Learn to Graft Your Favorite Plants

Step 1: Collect a Branch The best time to graft is late winter -- December to February, depending on where you live. Start by taking a fresh, 3- to 4-inch-long shoot with one or two buds. Select plants that are closely related; for example, graft an apple onto another variety of apple or a pear on another variety of pear. Or, try grafting almond, apricot, or plum branches on a peach tree. You cannot graft unrelated plants -- such as a rose and a persimmon -- onto one another.

Step 2: Prepare the Rootstock The rootstock is the plant you'll be growing your new branch onto. Carefully make a 2-inch sloping diagonal cut through a stem about 6 inches above the ground. Next, make a 1/2-inch-deep cut straight down the stem, about a third of the way down your sloping cut.