I have used most all the different parafilm tapes and the Parafilm M with the paper backing is the best for me. I cut it into 1"x3" strips. The rolls without paper backing are a little harder to work with. Bill
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I have been using the 2" Parafilm M and cutting it to 1"x3" strips which is easy for me to work with. I would buy the 4" if the price was better.
Does all Parafilm M have a paper backing? Is it a hassle, does it help the roll last longer?
I’ve never seen M without the paper backing. Keeps it from sticking to itself, I guess, in the event that it got stored in a spot that was a little too warm.
Several years ago, they were going through a storeroom here at the lab and came across several tubes of Parafilm M - probably purchased back in the early 1970s - 20" wide x 50ft. They were gonna pitch them, so I grabbed 2 or 3… tensile strength is no longer there - won’t stretch much without breaking. No good for me for routine grafting, but it’s come in handy on occasions when someone (and, yeah, sometimes it’s me) whangs into a tree with a mower or implement and knocks a chunk of bark off; if you can find the piece of bark, replace it quickly and wrap with parafilm and some duct tape , it’ll often seat back down and callus in.
I think so but not certain that all the Parafilm M has a paper backing.
Yes the paper is a little bit of a hassle to remove but the trade off is that it stretches and wraps much easier. Another negative is that it cost more. After I cut off the amount I think I will need into 1"x3" strips I remove the paper just before using each strip. As @murky mentioned above the other type gets damaged from handling and makes stretching without breaking more difficult.
My Frost pear scion have done well. I might get lucky and have a fruit bud this spring.
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I use just about every type of grafting tape mentioned because they all have a use depending on what your grafting. Some years some types are hard to get. I like stretchy plastic tape for wrapping graft unions as some people use rubber bands and parafilm for wrapping the top of the graft when needed to prevent it from drying out. I like garden tape to make clefts or rind grafts tight on large diameter branches. Here is my supply box.
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I use the Parafilm M because, well, that’s what I started with. As Lucky mentions, when the Parafilm M gets old, it doesn’t stretch much without breaking (I wonder if this could also be the issue with some folks having trouble with Parafilm grafting tape - i.e. sat on the store shelf too long?)
I used to store my Parafilm in the freezer but found it would go bad after a couple years (would start breaking), then I decided to start storing it in a refrigerator, but once read it’s best to store at room temperature, so that’s what I do now. I do keep my Parafilm in a sealed plastic bag most of the time to prevent changes in humidity. It seems to me it’s a fairly delicate product, but I like it a lot, especially the way it degrades pretty fast on the grafts.
Parafilm M isn’t cheap, but I’ve already tried to go the cheap route on grafting materials (i.e. plastic bread sacks, masking tape, etc.) and failures were considerably higher. Now I use the best materials available, regardless of cost, like Parafilm and 3M rubber splicing tape. Even though the materials are considerably more expensive, it’s still pennies per graft, so the cost is a non-issue.
I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t cut the Parafilm M. (I do cut the 3M splicing tape.) I use Parafilm straight off the roll and probably waste a little more. I only do about 50-70 grafts per year so a roll still lasts me a long time.
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I use the 1 inch parafilm. Womack’s has it for $6 for a 90 ft. roll.
It’s stretchable and moldable.
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