the cuts are made correctly, then their surfaces almost completely match, and the cambial layers of the scion and rootstock will press tightly against each other. And this is one of the most important conditions for proper growth.
  • Step 4: fixing the vaccination site
A narrow strip of polyethylene film (5-10 mm) or a special elastic tape should be tightly wrapped around the grafting site, tightly pressing the sections of the stock and grafting to each other. Each turn of the tape is made with overlap.

Here is the “thin spot” of vaccination: during wrapping it is important not to displace the contact strips of the cambium. The question often arises: should I wrap the kidney, which is located just in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe winding? Gardeners do this and that. For me, the decisive factor was the fact that in the old Soviet publications on gardening it is recommended to leave the kidney open))

  • Step 5: Vaccination Protection
The upper cut of the cutting must be covered with garden pitch so that the upper bud does not dry out. Some gardeners initially cover the grafting site with a clean plastic or paper bag or a special cap to reduce evaporation.

There is one caveat to keep in mind: the top cut of the cutting will be wet, so the layer of garden pitch may simply slide off (move) while you are manipulating. This trifle can play a fatal role: the upper, and sometimes even the next kidney, may not germinate due to drying. Therefore, it is better to play it safe and check again.

Now it remains to wait for the result. If everything is done correctly, after 2 weeks the kidneys should start growing.

As you can see, the method of simple copying is really simple. But he has one major drawback: it is very inconvenient to hold the cutting on the rootstock both before and during tying, so that the cuts do not move.

Perhaps that is why there was a need for improved copulation.

Improved copulation

This method differs from simple copulation in that on oblique cuts of the scion and rootstock, split tongues are made, which form a kind of lock that allows the scion to hold tightly in the rootstock.

How it's done

The technology of the first two steps is exactly the same as with simple copulation.
  • Step 1: rootstock preparation
Wipe the rootstock with a clean, damp cloth and make an oblique even cut at an acute angle.
  • Step 2: scion preparation
On the handle, make a cut of the same length as on the stock.


  • Step 3: reed cutting
Mentally divide the rootstock slice into 3 equal parts and, stepping back one third from the upper part, make a longitudinal cut with a knife along the axis of the shoot to a depth of about 10-12 mm. Do the same on the cut of the scion.


  • Step 4: joining scion and rootstock
Bring the scion to the rootstock with the tongue behind the tongue so that they tightly hold each other with a tongue lock. If the diameters of the rootstock and the cutting do not match slightly, the tongues make it possible to move the scion so that at least one side of the cambial layer coincides with the rootstock.


  • Step 5: fixing the vaccination site
Just as with simple copulation, you need to tightly wrap the grafting site with polyethylene or special elastic tape, tightly pressing the sections of the stock and grafting to each other. Each turn of the tape is also made with an overlap.


  • Step 6: Vaccination Protection
The upper cut of the cutting is covered with garden pitch or plasticine. They put a clean plastic bag on the fixed area, tying it below the vaccination.

Comparing the methods of simple and improved copulation, one involuntarily comes to the conclusion that two unpretentious incisions greatly facilitate the procedure. In addition, flat tongues greatly increase the area of ​​\u200b\u200bcontact between the scion and rootstock. And that means more chances for success.

In the next video - a master class on grafting on an apple tree using improved copulation. It is conducted by Lyudmila Mikhailovna Sulimenko (Nizhny Novgorod State University named after N.I. Lobachevsky)

Well, here we met with two more ways of grafting fruit trees. You can begin to develop practical skills. And you need to start with the preparation of tools and materials.

Tools and materials for vaccination

What we need to perform the vaccination:
  • spicy knife. It is advisable to purchase a special copulation (budding);


  • garden secateurs;


It is advisable not to save on a knife and pruner: good tools are the basis for a successful job!

You can choose grafting knives and secateurs in our catalog, which combines the offers of large garden online stores. .

According to Lunar calendar, November is the best time for harvesting cuttings that will be used in the process of grafting fruit crops in the spring. While they wait in the wings, placed in the snow, we have time to understand the intricacies of the procedure itself. In general terms, "Family. Info "already talked about her in an article. Now let's talk in more detail about the most common method and, under the guidance of agronomist Boris Alekseev, we will learn how to carry out copulation.

- This is a type of grafting when part of a branch of another is grafted to the stem of one plant. The advantage of the method is that since the graft is a stalk in which there are storage substances, while fusion occurs, it spends own forces for nutrition and continued growth.

We will need:

  • grafting knife;
  • secateurs;
  • clean cotton cloth to clean the inoculation site;
  • polyethylene tape for fixing the vaccine.

“Kitchen or clerical knives are not suitable for grafting,” the agronomist emphasizes. - They are not sharp enough and not only leave barbs on the cut, but also squeeze the plant tissue. It is possible to make the most smooth and even cut only with a special copulation knife. It is straight and on the one hand sharpened very sharply - to the state of a dangerous razor. It is better if the knife is made of black, hardened metal, because shiny stainless steel knives do not sharpen well.

As for the grafting tape, the best material than the ordinary plastic bag can not be found. Unlike garden film, which is difficult to use due to its rigidity and inhibits the growth of a branch at the grafting site, unnecessarily compressing it, packaging polyethylene is more elastic. And most importantly - it quickly collapses under the influence of the sun. Even if you forget to take it off, the graft will not be affected by warming up. To obtain a ribbon, we twist the package along the tube and, stepping back from the edge of 2 cm, cut it off with a knife. We cut the resulting circle - the material for fixation is ready.

To make an improved copulation, we cut a branch 15-20 cm long with a pruner, for example, from a varietal apple tree. We remove the leaves, leaving the petioles, which will serve as an indicator of accretion.

When choosing a scion sprig, do not take adult, fruiting specimens, otherwise, instead of growth, you will get unnecessary, debilitating fruiting. A suitable branch has:

  • diameter in the thickest part 7-8 mm;
  • shiny bark.

In any case, the thickness of the scion (what we are grafting) should not exceed the diameter of the rootstock (what we are grafting onto).

  1. Wipe the rootstock stem at the grafting site to a shine with a cloth.
  2. Make an oblique cut with a grafting knife. Its length should be equal to 3-4 diameters of the stem.

3. We put the grafting knife on the cut at a distance of 1/3 from the sharp tip and, holding the blade with your finger, make a longitudinal shallow cut - about half of the cut blast furnace - a split.

4. We shorten the scion on both sides, cutting it off with a pruner at a right angle. The thickest part of the branch, about 10 cm long, should remain.

5. Then, as well as the stock, we cut the scion stalk obliquely and cut it into 1/3. It is desirable that both splits be the same in depth.

6. Gently push the incision on the rootstock with the handle of the scion and insert it all the way so that the layers of the bark completely coincide. If the rootstock turned out to be thicker, and it is impossible to do it the way it should be, slightly shift the scion to the side so that the edges converge on at least one side.

7. We wrap the vaccination site with tape, starting just below and ending above it. At the same time, we do not apply significant efforts and do not stretch the film so that the scion does not move. The number of turns should not be large. As soon as the stem stops looking through the film, you need to stop, roll the tape into a loop, thread the end into it from below, slightly tighten and cut off the excess. We try to make the loop fall in the middle of the graft or lower, otherwise we risk displacing the graft, and all the work will be in vain.

You can do nothing with the tip of the scion - the wound will dry itself. If, for disinfection, which is not bad, you want to cover the cut with garden pitch, do this before connecting with the stock so as not to disturb the articulation.

In the event that the vaccine falls under direct Sun rays, it needs to be shaded with something. Keep in mind, naked without leaves is very attractive to birds, as it is convenient for them to sit on it, like on a perch. Therefore, take measures to protect the vaccine.

The results of the efforts can be assessed in two weeks. The fact that the vaccine turned out, they will say

  • shiny bark;
  • easily detachable petiole;
  • emerging leaves if grafted in spring.

After about a month, the film can be loosened and left until it is completely destroyed.

A wide variety of varieties of fruit trees is the dream of any gardener, which can be realized by mastering the technique of grafting. In an article prepared by the editors of the site site, we will talk in detail about the optimal timing, the main methods and how to plant trees.

Basic concepts

First, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the basic concepts that will be applied when we talk about vaccination technology:

  • Rootstock. This is the name of the plant on which we will plant new variety. As a rule, the grafting is done in the lower part of the plant. It can be a trunk (stem) or a root.
  • Scion- this is that part of the varietal plant that will be grafted onto the rootstock. The scion will form the upper part of the plant, which is responsible for its varietal characteristics.

Rootstock and scion must match each other. Otherwise, engraftment may not occur. Plants that are botanically related are usually selected. You can not graft a pear on a birch. A forest pear or quince is suitable for her, if the creation of a dwarf variety is planned. However, pears, on separate branches of which apples grow, are very common.

Why you need to vaccinate

In horticulture, grafting is the transfer of part of one plant to another plant with the task of their mutual fusion. Subsequently, a new holistic organism is obtained, where a strong root system one “parent” begins to provide growth, as well as the formation of the ground part of the second. Moreover, this second one is invariably a specially selected species with the necessary qualities, as well as characteristics.


You ask: what is it for? In fact, grafting fruit trees can solve a lot of different difficulties in the garden:

  • The most important thing is to shorten the waiting period for the first harvest. Trees bred from seed/stone will bear fruit not earlier than in five to six years, and in most cases in general in ten to fifteen years. And those grafted onto an adult tree or onto a 2-3-year-old seedling of the species can please the harvest in the second or third year.
  • Vaccination will allow you to quickly get the look that you liked (for example, you saw a neighbor, family members in another area and “sunk down”). And you don’t need to buy a seedling, looking for such a variety in all nurseries - it’s enough just to get a cutting from a tree you have seen,
  • Through vaccination different types on one tree, you will greatly increase the variety of fruit crops in your personal garden, and at the same time save the territory. On one apple or pear tree, for example, you can have three or four different varieties, and on a wild plum you can grow cherry plum, plum, including apricots at the same time!
  • Grafting allows you to quickly replace an unsuccessful (not liked) view with a new one, with better parameters.
  • With the help of grafting, it is possible to save a favorite variety if the trunk is injured (by mice, sunburn, care mistakes) and the tree is in danger of death.
  • Vaccination will help to obtain valuable, but hardly applicable to your conditions, fruit species. Even in mid-latitude conditions, you can harvest tender southern crops if you graft them onto local hardy varieties.

In addition to all the necessary changes in your garden, grafting is also an interesting activity. You will see: as a result of the very first results, you will be indomitably “dragged” into this world of grafting man-made miracles.

When to vaccinate

The best time for tree grafting in spring is early March - mid-April. In early spring, cuttings are usually grafted. For successful merging of parts of trees, an active movement of juices in the rootstock is necessary. The scion should be in a calm state; for this, the cuttings are kept in a cool place for as long as possible. Budding is carried out later, at the end of April - May. Stone fruits are grafted earlier, the time of spring grafting of pome fruits is later, since the movement of juices in them is activated later.


Important! The time for summer grafting comes when the active growth of the branches ends. Vaccination is carried out with fresh grafts, a maximum of 2 - 2.5 hours after cutting.

For some types of fruit trees, autumn grafting is carried out. It can be successful if the warm weather lasts long.

Winter vaccination is a risky business. An exception when trees can be grafted in winter are plants wintering in a nursery or indoors in tubs.

Types of grafting fruit trees

The option of grafting technique depends on the period of the year, the condition of the stock, as well as the scion, variety and some other factors. The most common methods for grafting fruit trees include:


  • Budding fruit trees. Fast and economical way, from one young shoot in the growth period, take up to five buds. To prepare the scion, cut out the shield-eyes with a growth bud from the shoot. On the rootstock, make a T-shaped incision in the bark. Place the scion in the incision, tie the wound. After two weeks, check the well-being of the procedure.
  • Graft for the bark. The method is suitable for joining a rootstock, as well as a scion, which are quite different in thickness. For the operation, cut the base under a smooth stump, make a cutout on the bark. In the role of a scion, a young shoot with two or three awakening buds is suitable. Make an angled cut on the handle, insert into the incised base bark. Tie, then treat with garden pitch. Plant two or three scions per rootstock.
  • Copulation fruit trees. Use for young thin shoots that cannot be hooked onto the bark. On the rootstock, as well as the scion, make oblique cuts, combine them with each other, tie them, then treat them with garden pitch. If the stock is thicker than the scion, place the cut of the planted cutting on the side of the base.
  • Grafting in the side cut. On the rootstock on the side, make an incision with a narrowing to the bottom, cut the scion cutting from both sides and insert it into the incision on the base. Tie.
  • Cleavage grafting. Cut off the base at a height of twelve centimeters from the ground, make a split in it, temporarily fixing the crevice. Cut off the stock from 2 sides, forming a wedge, stick it into the crevice. This method does not require tying, but carefully treat all open wounds of the plant with garden pitch.
  • Ablactation fruit trees. The method helps to renew or replace damaged parts of the plant. Cut into the scion, as well as the rootstock, sections up to five centimeters long, connect, and also tie together.

Budding

This is one of the most common vaccination methods. The scion during budding is a single kidney (or, as gardeners often call it, an eye). It is taken from the offshoot of a cultivated species and grafted onto the trunk of either a wild branch or another varietal plant.

In the spring, they are budded (grafted) with a bud that formed the previous summer. It is taken from cuttings harvested in autumn or at the end of winter. Such a bud will grow and give rise to a new shoot in the current season - that is why spring budding is called budding with a sprouting eye.

However, during summer budding, the vaccination is performed with a kidney that has matured in the current season (cutting it straight from the tree before the operation). It will take root, winter in a new place and start growing only next spring. That is why summer budding is called sleeping eye budding.


Benefits of budding:

  • Due to the small grafting area, the stock is almost not injured.
  • If budding does not work out, the vaccination can be carried out again on the same rootstock.
  • A minimum of graft material is required. This is extremely important if you managed to get only one cutting of a valuable variety: three or four eyes will allow you to bud three or four rootstocks!
  • The budding procedure takes very little time, which is also important for the gardener.

Suitable conditions for budding occur twice a year. Both periods are connected with intensive sap flow in the rootstock:

  • early spring, when the buds move into growth
  • part of the second half of summer - from the end of July to mid-August.

During these periods, the bark of the rootstock exfoliates freely, and the cambium cells divide intensively, which simplifies the procedure, and the kidneys eventually take root as successfully as possible.

Graft for the bark

Sometimes empty places form in the crown of a tree (for example, some branches were injured from the cold). In this case, bark grafting is similarly applied. For this purpose, an oblique cut is made on a branch or shoot, and an incision in the shape of the letter T is made on the bark. Then the end of the shoot is either inserted into this incision, tightly bandaged with a bandage and smeared with garden pitch. Cuttings for such grafting are taken thin, in order to make it easier to press the cut areas.

With oblique lateral budding, two oblique cuts are made at the ends of the cutting at angles of approximately 40 °, and an oblique cut is made on the branch, the depth of which is slightly greater than the length of the lateral side of the wedge at the base of the cutting. A cutting is inserted into the resulting gap. Then the grafting site is tied with a strapping material and a garden var is applied.

At a time when the bark easily falls off the wood, the bark grafting method, which has an L-shaped incision, can be used. In this case, on the one hand, one oblique cut of three to four centimeters is performed, and on the other hand, a small cut. The cut in the shape of an inverted L should be at an angle to the axis of the branch.


The upper incision is made at an angle of more than 90 ° and obliquely, so that the stalk is well strengthened in the section of the bark. It is required to make sure that the layers of the cambium converge with each other. For strength, they need to be fixed with carnations, tied with a bandage, and also coated with garden pitch.

Grafting into the gap is also carried out during the period when the bark of apple or pear trees easily falls off the wood. The stalk for such grafting is chosen extremely thin. At its base, a wedge of two to three centimeters is cut, and a five-centimeter incision is made on the branch. The stalk is placed in a slot so that six to eight buds remain on it to form a fruit branch. With this method, the gap needs to be treated with garden pitch, and tying and auxiliary fastening with carnations are not necessary.

It is advisable to harvest the cuttings that are planned to be used for grafting at the end of autumn (the last days of October - the beginning of November). They are cut off from mature shoots one year old, growing on the south side of trees, as well as shrubs.

Copulation

Copulation is a garden grafting of trees, where the cutting is similar in diameter to the rootstock. It should not exceed 1.6 cm. best time for copulation is the spring period, a couple of days before the buds bloom in the garden. If you want the grafting to be successful, the stock should just start to wake up, and the graft should still be at rest. For this purpose, it is prepared in late spring and left deep in the snow. There are two ways of copulation: ordinary and improved.


Ordinary copulation is when oblique sections of the stock, as well as the scion, of the same size grow together. The length of the cut should be made at an angle of 15–25°. The area of ​​contact should be five times the cross-sectional area of ​​the rootstock.

How to do:

  • An oblique sharp cut on the scion is performed below the kidney 1-1.6 centimeters down. The total number of eyes should not exceed five pieces. And above the uppermost kidney, the cut is made blunt. If the cuts are made according to the rules, then the rootstock and scion are entirely the same, forming a single branch. It remains to carefully fix it with electrical tape, trying not to shift in the cut zones. It is not recommended to cover the kidneys.
  • Improved copulation is distinguished by the fact that the oblique cuts of the rootstock, as well as the scion, are additionally incised with a knife, creating peculiar tongues, which in the future adhere and grow together more firmly.

Recommendations for summer residents: making a garden graft fruit trees, it is not advisable to touch with hands and third-party objects the open wood of the stock, as well as the scion. Because of this, it is possible to infect or injure the tissues of the tree, which in the future will negatively affect the survival of the scion.

In a side cut

This method consists in grafting a cutting from a side view of a branch or seedling. Regrafting trees in this way can be done both in spring and summer, and on overgrown seedlings it is also suitable for winter grafting. With this method, it is possible not to cut the branches in the year of grafting until full survival and regrowth of the cutting, and the graft itself can be performed in any branch.

When grafting young trees, it is very important to select from the total number of branches for regrafting those that have at their disposal a normal retreat angle and are convenient for future skeletal branches.


On these branches, at a distance of twenty centimeters from their base, oblique cuts are made. For their implementation, only copulation knives are used. One side of the notch should be one centimeter longer than the other.

A cutting with three buds is prepared with two wedge-shaped cuts diagonal on both sides, in addition, one side of the wedge-shaped rib should be longer than the other, just like a cut on a rootstock knot. At the end of the preparation, the cutting is wedged into the cut and tightly tied with plastic wrap.

Cleavage grafting

During the grafting of trees with your own hands, the most important thing is to combine the cambial layers of the scion, as well as the rootstock. For this use various methods cut cuttings. In summer, they are grafted not with a cutting, but with a kidney.


Before grafting trees into a split, learn the correct sequence of operations:

  • Choose scion and rootstock of approximately the same thickness.
  • Make two equal cuts from below on the cutting of the scion, creating a wedge.
  • To graft trees into a split, cut off the top of the stock with pruners.
  • With a knife, cut the rootstock from top to bottom, creating a split.
  • Push the scion into the split of the rootstock with a wedge. If the diameters do not match, move the cutting to one side, connecting the cambial layers.
  • Wrap the grafting site tightly with elastic tape.
  • Cut off the excess scion with secateurs, leaving two or three buds. Coat the cut with garden pitch.

If you have grafted the tree correctly, as shown above, with a successful fusion, the growth of the scion will soon be observed. If the vaccination is bad, after two to four weeks the cutting dries up. By the end of the season, the growth may be slightly inferior to the usual, and the fusion becomes complete. Special care in the future for the vaccination site is not needed. Although it is recommended to tie the seedling to a support, because. the area of ​​accretion for a year or two can be fragile.

For most breeds, there are aspects of vaccination that need to be known. The percentage of successful vaccinations directly depends not only on skill, but also on the breed of the plant. In all cases, a dormant (not growing, at rest) cutting is taken for the scion.

Ablactation

Ablactation is a simple but rarely used method of grafting plants, in which shoots that are next to each other grow together. In other words, the scion is not cut off, but applied to the rootstock. This method also called grafting rapprochement.

You can combine the shoots in the butt, by approaching the tongue or the saddle, etc. In other words, the grafting mechanism is almost in everything similar to a simple or improved copulation.


As soon as the branches are completely grown together, the graft is disconnected from the original plant, and then it grows, and also feeds only on the rootstock.

  1. On the scion, as well as the stock at the same level, having removed the bark in advance, make cuts equal in length and width. If the plants are already very old, also cut off the top layer of wood from the shoots.

Do not cut too long. Their length should be up to five centimeters.

  1. Attach the rootstock and scion to each other with cuts so that their cambial layers converge.
  2. After that, tightly tie the grafting site with twine or a special tape, then cover it with garden pitch or plasticine.
  3. Near the grafting area, tie the branch of the original plant with wire (not very tight!), so that later it would be easier to detach the scion from it.
  4. In order for the rootstock and scion to grow together better, many gardeners graft plants in a way that approaches the tongue. This method of ablactation differs only in that splits are made on the sections of both shoots: on one from top to bottom, and on the other from bottom to top. As with copulation with a tongue, it is thanks to the splits that the stock and scion are held together most tightly.