Basic Tips For New Grafters #2: Different Grafts (Discussion Needed)

I watched that vid and admired Mariani’s skill. He’s obviously been doing it for a long time. (For me, it’s too soon old, too late wise!)

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There are a bunch of grafts I’ve left out completely. It’d be nice to see those described.

You are an experienced young man! Thanks for the endorsement.

First year growth of graft union for a top worked peach.

Impressive! Is that a bark graft then?

Yep, Konrads. Notice that if you look closely, it’s actually reached entirely around the top of the tree to the backup graft that has been trimmed.

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T bud has worked very well for me on persimmons.

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I had a teeny tiny scion last year that i attached to a teeny tiny branch.

I couldn’t think what kind of cut to make on such tiny diameter wood, and my knife skills are sub par so I was stymied.

What I did was just shave off the top most layer of bark, leaving the green part exposed. on both scion and branch.

Then, I just tied them together as tightly as possible so I knew I had the green parts flush against each other (note, I did not cut either of them flat, but left them rounded. This meant I didn’t have to match up tiny portions of the cambium- the entire length was cambium, so I just mushed them together, wrapped and tied tightly, and hoped for the best.

The graft took. The jury is still out on long term how this will grow, but it just proved to me that fancy knife work aside, what really matter is getting the green parts as much contact as possible.

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I have some really late to leaf out apples and when I added grafts to them I saw this. But, not very often. Now I usually graft after the trees have already broken dormancy so no chance then.

Grafting is not complicated when you learn a few basics of what your doing. Great job. You probably already know this but be careful when it is time to remove the strings.

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Doing some pruning today and took a picture of Satsuma side grafted to Emerald Beaut. It had tremendous growth and will certainly produce some fruits barring a freeze out. If you are wondering about the status that is toilet ring wax that I put on the crotch at the time of grafting.

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I have a few grafts with the toilet bowl wax that looks just like yours. Initially I was concerned with what appears to be a little migration of the wax but as of now I have not noticed any problems with it. Just wondering if the wax is eventually expelled from the tree.

I have not noticed any problems either Bill. I’ve only used toilet bowl wax on larger cleft grafts and these side grafts because they are not easily wrapped with parafilm like a W&T or splice graft… It’s really not a runny wax. I’ve noticed that even in the heat of summer I could still see clumps of the wax still in place.

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I usually just wax the tips of the scions if I’m confident that the parafilm covered the cut on the rootstock well, and will put a layer on the top of the rootstock if, for example, I’m putting two scions in one rootstock and have any trouble covering the cut.

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Worked Reliance into a multi graft tree the same day, and 11 days later we have a sign of bud breaking!

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you can also do a simple whip graft on toothpick sized scion and stock. It is called micrografting and is often used by some commercial grafters using avocado or citrus seedlings that just sprouted. There is no need to cover the grafts as the greenhouse is kept humid as the grafts heal.

The scion and stock are joined together using a soft clip to hold them together after cutting matching whips, similar to tomato seedling grafts. I have even tried it myself and it works. I still have a few of these grafting clips somewhere in my garage! And for Avocados using this micrografting technique, I cover the whole pot with plastic tent. I could not find the link to the avocado micrografting… so here’s how it’s done in tiny tomato seedlings. Many companies use machines to graft tomatoes to disease resistant stocks or to potatoes or eggplants today but they use small seedlings.

google for “tomato grafting clip” and you will see plenty of folks selling these clips! very quick to do on very soft and tiny stems.

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I know that many people have better experience grafting peaches when temps reach mid 70s to mid 80s.

Ive grafted mostly plum and ive found that they can be grafted anytime during spring with over 90% takes(although they will start growing alot faster when its warmer.

This is the first time im going to graft apricot and im wondering if its better to treat them like peaches or can i just graft them now. Temps will be mid 60s highs and 40’s lows?

Don’t know your zone. I am in zone 6 a. I graft plums about the same time I graft apples and pears, all with a success rate in a high 90.

I treat apricot similar to peach/nects. Graft when temp is in high60 or low 70 and remains that high 2- 3 days or more in a row. Have been very successfull this way. I do feel peaches/nects/apricots need warmer temp than plums or apples.

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Thanks.

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Just FYI: here is a pic of my “expose the cambium, then mash ‘em together” graft. (Patent pending, lol.)

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