Bud Guides One of those small pieces of equipment that you don't think about until afterwards when you realise how handy it would have been! When buds break, they come out at an angle and although the resulting shoot will normally be tied in to a cane to keep it upright, the union with the understock will often result in a dog-leg. Bud guides, on the other hand, will ensure the new shoot grows straight up at the point of union. The two illustarations below show the difference that bud guides can make. The photo on the left shows a whip and tongue graft of a pear with the resultant growth from the scion growing out at an angle, which for a single stemmed plant, is not best practice. The plant on the right was given a bud guide and subsequent growth is far neater with the wood callusing over the top of the trimmed back understock. In a few years this will give the appearance of a single growth whilst the plant on the left will continue to exhibit a dog-leg for many years to come.
Commercially available bud guides are usually made from moulded plastic that clip onto the understock with a shield that covers the bud to make it grow straight up. The illustration below shows one particular type available in different sizes.
Perfectly adequate guides can be made from material that is probably already at hand such as thin wall copper pipe or bamboo canes. The pipe or cane should be about three inches long and split down the middle lengthways. If using copper pipe file down all sharp edges and corners so that it doesn't cut into the bark. The copper pipe can be manipulated to make it a reasonably snug fit against the understock whilst a bamboo cane will provide a range of diameters from just one cane. The guide should be placed over the bud with the top one inch above the bud and tied in below the bud with a twist-grip. Keep the twist on the guide side so that you don't mark the bark. The sequence of pictures below show the procedure.
In this instance, electrical insulation tape was used to hold the guide, this one from copper tube, securely in position; it is also extremely difficult to remove! Once the shoot has made about six inches the guide can be removed and the shoot tied in to a cane to keep it upright. Any excess wood at the growing point can be trimmed back in the winter.
|
|||
 |
|
|
|
