I’m thinking so as well. I’m actually happy if that is the issue as the tree should have no problem recovering.
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Thank you for the responses, I’ll rest a little easier then. Started questioning if something was up since the apple grafts I did the same day still looked fine.
The good, the bad and the ugly
The good: Pristine grafted onto Yellow Transparent
The bad: bunch of failed B9 grafts.
The ugly: Sundance grafted onto Anton Polt (Antonovka 1.5 Pound)
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Everyone’s grafts look so tidy. 
@DaveW-wi5b / @TNHunter / @Seannosis / @swincher / @Jake-5B / @speedengineer / @ukie / @armyofda12mnkeys . . .
Just to name a few! 
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Be careful with the electrical tape, if you forget to remove, you’ll girdle the graft.
I’m a careless grafter and never do much upkeep. Rubber bands work best as they fall off on their own.
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Yes I almost always just use the rubber bands, I just wanted to give the electrical tape a try because it was being discussed in this thread and I hadn’t tried it before. I understand it’ll need to be cut off later this summer, though.
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On pecan grafts, I unwind the tape about half way. Summer heat and weather usually make it unwind the rest of the way with no stress on the graft.
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Update on a few of my persimmon grafts…
Took these pics this morning.
Mohler graft to a wild dv rootshoot… it was over 6 ft… i headed it back to 5.5… hopefully it works on starting scaffold branches the rest of the season.
H118 graft… looking good… still under 5.5 ft…
H63A growing like a beast… i headed it back to 5.5 ft a few weeks back and it is sending out scaffold branches now.
This one I think is funny… it is my WS8-10/Barbaras Blush graft from last spring. It is working on second tier scafdold branches now.
Notice the weeds ? pushing thru all that mulch under it. Those are actually persimmon shoots. When your persimmon trees have persimmon weeds… might be a good sign you should be growing persimmons.
TNHunter
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@TNHunter, I was looking at tree tubes and alum-wire caging recently … Do you protect your newly grafted persimmon from deer with any of those solutions (only see a cage in last pic).
Unwrapped some early persimmon grafts today. Rubber bands covered with grafting tape worked really well.
Cleft graft was the latest to push.
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The mulberries seem quite a tease. I w/t grafted 1 Oscar and1 Gerardi. The gerardi has about a foot of growth. The Oscar buds broke through the parafilm then died. I root grafted and several started growing then all but one died. Not sure whether to regraft the rootstock with the failed Oscar or replace with a nice red seedling.
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@armyofda12mnkeys … never used tree tubes… but do cage my new fruit trees before fall (buck rub protection).
Have plenty of deer here but the only fruit tree I have ever had them browse from is mulberry. They will take off all leaves below 4 ft. They have not gone higher than that yet.
I cant grow thornless blackberries because they eat them too. Heavily thorned blackberries like illini and kiowa they dont mess with.
My elderberries get browsed too… most bottom leaves eaten… but the blossoms and fruit is up around 6-7 ft and so far safe.
I have had fruit trees destroyed before by buck rub… i mean break the top clean off it.
I will get cattle panel cages on all the new ones from this spring soon. All my trees from last spring i got cages on them last summer.
I understand that deer can be quite a problem in some areas but here not so bad. Never saw one even take a nip of a persimmon tree.
There are 50+ small wild persimmons in part of my field… 3-4 ft tall now … no protection at all… and not one of them has been browsed.
Evidently our deer have many other preferred foods and just do not want persimmon shoots or leaves.
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Deer just love cherry, pear and apple branches…
Yes, apple seem to be their absolute favorite here.
Deer do love cherry. This is the 2nd time the deer stripped my Lapins cherry tree in 2 months. I need to upgrade my deer protection scheme.
The Stearns graft I have died back but now has pushed new growth.
The picture is Pakistani and they are grafted on a local rootstock - volunteer that does well and roots easily.
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Try upgrading that plastic mesh to old fashioned chicken wire. The plastic works with rabbits but deer just push it against the branches and can strip your tree without even leaving a mark on the mesh…
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I have a great Kanza pecan tree, but its pollination partner, a Peruque I think, was woefully infested with scab. This year I decided to get rid of it entirely and try, with considerable trepidation, to graft a Hark scion to a 2’ northern pecan seedling. It was only about 3/8” in diameter.
Well, this rookie had luck! After a late May graft, here it is today:
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