For successful grafting to take place, the cambium tissues (that is, the layer of growing plant material just below the bark) of the stock and scion plants must be placed so that there is as much contact between them as possible. If one of the materials is much wider than the other, make sure that the cambium of the smaller piece is fully in contact. The cambium produces new cells and within a few days the area between the scion and the stock should be filled with thin-walled callus cells, eventually forming a bridge between the two materials.

Grafting is best carried out in late winter to early spring when the cambium is particularly active. However, budding may be carried out in mid- to late summer, when the young stock material is of suitable thickness and there are plenty of well-developed scion buds available. rafts were traditionally bound with raffia coated with wax; however, plastic tape is now used more commonly used as it provides a better seal between the two materials.

The cut surfaces of the rootstock and scion and the newly formed callus cells are particularly vulnerable to bacteria and fungi, and so it is essential that knives are sterile and sharp so that only one cut is needed. Your working area and equipment must also be kept meticulously clean.

Once the plants have been grafted, they should be kept in protective environment if possible, such as a cold frame or greenhouse. The tape can be removed once the graft has taken. The following winter, the stem should be cut just above the new shoot that has grown from the grafted scion. This will encourage a strong shoot to develop from the graft the following season.