1. cut the top off a rootstock, or any branch of a fruit tree
2. with a knife cut into the branch/rootstock lengthways, as if you were filleting a haddock, or cutting a french baggette in half..just over 1 inch
*** use a clean stanley blade, i use a tea light or alcohol to clean the blade between each tree***
3. Take scion, about 6 inches, and sharpen it, like a pencil, only flat on both sides, like a chisel
***if you look at any fruit tree, you can see the growth from last year on the tips of the branches, not only is the bark cleaner and brighter, you can also see the point at which it was cut the year before, it is this new growth of branch whiich is used as scion material****
4. Stick chisel end of sharpened stick into the split in the rootstock or branch,
5. Cut 1/2 inch strips of a plastic bag 5 inches long and wrap it round the graft to close the cleft onto the chisel end of the scion. jobs a good un
**If you look at any newly cut branch, you will see on the outside, the bark, on the inside the white wood, between the 2 is a thin layer of green wood, The cambium, grafting is an attempt to match up the cambium of the scion and the receiving branch, you can slightly offset the scion wood in the cleft of the receiving wood to increase the surface area of cambium between the 2 which matches up. preferably, you would like scion wood and receiving branches which are of the same diameter, but this isnt always possible, in this case, line up the scion with only one side of the receiving branch
alternatively, type in cleft graft into google for diagrams and a better description
actually, the victorians used to graft entire trees onto tree stumps, with diameters of over 2 feet, by hollowing out the base of the tree and rounding the stump??