As the weather cools down here in Florida our grafting season picks up. We will be grafting Loquat again soon in a few weeks.
Good Budwood - Look for a terminal bud that is just about to push, but has not started to unfold it’s leaves yet. The bud should be full and plump. Often we are grafting on slender rootstock and so we like to look for slender young stems under the buds as well. However, we have found it to be very important that all the leaves around the bud are hardened off.
Bad Budwood - Avoid buds that are too tightly closed or already opening.
Flower buds - Loquat will sometimes push flower buds instead of vegetative buds. If you graft these they will push flowers first as they heal. We have had success in the past knocking off the flowers once they push and leaves will come along behind, but it is usually better to avoid flower buds if possible.
