2017 Grafting Thread

I went through my orchard and cut off all the temflex grafting tape I used this spring.

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I did that last week, and there were some really gnarly growths underneath in some places. I think I’ll do it earlier next time.

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My two grafting videos made few days ago :slight_smile:.

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Thank you for your advice, Mister Guy. I will cut everything back pretty hard and hopefully my graft takes off.

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You do mean this winter and not this week right :slight_smile:

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I think your on the right track cutting some of the other wood off during the dormant season which should help push your scion. I’m not sure your graft is strong enough yet but sometimes I tie it in an upright position to help it gain a more dominate position. Bill

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Nice tbud videos. When I wrapped my t-buds I covered the entire bud over with parafilm though not being an expert in tbudding I can only say it worked for me. The reason why I did that was to maintain higher moisture levels under the parafilm to keep the bud from drying out. In Kansas grafts drying out are a very real threat whereas in tropical areas with constant rainfall it may not be as big a problem as it is here. In my zone it’s getting a little late in the year because winter is quickly approaching. I know you have slipping bark. Our climates are very different and it is much warmer there. T-buds are done here by July. @fruitnut wrote up a very good tutorial on this which is where I learned from T-budding tutorial. I like the idea you did t-budding in another language with English subtitles which will undoubtedly help many people to graft. Great Job!

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Interesting. The only peach tree in my neighborhood bloomed March 3 this year - with the warm weather we had and got zapped. Not a single peach this year.

Chip grafting pawpaw update video part two :kissing_smiling_eyes:.

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Barkslip, Thanks for that warning on the cable ties, as that is just what I was preparing to do. Last year I tried pie tin strips with wire through a paper punched hole to label the fence enclosures on some new plantings. The strips ripped and blew around the orchard. Thankfully, I also kept a paper chart. My next plan of attack was zip tie through vinyl blind slats… You saved me a second failure.

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My friend did a whip graft for me 6 months ago. The clean stick came from CCPP. We are in citrus quarantine area so trees are not readily available, among other restrictions.

This is Sumo mandarin, grafted onto a Page.

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I’m sure I’ll find the answer to this question come spring. But I’m just too curious to wait that long so here goes:
Does this look like a successful chip bud graft?is it possible to say by looking at this? I wonder if the growing point is dried up? But two pieces of wood seem attached enough so I don’t know if it’s possible for the growth to dry up then?

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Looks OK to me … but the focus makes it hard to be sure.

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Scott,

Can you explain what you did as a follow up to this graft? I’ve seen hundreds of examples online of the initial rind/bark grafts on large cuts but, never any on what to do the following year(s) to get the open wound to heal.

Do you choose one or two leaders and prune the rest completely off or partially so they don’t compete but, still aid in the repair of the wound.

You don’t really need to do anything to repair the wound, in five years it will just be that part of the tree that looks a bit knotted. Nature has very good healing strategies, and any “help” we give is more often than not just getting in the way.

Re: training, I put three varieties on here and I am mainly going to let one grow out, I will bend out two of the 5’ or so shoots that grew out of it over this year on that variety and also one smaller shoot on one of the other varieties to make a 3-branched vase.

In general I am training all of my dwarf apples now to what I call “umbrella” system, there are few smaller shoots in the first 5’ of height and all the fruit is in the 5’-7’ area. It makes it more work for the deer to get the fruit if its all high up.

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Thanks Scott,

I appreciate your feedback.

So on my top work last year I had 5 scions that took. I can cut them back completely except for the main leader that I want to grow? Or head back all but, the one for another season? I was under the impression that adding the scions around the circumference of the tree aided in the healing process (in addition to giving you more chances of grafting success) by producing more cells around the edge of the cut?

The main reason why I like to keep a lot of scions the first year is to let the tree keep its vigor better. This is when top working a larger trunk, it will give it more buds to start with in the spring. It will also help with healing if they are kept there, but I don’t care so much about that, it will eventually heal anyway. I do like keeping more than one, I graft high and then let the different scions grow into the base scaffolds.

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The chip definitely adhered. Success will depend on whether the tiny bud is still alive and will grow away. Sometimes they dry out.

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I think it’s dried out. It looks much thinner/emptier than the other buds. :frowning:
It’s a shame that graft was technically successful but no bud.

Hey, I’m planning on doing a couple of grafts from extablished tree to sucker. I don’t want to do initial practice on those fancy-pants scions I bought.