How to Clone From a Budding Plant

Budding or cloning from budding plants involves grafting buds from healthy trees on trees of a lesser quality. Citrus and other fruit trees are propagated using budding. Buds from trees bearing delicious fruit are grafted on trees with healthy roots though bearing fruit of a lesser quality to clone plants that grow the same quality of delicious fruit as the tree from which the buds were taken.

Budding knife
Budding tape or budding rubber

Instructions

- 1
  Locate a sturdy tree with good rootstock to clone the bud.
- 2
  Use a budding knife to cut a T-shaped slit in the bark of the rootstock tree. You can either make two slits, one vertical and one horizontal in the shape of a T, with a small flap to insert the bud. You can also rotate the budding knife in one perpendicular motion to make a flap
- 3
  Cut the bud wood from the parent tree. Insert the knife into the bark of the tree about 1/2-inch above the bud and cut a length of wood to about 1/2-inch below the bud. Take the bud out attached to a sliver of bark called the bud shield.
- 4
  Put the bud into the flap cut from the rootstock tree, sliding it down to the end of the flap.
- 5
  Secure the bud with a budding rubber or tape and wrap it tightly over the bud shield or the bark backing of the bud. Do not cover the bud with the rubber or tape.

Ideal Container Depth for Growing Basil

Does Drying Out Peppers Make Them Less Hot?

Growing Herbs