Budding and grafting are propagation methods where the tissues of one plant are encouraged to fuse with those of another to form a composite plant with more desirable characteristics. It is most commonly used for the propagation of fruit trees and shrubs.

In the majority of cases, one plant is selected for its stems, leaves or flowers, (called the scion), whilst the other plant is selected for its root characteristics (called the stock or rootstock). The scion may comprise of a single bud on a short stem (known as budding) or it may be a multi-budded length of stem (grafting).

In this section, we take at several techniques for both budding and grafting, such as chip-budding and saddle grafting, along with some handy tips to ensure successful propagation.