Rind Grafting
Rind grafting is a method that can be employed only when the sap is already running in the stock and the bark can be loosened easily. With this method a T-shaped slit is made in the bark and the scion, cut with a thin tail, is slipped between the wood and the bark.
Another method of vegetative propagation is budding, a form of grafting used for roses, lilacs, medlars, hawthorns and other woody plants. The best time for this is summer (from late June till mid-September). A well-developed bud with a piece of leaf stalk and shield of bark is cut from the plant to be propagated.
A T-shaped incision is made in the bark of the stock and the bud is then slipped between the bark and bud usually remains dormant throughout the autumn and winter and does not start growing until the following spring. However, a percentage of early budded roses begin growing as soon as the bud is united.
The finest and most abundant display of flowers are borne by shrubs that have ample young wood. Shrubs left untended rejuvenate themselves by throwing out new shoots from the base and it is therefore necessary to aid them in this process. Pruning should not be left until too late so as to prevent the need of removing wood that is very old, for the shortening of strong thick branches mars the shrub’s overall appearance.
A further rule of pruning is that one should maintain the natural habit and shape of the shrub as much as possible. Only in the case of neglected shrubs or ones with asymmetric growth are the branches cut back hard, i.e. all the branches are cut back to 10 cm above the ground. As a rule it then takes two to three years for the shrubs to attain a reasonable size to bear flowers. With tended shrubs old branches are removed regularly every two to three years.
The time for pruning is the winter, but not when the temperature is below freezing point. Shrubs that put out leaves early in spring should be pruned earlier; those that put out leaves later may be pruned later - any time up to the beginning of May. Wherever possible, the cut is made just above the bud so that there will be no remains of the old, dead and dry wood above the new shoots.
