First time grafters: what's working, what isn't?

I’ve heard of people mentioning it too and I’m sure it would work. Like Levers101 I agree it’s very running and could potentially cause some problems. I think overall that wax products are better options. Latex caulk has also been getting a lot of love lately as a graft sealant. Seems like a potentially messy solution to me though.

Thank you both

Just to chime in again, I’ll mention the “KISS” rule, and I think the simplest ways of grafting (not in order necessarily) are chip and whip. Do the whip Alan’s way with Temflex and nippers. I couldn’t find th elink to Alan’s post, but I do have the link to one I did describing it:

Here’s another thread:

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I have used elmers glue diluted with water but not to seal the graft connection. after I have the graft taped in place and sealed with caulk I paint the elmers mixture on the scion to help it retain moisture until the graft Union starts to feed it. It is not very durable and will wash off with rain but if it is raining I doubt the scion is drying out much. I think it may help that first few days after the graft was made especially if you happen to get some warm dry conditions

Great thread from the last 2 years of grafting for beginners. Today was my first day of grafting. I did one bark graft, a couple clefts and a couple whip and tongues. It certainly didn’t go perfect but I think I did ok. It was primarily all Pears which I heard are best for beginning grafters and the most hardy.

@zazlev, if you didn’t slice your fingers up, and the scions stayed on the tree, sounds like a good day!

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Fact!! It took me to the very end of the day, but I did manage a nice little cut across the top of my finger :frowning: All good though :slight_smile:

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Cutting fingers is a Thing around here

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I didn’t realize that grafts could take without being blessed with blood…

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An idea I saw recently for doing field grafts (vs bench grafts) which I plan to use this year is to place a thin piece of scrap wood with a hole drilled in it over the cut branch of the host in order to safely make the cut for a wedge graft. I think I saw this in @applenut’s video (but not certain) Anyway, for less blood letting during our spring ritual try something like this.

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Good idea but not sure how good it’d be for me. Most of my grafting have been done on horizonal branches (not vertical) on established trees.

You can still do it. The piece of wood can be slipped over a branch in any orientation. The idea is to keep it between your blade and your thumb. :blush:

Ugh…I know I come at this somewhat spoiled as a lab-rat, but for the life of me I could not see using adhesive tape of any kind – – use parafilm. You can always find it on Amazon.

My fear at least is that if I use tape all I would do is rip a hole of the cambium I’ve been working so hard to join into shreds. Parafilm is maybe one of the new grafters greatest tools of all time, I don’t care if you can’t find it at your hardware store. The stuff is a great non-adhesive seal and scion protectant; I would use rubber bands before I used tape, but I wouldn’t use either one of them if there was anyway to get parafilm.

As for cutting oneself (from a guy with exacto-induced numbness for over 9 months after a cleft gone wrong): there are ways to lock your hands and blade by bracing one thumb against the other, for bench grafting just laying the rootstock flat on a cutting board and cutting down through it parallel to the stem is probably the easiest way to make a nice cut in the rootstock without also cutting your finger in my experience …

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I know I could do it but personally it looks cumbersome with a horizontal angle.

Fortunately, most of my grafting have been done on smaller branches. Not much forced needs to be applied. No serious blood spill yet :wink: .

I made one of those, my first year of grafting. It really helped, but I have to remember to use it. Like many safety precautions, it’s too easy to be lazy and say “oh, I don’t need it, I’ll be careful!” I am going to cut mine down to that smaller size, makes more sense not to have to have to balance a bigger piece of wood!

@markalbob I agree, parafilm is a grafter’s best friend!

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well, to be fair I appropriated some from lab, but it isn’t all that expensive to just buy…

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The problem with using parafilm alone is that in most cases it’s not strong enough to hold the graft tightly enough for a good take

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I order mine online. @ltilton, yup, couldn’t use parafilm alone… I wrap the graft and the scion in parafilm, but I use stretchy electrical tape over it for tightness.