Axel, I would say its a no-brainer, much easier than spring grafting due to the generally better temps and more vigorous stocks. I use a chip bud just because that is the first graft I learned. The major thing to avoid is under-vigorous or under-watered stocks, and wrappings which can dry out. Also too much heat is bad. It has cooled down here a bit and I have started to do some budding (not new varieties; some of my trees are in decline and I think fireblight may have hit their roots; I am grabbing budwood from the tops while it is still viable).

Scott

Thanks, well, at least that's a nice confidence boost. I know how to do T-budding as this is what I've used on my citrus. But I've never done it with apples. I've been watering and fertilizing all my trees last week, so the bark really peels easily. They are in full growth mode.

I am grafting about 30 very old German and Swiss apple varieties, they are very rare here on the West coast, most of them have never been tried here, so I really want the grafts to succeed. (These are from Geneva, NY)

The varieties are:

Baumann's Reinette
Berner Rosen
Blauacher
Glockenapfel
Halberstadter Jungfernapfel
Heimenhofer
Hordapfel
Landsberger Reinette
Maunzenapfel
Nitschners Erdbeerapfel
Oetwiler Renette
Oldenburg
Gestreifter Herbstkalvill (syn. Pomme Framboise)
Sauergrauech, (syn. Grauech, Pomme Raisin)
Primrouge
Purpurroter Cousinot
Reinette Clochard
Roter Eiserapfel
Ruhm aus Kirchwarder
Schneiderapfel
Schoner aus Itzstedt
Schweizer Orangenapfel
Seestermuher Zitronenapfel
Stahls Prinz
Thorgauer Weinapfel
Wagener
Zigeunerinapfel

I will post a separate message to see if anyone else is growing old German and Swiss varieties.