Only thing I wasn’t completely clear on, and which probably isn’t important anyway- do you replace that little shield you removed to form the ramp, or just let it heal over on its own or what?
It heals up on it’s own. I think there was one cut on the plant in the last picture. Hard to tell at this point. The ramp isn’t essential by any means.
The pros at places like DWN would do 10 grafts while I do one.
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Thanks for this. I understand everything except what’s going on in photo 016.
Thanks for this, very good pictures and tutorial. Now I hope I can increase my budding success, with 0% takes for the last 2 years it can only go up
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Next to last photo right? That wasn’t necessary. I was just posting another picture of the scion showing what’s left after taking off the bud minus the wood.
It’s possible to T bud without ever removing the wood from the bud. That’s the only way the pros do it. And the only way if the bark isn’t slipping on the scionwood. You just need to cut the bud thinner than I did. But you’ve got to cut into the wood a little. You can’t just skim the bud and some bark off the wood. I should have included a picture of what that bud would look like.
If not removing the wood it helps if the understock is bigger diameter than the scion. Or try to find a flat spot on the stock to place your bud.
If scion is a little bigger than the understock it’s hard to T bud without removing the wood, and hard even if you do. In that case chose the smallest diameter scion bud you have at hand.
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Very nice Fruitnut!
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Very nice. Thanks for sharing.
I read somewhere, the “stub of the petiole” can serve another purpose, after a week or so, if the stub fall (or pull off) easily, means the T bud is alive. Good indication.
I just made 3 T-bud(peach) last week. 2 without the small wood, 1 with the small piece wood still attached to the bud. will see how it goes after 3 weeks.
-Lauren
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Do sour cherries T-bud well? I would like to try some later this summer, or should I wait till spring?
I haven’t tried them. But all other stonefruit works well. My approach is to try grafting and budding whenever the opportunity arises. If that doesn’t work try the same or another technique as soon as possible. Eventually something will stick and you’ll learn. It’s all about experience and learning as we go.
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Thanks Fruitnut! I don’t know how I missed this one when I really needed this info. My friend and like member of GF, Bradkairdolf, suggested I look at your tutorial because I had gotten very discouraged at doing any kind of grafts since none of mine were successful. Well, as a result of watching this tutorial, I have new knowledge and a much clearer understanding of what I need to do going forward. I see exactly where I made my mistake regarding T-budding scions. I never fully took off all the wood. (I know I am an amateur in the school of learning grafting! 
) You have made this simple and clear for me to understand step by step. Although I am not sure how my future T-bud grafts are gonna turn out, I have faith to start anew with a better understanding of the technique! Thanks so much again Fruitnut! I really appreciate this. Off topic, how did your Flavor Supremes turn out this year? I lost all of mine due to the late freeze. 
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I wish I had seen this thread sooner but it was still a great read. I’m not doing anything with figs, but I tried my had at T-budding for the first time last Monday. In my case it was with crabapple. I started crabs from seed last spring, grew them in air pruning containers, and planted them last fall. This spring I tried dormant grafting a few with domestic apple scions. Only one took. I did not remove the foliage and I doubt the young root system had enough energy to support the natural growth already abundant and push the scions. I was probably lucky with the one that took. When you grow crabs from seed, you get a very vigorous tree but there is no guarantee of the fruiting characteristics. So, on Monday I tried my hand at T-Budding. I left one branch to become the central leader the T-Budding fails and left some branches below the graft to support the tree through the summer. Here is a picture
Time will tell how they do. Your thread gave me confidence I was headed in the right direction.
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Thanks for the tutorial, fruitnut.
I have a question for you.
I don’t use T-budding much in fig trees. I became accustomed to chip budding and it’s my main technique in figs along with whip and tongue. That is also because most of my grafts are made with cuttings i receive in dormancy - so no slipping of the bark is possible. Nevertheless, i have done some grafting with green wood and chip buddings and the results are good with a very high percentage of takes so i see no reason to change. The only “problem” is if done late (August-September) they will only bud in the following spring.
Have you compared chip budding and t-budding in a way that you can say the later is a better technique in figs and why?
I have also experimented with patch grafting in figs and the results are good with strong unions, but i can’t say if the extra effort is justified.I use a double blade grafting knife to match the patch perfectly.
Some photos.
Chip budding with dormant buds:
Chip budding with green wood (this time i left the petiole covered with parafilm (not really necessary). If the graft takes the petiole falls by itself in 7-10 days. After removing the petiole i usually cover the bud again to avoid drying the bud due to heat.
An example of patch grafting in figs:
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Thanks for the tutorial Fruitnut! It gave me the push I needed to give budding another try. I got home a bit early from work tonight I made 17 of them (10 peaches, the rest plums). I did a mix of electrical tape and budding tape (like saran wrap). I’ve never used either of these before, nor budded so early in the season. I’ve normally tried in mid-August or later, so maybe growth has slowed too much by then. Like ahgrower, I don’t think I removed all the wood from the chips in the past, so that could also be part of the problem. I know it isn’t good science to change so many things at once, but I’ve had such dismal results that I just want something to work. Once I have that, I’ll do more tests to see which factor enabled it. 
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Oops just realized these are chip buds! The branch was not thick enough to take in the bud inside the flap of a T bud.
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Maybe I missed it but what about timing? Can I t-bud now? Apples?
If the tree is growing vigorously, you can T bud. Better when temperatures are hot. Water well before you do it. The bark should be slipping.
Here are some non-traditional T-buds I did. I say non-traditional because mid-spring is not the usual time for T-budding and I also put them in spots where they didn’t have apical shoots above them. They have started growing already which is what I wanted. T-budded on 5/24/2016.
Liberty bud on an extra and somewhat neglected G.969 rootstock.
Williams’ Pride on Zestar for a double variety August tree.
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Maybe time of year and not removing the wood from the bud were holding me back. I think I may have a few takes.
Here’s one which looks good (a plum). I cut off the branch past a series of buds, so hopefully at least one or two of them will take.
I made a bunch more buds today, many of them T-Buds. I think I’ve tried it before, but for whatever reason I had remembered that it was hard and I never tried again. This time it seemed pretty easy to make things fit (hopefully that will translate into takes).
I did most permutations of chips and T’s, onto old and new wood, using elastics and budding tape. By the end, I found myself doing more T’s than chips, so it was definitely feeling better.
How do Chip vs T buds generally compare in terms of take rate?
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Looks like you’ll tell us. 
This whole thread has been inspiring. Thanks to all who took the time to post pictures.
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