Using only parafilm?

Parafilm M is what I use, and have used for 25 years… the ‘grafting’ formulation is not to my liking. That said, I would never trust ONLY Parafilm M to hold up long enough, under exposure to UV light, to keep a graft sufficiently constrained to allow callusing… though apples/pears callus so rapidly, that if you wrapped enough layers, or twisted/corded it, it might hold long enough. All I’m using the Parafilm for is to diminish dessication of the scion while it’s callusing in.

On nut trees, oaks, persimmons… there’s no way I wouldn’t also use a rubber band (and cover that with aluminum foil or masking tape to slow UV degradation of the rubber) .
Ed Fackler, who, for decades owned and operated Rocky Meadow Nursery, told me that they used only masking tape to wrap their apple/pear grafts… with a properly-executed whip-and-tongue, it doesn’t take much to hold an apple/pear graft and ensure a high rate of success.

I’ve been doing some benchgrafts on potted-up M26 and callery seedlings for transportation to my son and DIL’s new home in MD in May… W&T grafts, wrapped in Parafilm M, graft union overwrapped with masking tape, then over that with a 3/8" rubber band, and then masking tape over the rubber band… It’s overkill, but since they’re gonna be loaded into the back of the truck and hauled 750 miles… they need all the support I can give them… way more than they’d need just sitting here in the nursery area behind the sunroom.

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You have to wrap really tightly but not too tight or parafilm will break. After thoroughly wrapping come back again with the cord.

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the cheapest rubber band you can get from the office section of WalMart or Staples, wrapped around the graft union for strength can dramatically improve your success rate. Parafilm alone won’t be enough, especially if you have high winds later in the season.

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I agree with you about the parafilm not holding up. Left in the sun it degrades pretty quickly, hence why I cover my grafts with aluminum foil as previously stated . I also think that parafilm may heat up in the sun and trap in heat due to being transparent and thus, cook the callus cells. When I take of the parafilm from grafts about 4- 8 months later the para film is solid black colored? Any ideas as to why?

all parafilm turns black outside be it on a plant or not. I once left a roll outside and found it a few moths later. it had already turned black and was unusable like the sun melted it. This is one reason I put my grafted plants in shade. When field grafting I use white electric tape over the parafilm to help protect it. I have great success both ways. I’ll try to post some pics when my plants start pushing growth.

I use parafilm exclusively almost always, with nearly perfect success. The cord-wrapping technique described above is the ticket, but in my experience it needs to be cut off once the graft takes or it will girdle (which may not occur with weaker versions of parafilm). I like it because I’m able to bind it much tighter than with grafting rubbers, and it’s much more resistant to getting knocked awry. I’ve also learned that it makes a huge difference to completely wrap the scion to the tip. I neglected to do that on one graft and it took about three weeks longer to push out, and I suppose in some cases the scion could dry up and die before the connection to the stock has been made if it’s not sealed up. Also, not all parafilm is created equal. I’ve had some rolls that don’t have the necessary robustness to make a tight wrap. The stuff I use is expensive, but convenient, and I don’t have to fool around with messy wax and fiddly elastics:

I’m in the windiest province in Canada. I use parafilm, then overwrap with electric tape, and then tape on a bird perch, cause chickadees are heavier than they look. Nosey little guys too, you can almost hear them going 'whatcha doing, can I bounce on that, huh?" I watched a little guy break off a scion I had just taped in, sigh…but who can get mad at a chickadee?
I did try overwrapping a complete scion , then more with no overwrapping, and most scions burst their buds at the same time. For me, cool and humid most of the time, it appears there is no advantage to the complete wrapping of scions. I haven’t tried any summer grafts, just spring ones, so hotter weather might make a difference.
I have done only limited species too, a few cherry, a few mulberry, a few apples and pears, and just lately, some chestnuts.

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I have been using only parafilm for many years and have been happy with the results .
This year I budded a lot of persimmons.
as they send out a lot of shoots, and some buds are slow to push, I found my self cutting the parafilm off of many to see exactly where my bud was,
Rather tedious, because of their delicate nature, and the numbers involved.

A few buds I wrapped with a rubber band with parafilm on top.
I found that if I cut the rubber, it would unwind by itself, taking the parafilm cleanly off with it, revealing the bud.
Much faster than cutting and unwrapping parafilm alone

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