This week on the farm, we welcomed the arrival of ‘the budders’, two experts in rose grafting that will spend the next 10 days to 2 weeks on the farm, grafting our chosen varieties onto our already established root-stock. The process is a relatively simple one, but one which requires the steady hand of an expert. A slice is made into the stem of our root-stock, followed by a crosscut towards the top of the first slice.
From the budwood – essentially bundles of sticks, each with several buds along them – a bud is carved away and carefully inserted into the sliced area on the root-stock. A few more choice cuts are made to ensure adequate stalk to bud contact, and then a patch is applied to protect the area from contamination whilst it heals. The process is repeated 20,000 times until all the species have been grafted.
