It may have a very simple answer but I am curious to know.
I saw the description of clear tape is made of Polyethylene and the green/yellow tape is made with Polyvinyl Chloride. Is there advantage/disadvantage of using different colors? Is there advantage/disadvantage of using different materials?
Yes I cut my grafting tap from grocery store bread bags. They are free if you dismiss the cost of the bread inside.
ive used saran with good results. just about any plastic will work.
Dark colors could, potentially, cause problems…hot sun heating up the bark underneath.
Of course, under any plastic in the sun it can get hot.
Varying colors could have advantages…if performed conscientiously. A quick glance might give you certain information.
A lot depends on what you plan to graft, for plants with very soft stems you need a tape that stretches gently and does not girdle the graft, pawpaws are a good example. For other plants with stiffer bark you may want to use a stronger tape to give you the strength to apply sufficient pressure to the graft union. There are many grades of plastic bags available so I simply use a razor blade to prepare 1” wide plastic strips using thicker plastic to gain strength for certain grafts that require more pressure to press the two pieces together so that callous is encouraged. Sometimes if I need additional strength I use rubberized electrical tape, or I may use wide rubber bands to add strength. When I use rubber, I remove it after 3 weeks of callousing so as to prevent girdling. Just try many different types until you see what works for you!
Dennis
Kent, wa
My rate of takes 2 years ago was pretty atrocious using those types of cheap tapes. After reading the forum and listening to others advice to use “parafilm M” my take rate last summer and so far this year has been vastly improved. Those tapes are garbage IMO, but I’m far from an expert. Do some research on the forum and learn about some of the other materials available such as:
Parafilm M
Buddy tape
Temflex tape
Budding rubbers
I will also cut rubber inner tube strips to help add pressure to grafts on large limbs or trunks. Temflex or budding rubbers work great on smaller grafts to add extra stiffness and pressure. I picked these kinds of ideas up from the real pros on the forum and it has made a huge difference in my success rate.
Use the forums search feature to find the exact type of info you need, and good luck.
Dennis, this makes a lot of sense. My regular goto greft tape is parafilm and electric tape. I can see toothpick size scions and other soft and thin scions can benefit from using these types of grafting tape which is stronger than parafilm. These parafilm tapes are cheaper, couple of dollars a roll, compare to parafilm. I saw it used a lot in China for grafting. I just don’t know the application differences between colors. In another word, I don’t know what type of grafting to use what color grafting tape.
This is what I try to find out
no matter what plastic i use to seal the graft, i always reinforce it with a few wraps of electric tape until it starts to push good growth.
Making tags can be a hassle. Lets suppose you have 500 grafts to do of korean Giant and 500 of Hosui. On a large farm you could do half with one color and half with the other grafting tape. Then when you pull the tape you dab a certain color paint on the trunk.
Never thought of that. True, different colored tape makes the job easier.