2017 Grafting Thread

Appreciate it, appreciate it!

Dax

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I noticed some people have unwrapped their grafts already. I was going to let mine stay wrapped until fall, but maybe I should do it sooner? Anything specific I should look for?

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I’m in zone 5b IL and I will wait until the middle of July for anything grafted up until April.

My friend that’s been grafting for 40-years leaves electrical tape on for years and eventually the tree pushes it off. Myself, I’m a perfectionist of some sort and that to me is messy work. He laughs at me and I laugh at him. That’s how that goes.

Dax

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Started unwrapping my grafts the following year. Grasshoppers girdled about 100 grafts once after I unwrapped them in July or August. Never forgot it so now I try to wait until the following spring if I can.

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You be the judge. Conditions of growth, weather and vigor all determine when I cut the wrapping. Some this year will probably be cut the end of this month, some others not until 1 August, if they look as though they are ready.
Oh, and what you used! If you used electrician’s tape be careful to cut it but not strip it - takes fresh bark off in my conditions.
Your mileage may vary.

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OOPS, meant to address that to VSOP.

I think 1-year is a good idea, Clark.

People setting bark grafts or something with a great deal of push should definitely leave on their tape for a full year. And for certain at year two a solid stake needs to be added to keep that graft’s growth from blowing out. I have a hickory putting on three feet of growth this year from a scion the size of a pencil two-years ago when it was grafted. No stake and that means trouble. Plus you’re keeping the ‘excurrent’ form. Probably the wrong word but I have an oak that grows excurrent so a nice & straight trunk is a must with this radical growth that occurs when a large tree and a small scion intersect, lol. That was a bunch of babble…

Even bench grafts onto 1/4" caliper stock I see absolutely good reason to leave on the tape or rubber bands and to reapply rubber bands when they fall apart from sun. I reapply budding strips all the time.

I got into the habit with conifers to remove the bud strips in July. I realize now I am reapplying bud strips on most of my grafts now-a-days until the following year. Took me far too long to get my point across but, I did it darn it all.

Oh and I just started using electricians tape this yar. I love it.

Dax
@NuttingBumpus good comments.

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Someone​ mentioned triple grafting and out of curiosity I decided to try it. I took 3 different apple scion, grafted them in series to each other and to a single rootstock. All are growing. I may try it with peaches although I have trouble getting a single peach graft to take.

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Danzeb: and people who don’t graft are amazed I can get one variety to connect at a time! It stands to reason you considered vigor when serial grafting like that. What a notion!

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Wanted to update with some pics of my 2017 grafting. Pictures of pawpaws, plums, apricots, apples, persimmons, pears, and top working of pears and one of peach on a plum tree.

Your Goldens are doing great! @danzeb

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Well, one of my persimmons leafed out to about 3/4" leaves, but they look wilted today. Probably didn’t take. :frowning: I did a chip bud that is below the the whip and tongue graft. It is just starting to push a bud out. Hopefully it will take. And hopefully this first graft isn’t a harbinger for my other persimmons. :sweat:

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Somewhere I mentioned how thin and easily shredded Winekist twigs can be. Well, it appears the single Winekist cleft graft (onto M26, thicker than my thumb) is taking very slowly. Will baby this along!

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My 15 apple grafts are coming along nicely,!

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Yes they are. Good job.

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It Here are three ohxf 87 rootstocks that I planted the spring of 2016 and grafted over to Altoona, magness, and ayers this spring growing nicely now

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Those look good Jason. What pears are on you list next? You grow a good number of pears nowadays!

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I would like a Potomac I think, is there any sweet melting pear I should be considering? Open to your suggestions

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Do you have Fondante de moulins Lille yet? What about citron de Carmes? I’ve never fruited either but several on here have and they sound excellent! My small yellow pear is a must have in this area I’m not sure how it will do elsewhere. There are lots of others but some I have not grown long enough to tell you. I’m doing a huge amount of experiments.

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I have none of those. I need to get more ohxf87 in the ground, it’s all about the roots, the top side will grow in no time, lol. Your small yellow pear sounds interesting, I have read your descriptions on other threads, sounds like a winner in the Midwest

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Question for the grafting experts: I have a rootstock which I grafter earlier this year. It had been doing nothing and I gave up on it and started letting the root stock shoots remain. Well, all of a sudden (after a couple of months) the scion started pushing a green leaf, so I guess its not dead yet.

My question is, should I immediately prune off all the root stock shoots, or do it more gradually. Perhaps it is just coincidence, but it seems that as soon as I let the root stock leaf out the scion started growing…

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