Propagation of woody honey plants by budding - Part II: The art of budding

A coming issue of this column, will describe the results of Michigan State University basswood research conducted over the past nine years at The Mort on Arboretum near Chicago. The goal of that study was to identify which of Morton's' basswoods, both flower profusely and produce copious amounts of n ectar on a yearly basis. The Morton Arboretum has agreed to make small amou nts of this material, suitable for grafting, available to beekeepers for a nominal fee. To help interested beekeepers graft this material and establis h their own 'copies' of these highly productive trees, we have developed a series of two articles on the subject of budding. In the May issue of this column we described the preparation that would be necessary to make sash a venture successful. In this article we describe the actual process of buddi ng. We warn the reader that while the process of budding may be more intere sting and inspiring than the preparations for it as described in our previo us article, without those prior preparations, the chances of success are ne arly zero.