The rootstocks of roses are lined out the previous autumn. When selecting bud sticks look first at the shoots that have already flowered. The buds near the centre will usually prove ripe for insertion. Keep the sticks fresh after they are cut in moist sphagnum or a jar of water; first removing the leaves but leaving a small piece of stalk as a handle to hold the bud while it is being inserted into the T cut.
Prepare the stock by cutting it down to the required height above soil level, for the beginner I would suggest 4 to 6 in. This should be done so that a sloping cut surface is left approximately 11 in. long. Finally a small downward cut is made half way up the slanting surface to leave a tongue.
Where the T-shaped cut is made depends on what type of tree is required. If a bush form is wanted then the cut is made 4 in. above soil level but with half or full standards from three to six feet of clean stern must be left. The bark is lifted, the bud inserted and bound exactly in the manner described for roses.
Splice grafting is the same only without the tongue and I use it on soft-wooded clematis. Saddle grafting is used frequently for rhododendrons. R. ponticum stocks are grown on in pots on a warm bench for twelve months before working. At the appropriate season, as the sap lifts, make two slanting cuts on the scion in an upward direction to leave an inverted V like an old fashioned clothes peg.
All that needs doing then is to shape the stock by making two similar slanting cuts at the top, leaving a saddle over which the scion can be seated. Bind these with raffia and plunge over a heated bench.
Budding is carried out during the growing season from late May to mid-September, when the bark lifts easily and ripe buds are available. The basic principles are the same so if the enthusiast succeeds with roses he will soon graduate to cherries or any other ornamental shrub.
