How to Bud Graft Cherries

Identify the rootstock trees (the trees you will graft the buds onto.) Select leaf buds that have developed for next year’s growth on the cultivars you want to graft.

Remove the leaf bud to use it as a scion. Slice through the bark about 1/2 inch below the bud. Cut under the bud and up through a thin layer of bark about 1/2 inch above the bud. Try to keep the cut just deep enough to remove the bud without cutting into the pith or heartwood.

Remove leaves and twiggy side branches on the receiving branch. The receiving branch should be about the same size as the branch you removed the scion from.

Cut through the bark only, and make a 1-inch slit in the receiving branch. On the end of the slit that’s farthest from the tree trunk, cut crosswise so the slit becomes a “T” shape. Use the knife blade or your fingernail to peel back the two corners of the “T,” exposing the moist cambium layer just under the bark. Don’t break off the corners of bark.

Insert the bud scion between the peeled bark and the exposed cambium layer so the growing tip of the bud points in the same direction as the growing tip of the branch. Replace the bark “T” flaps around the bud, but don’t cover the bud. Wrap above and below the bud with grafting tape to hold the bud securely, leaving the bud itself uncovered.

Seal the tape and the graft with a layer of white school glue. Don’t cover the bud. This helps hold everything in place and helps seal out disease-carrying insects and fungi. The bud won’t grow until the following spring, but you will know in 3 to 4 weeks if it has “taken,” which means the layers have begun to grow together. The bud graft has taken if the bud is plump and green or greenish brown, depending on the variety of fruit. If the bud is withered or dry and crackly, it probably will not grow.