I love using wire like that too. However, one problem I have with those rolls is that if you have to be very careful with it. After you cut a piece off the roll you better make sure you pull the cut end that remains on the spool through the hole on the spool and bend or twist it so it can’t come loose. Otherwise, 1/2 the dang roll will loosen itself very quickly (almost instantly). Once that happens its just a matter of time before all that loose wire starts to get tangled!! Then you may be tempted to cut it in more than one place since you can’t find the end or can’t get a long, untangled piece. Then you wind up with a bunch of long pieces- all loosely wrapped around- but outside of- the spool! Maybe I’m just unlucky and careless, but I now have TWO 5-gallon buckets with one spool each in the bottom of each bucket and most of the wire loose from the spool in each one. The buckets help to keep it somewhat untangled and in a loose circle, but its still hard to work with once it gets loose from the spool. So again, when you cut a piece off the spool, always hold onto the cut end and attach it to the small hole on top of the spool that is made for that purpose. Otherwise, you may end up with a mess!!! Bill probably knows all this, but others who haven’t used these rolls might want to remember this little tip. But don’t misunderstand me or think I’m disagreeing with Bill’s tip! He is 100% right…this is a very economic, very handy product that I use a lot and recommend to others- just as Bill does. I have used it to tie down/spread limbs, but if you don’t put something between the wire and the tree, then @speedster1 is right, it will cut into the tree as it grows. I use old hose pipe for this. I’ll cut a 2-3 inch piece of rubber hose off, spit it down one side, wrap it around the limb, and then attach the wire around the piece of hose. Works great and prevents the wire from cutting or growing into the tree.
One additional plus for using this wire is that when you no longer need it in one place just save and use it somewhere else. Because it is galvanized I leave the roll in a handy location in my orchard. I also keep the recycled ones in handy location because most are easily reused. Thanks to everyone for the additional suggestions for using wire.
I like to use that very same wire to label my trees. I make the wire 3x bigger and leave the aluminum tag on it. Scott suggested that I upgrade the wire that comes with those tags.
Same with me. I put the label on with the intention of almost never having to make adjustment for girdling.
My branch grafts are different because I have to put those on tight due to wind. Once the graft takes I will go back and do the wire on those right and mark the grafts so I don’t prune them off later.
Haha, been there, done that!
haha. Always not to nice I’m not alone in some of my comedy of errors.
Oh, you aren’t alone. I made the exact same mistake.
Re: branch tying
The wire is a good idea, but because I tie down so many branches, I’d never get it all picked up and it would be everywhere, including in mowing equipment. So I use sisal baling twine (not the poly, which won’t degrade).
It’s pretty heavy duty (you can’t break it w/ your hands) and pretty cheap. By the time it degrades and breaks on the tree, the branch is set.
Here’s a 24,000 foot roll (5 miles) on ebay for 30 bucks. It’s made for balers and you pull the string out of the middle. In other words don’t take the outside paper off, or you will have a mess, worse than Cityman’s wire mess. If I needed anymore, I’d buy this roll on ebay, but I’ve got plenty for right now.
This string is so cheap, I keep a 9,000 foot roll in my pickup and use it for all kinds of stuff (tie something down in my pickup, emergency repair of fence, etc.) Way cheaper than any string one could buy at Walmart.
If someone didn’t want to buy so much, here is a 2500 foot roll (1/2 mile) for about 10 bucks (including shipping)
I was so impressed with how clean @Drew51 ARS pruners where I started trying different solvents to clean my pruners. Most things I tried didn’t work removing the sap. Today I tried straight Simple Green and it worked great.
Edit: I have now learned that regular Simple Green can damage some metals if left on too long. Simple Green Pro HD (purple) should be used for metals.
New to me on how to involve your children/grands in you passion. Sometimes I go a little overboard with these kids involvement but I do firmly believe that one improves the outcome of children by spending quality time with them at least when they are younger. They each have several bags that they helped with. My plans are to have a grand pick day so they can come over and fill their on fruit basket. Bill
Today I completed my first grafts: 7 apple and 3 Jap Plum. I found that there are quite a few steps you need to take to increase your chances for success. One thing that really helped me was to pre-select where each individual scion was to go. I created the ‘beer can’ labels in advance and used wire to attach them to where I wanted them to go. You can also place the most vigorous varieties in the less sunny places. One less step to worry about while working. It just seemed that once I started, it was like painting and keeping a wet edge, you want to go as quickly as possible, but while thinking each step through.
Good to know as it is a product I use all the time.
Don’t go overboard trying to make sure you get your new scion wood to take. Knowing that I have Goldrush scion wood that will be mailed to me by a generous forum member I go out and buy that special tree just for it. It is amazing how many grafts you can get out of a few sticks. Many more than I anticipated. Like many of you I have squirrels so I wanted my limbs to start a little higher. I carefully selected equal size scion wood to make the perfect match. The W&T graft went on perfect and I thought about doing a victory dance but one of my neighbors might get upset. The next day I walked by the tree and thought what if the graft fails? What else could I do but add three side grafts below and one of these can be my trunk if the other three don’t survive. The next day I walk by the tree again and I am really feeling proud of it but I thought that I have more buds of Goldrush so seeing that this is going to be that special Goldrush tree you sure want at least one graft to take. Now I put on six more scions below the others. I stepped back and thought that surely one of these will grow. The remaining few scions were place on a few other trees just in case the main tree died. You have really got to want a Goldrush apple to go so overboard. This is just a warning if you are just starting this hobby watch out you could end up like me. Therapist probably have a special name for me. Bill
First graft at the top
The other nine side grafts
One nice thing about Goldrush is that on years that acorns are available the squirrels tend to be be totally devoted to those and leave the Goldrush alone. They prefer almost every other kind of apple until Goldrush is about tree ripe- if there are no acorns they will take them then.
Of all apples I grow squirrels like Honeycrisp the best- but will filch early apples first.
@thecityman, I ordered some of that self-sealing silicone tape you suggested, and it’s amazing. I’ve used it on grafts with thick strong scions, but not on delicate little twigs, because you have to exert some force to stretch the stuff and I might snap the scion. But I’m looking forward to using it for fig grafting, as all my fig scions are pretty thick. It’s great stuff! I got the clear kind, mostly because it was cheaper, but if it doesn’t get opaque and cloudy, I may be able to watch the graft callusing through the tape! Thanks for the tip.
Oh, and my tip of the day is…don’t tie down a young, tender pluot branch to horizontal until it’s stronger, or it might just break off 
Great tip Lizzy. I have broke a few but I’m getting better at deciding how much they will bend before breaking.
Pear bends just fine until it doesn’t, then it goes all at once.
Branches more than half the diameter of the trunk can certainly break easily- when in doubt, make a hinge. Cut 1/3rd through the branch on side you are bending it (the outside) with a sharp pruning saw, starting as close as possible to the trunk- make at least 3 cuts about an inch apart.