How to Graft Scions in a Tree
- 1). Take a cutting from the tree you wish to reproduce. Choose a stem that grew the previous year and cut it with a sharp garden knife or shears. This cutting is the scion.
- 2). Place the cutting in a plastic bag with a little water in it, just enough to provide the scion with a moist environment while you continue with the process.
- 3). Cut one of the rootstock's branches diagonally. Make the slant 1 inch long.
- 4). Remove the scion from the plastic bag. Make a 1-inch long slanted cut in the end that grew closest to the tree.
- 5). Join the scion and the rootstock at their angled cuts.
- 6). Wrap the union with grafting strip to keep both woods in constant physical contact; otherwise, the graft will not succeed.
- 7). Cover the graft area with grafting wax to seal in moisture, keeping the woods from drying out.
- 8). Water the rootstock sparingly. According to North Carolina Cooperative Extension, too much moisture has the potential to kill the scion.
- 9). Remove the grafting wax and strip when the woods heal as one piece. Check in three weeks.