Good scionwood is the basis for success

DORMANT WOOD---NOVEMBER THROUGH MARCH

November through March is the best time to collect scionwood for bench grafting and budding in the spring. Once the wood breaks dormancy then it is almost impossible to get a good take and so we will likely reject it. If we can’t work with it then there will be no charge.

The best dormant wood will  be from last season’s growth. There will be no leaves on it. There should be no spurs on it. It should be fairly straight although some curve is acceptable. You can find such wood on the ends of limbs that grow vigorously. On old trees you might have to climb to the upper reaches to find upright growth from last summer. Avoid “water sprouts” which grow out of the inner parts of the trees as they have poorer buds to work with and sometimes may have mutations which will make the resulting propagated tree different from what you remember. Buds should be quite visible. Wood that is pencil sized works the best for both bench grafting or budding.  

SHIPPING:

You can ship scionwood via US Priority Mail, UPS, or FEDEX.  Send it so it arrives within a few days. Snail Mail is discouraged. Wrap the scionwood in a damp paper towel and place it in a plastic bag so it stays damp and does not leak during transit.

SUMMER SCIONWOOD--- JUNE THROUGH SEPTEMBER

Late June through early September is the best time to collect current season's growth and greener scionwood for chip budding. Bench grafting at this time is more difficult. so we usually do chip budding.

The best summer scionwood is ONLY from the new growth from this season. It will have leaves on it that must be trimmed off, leaving about 1/4"- 1/2" of leave petiole to protect the bud and act as a handle for budding. The wood will look mature with visible brown wood. Green-colored wood is typically not mature enough. The buds should look mature and prominent. Pencil sized wood works the best, but Grandpa has experience working with bigger and tinier wood. Good wood will be found on the growing tips of lower branches and also in the tops of trees.   

SHIPPING:

You can ship scionwood via US Priority Mail, UPS, or FEDEX. Send it so it arrives within a few days. Snail Mail is discouraged. Wrap the scionwood in a damp paper towel and place it in a plastic bag so it stays damp and does not leak during transit.

In the summer, make sure to remove the leaves.

Collecting BAD scionwood is usually the result of laziness on the part of the collector who just wishes to get it done and sent out.

Bad scionwood will be rejected as it is nearly impossible to use.

Bad scionwood often has spurs. The spurs cannot be used at all. They usually are fruiting spurs and no vegetable growth will grow from them.

Wood that is from growth from a couple years ago is not good wood to use if at all possible. But sometimes decent dormant buds can be found that Grandpa might have success with. Avoid wood that is more than one year old.

Most old trees are “spur bound” and it can be quite difficult to find good wood, but usually one can find some current growth from the previous summer or current summer that is mature enough and has potential for success--- often in the tops of the tree.

IF YOU ARE HAVING DIFFICULTLY FINDING GOOD SCIONWOOD--- take pictures of it and send them to Grandpa before you send   it. That will save time, money and frustration.