How to Propagate Muscadine Grapes by Grafting
- 1). Remove a scion from a healthy muscadine grapevine. The scion is what you will be grafting to the rootstock. Select a fresh new bud that has grown fairly recently. Hold your grafting knife at a 45- to 60-degree angle about 1/2 inch below the bud. Slice upward toward the bud until the blade is just behind it. Place the knife 1/2 inch above the bud and cut downward at a 45- to 60-degree angle. This creates an inch-long shield shape with the bud in the center.
- 2). Select a healthy muscadine grapevine for your root stock. Use your grafting knife to cut a T shape onto one of the older vines. Cut just through the outer layer of bark. The vertical line of the T should be about as long as the scion, but slightly wider. Place the grafting knife at the vertical line of the T and carefully peel back the bark on both sides of it to make two flaps.
- 3). Dip the scion into grafting compound. Slip the shield down into flaps you made so that is is completely enveloped by the flaps with the bud sticking out. Make any adjustments you need to with the grafting knife.
- 4). Spread the grafting compound all over the graft union. Wrap grafting tape around the graft union above and below the bud so that it stays in place.
- 5). Remove the grafting tape after about two or three weeks. Cut off the top of the rootstock. This diverts nutrients to the graft union to help the new vine grow. If you notice new growth on the scion within a month or so, you will know that the graft was successful.
