How to Graft Blueberries

Grafting is the act of attaching a budded section of one plant to the existing rootstock of another plant. This process has many purposes, including giving the base of the plant a stronger, sturdier beginning, or, in some cases, limiting the plant's size. While, according to Northwest Berry & Grape, grafting blueberries is not a common practice due to the fact that blueberry plants grow multiple suckers, which eventually make the grafted part of the tree obsolete, it can be done if you want to start your blueberry bush with grafted buds.

Blueberry bush
Shears or saw
Knife

Instructions

- 1
  Cut the budded branch you want to graft from the blueberry bush when it is dormant to give the blueberry plant time to recover before the growing season. To remove the budded branch, snip it at the branch with shears or a saw.
- 2
  Choose a piece of rootstock with a flat top surface. The rootstock you use to graft blueberries should be strong and stand upright on its own. Cut into the top of the rootstock, making two even cuts parallel to each other all the way across the top of the stock 1 ½ to 3 ½ inches deep, and then cut the wood between them at the bottom of the cut to remove the entire sliver from the stock.
- 3
  Use a knife to trim the budded branch that you took from the blueberry bush down to fit into the cut made in the rootstock. Once it fits, slide the budded branch down into the slit made in the rootstock.
- 4
  Secure the budded branch from the blueberry bush to the rootstock. Grafting bands, which work much like rubber bands to connect the buds to the stock, is one simple way to hold the budded branch in place until the rootstock and branch begin to fuse together.

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