Wanting to start Grafting

Paul if you would like to attend the budding class there is an easy solution join the West Australian Rose Society. By joining the WARS you will have access to a great deal of information and courses this is not to mention the fellowship with a group of dedicated rosarians. I personally have attended two National Rose Society Conferences hosted by the WARS and enjoyed the hospitality and friendliness of the members. In 2012 I accompanied the AQ when she presented a two day seminar on Judging and Exhibiting for the members of WARS that was very professionally set up at the Swiss Nursery. This is when I first met John and Anna who were in the group attending the seminar. From my experiences of the WAR I would recommend joining to any one who lives on the sunny side and is interested in roses as your knowledge and expertise in this field will be enhanced. For that matter being part of any of the state rose societies is enjoyable and enlightening.

Hariet there are budding demonstrations and workshops at the various Rose Society of NSW Regionals however these are centred on Hunter Valley, Sydney(Penrith,Camden & Carlingford), Goulburn and South Coast so you can see living at Armidale isolates you pretty much with respect to attending society budding demonstrations and workshops. I was speaking to Andrew Ross of Ross Roses on Thursday and he buds about 1,100 roses a day and by the time the budding period is over he would have budded 40,000 roses. All the expert budders tell me its practice and lots of it that improves your budding skill.I like you am a novice budder and since I stepped down as RS of NSW Secretary I have some free time and I have been practicing. I will assume you have a bush of rootstock growing so what you do is take a piece of rootstock about 35cm the take a bud from your rootstock then bud back into the rootstock and you can do this a number of times using the same piece of rootstock. When yo have filled your piece of rootstock cut another piece and start again.