Grafting and Budding

Grafting and budding are propagation methods where the tissues of one plant are encouraged to fuse with those of another to form a composite plant with more desirable characteristics. It is most commonly used for the propagation of shrubs and fruit trees.

In the majority of cases, one plant is selected for its root characteristics (called the stock or rootstock), whilst the other plant is selected for its stems, leaves or flowers, (called the scion). The scion may comprise of a single bud on a short stem (known as budding) or it may be a multi-budded length of stem (grafting).

In this section, we take at several techniques for both budding and grafting, along with some handy tips to ensure successful propagation.