Banana 4 flap graft anyone?

I am curious as to why these grafts aren’t more popular.

These grafts have immense cambial contact which should lead to a good success rate even for problematic types like peaches and persimmons. The grafts look like they will be strong without excessive risk of breakage after the initial healing period.

Just as important, they are easy to do with low risk of cutting yourself (like in the tongue portion of W/T).
I just did a half dozen yesterday (with figs) and it felt easy without having to worry about matching cambium, worry about dislodging it while wrapping etc.

So, having not seen results but just seen the theory behind it, what am I missing?

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I haven’t had much luck with grafting peach so it would be worth a try next year. There are some limitations with matching size of rootstock and scion. Here is a very good demo:

Thanks for your comment.
Yes, I did see Dax’s demonstration which is wonderful!
I found it extremely easy to perform with no risk to my digits.

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@Barkslip inspired me to try this for the first time this past spring. I had some large persimmon scion and very small rootstock. It didn’t work out for me, but I’d like to try it again next year.

It works great for tough to difficult Genus/species.

I would recommend to drill thru the rootstocks a few days in advance (in-ground) an inch above the ground and an inch above that going in the opposite direction. Or, wait till June to start. And still I’d recommend that you drill. Use a slim bit. Drill all the way thru.

It’s especially important to drill if you have no nurse branch(es).

Cut off the rootstocks at the same time of drilling, also. And then freshen up the cut the day you do graft. Usually just taking your knife and nipping part of the bark off with an upward cut to the flat area of the rootstock that you cut off is all you need to do. About 1/4". Or saw it fresh off, again. You’ll see tissue that’s fresh and tissue that’s been effected from the first lopping off of the rootstock.

You’re allowing them to bleed for a few days…

Dax

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Dax, is this a good time to do banana grafts? The temperature here is moderate through all of summer: typically high 70s but this week is warmer. Bark is slipping.

At this time of year I didn’t have much scionwood of good quality in the fridge so only a few were usable. What I did in addition was to use somewhat lignified new wood. I removed the leaves and did the graft attempt. I hope it works!

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Your window is nearly over if the bark is still slipping now. I have never tried them this late but I have done them in late June in prior years to the tune of about 50/50 percent success or lower. Really it’s a spring to middle of June Graft where greenwood budding takes over and then bud grafts. But, ‘The Mega Chip’ can be used at all times of the season. I did a demo on that too.

One more comment and that is flap-grafting may certainly be done anytime the bark is slipping properly but the later you go the less takes.

Here’s that demonstration of the Mega Chip that Tom Wahl at Red Fern Farm showed to me last year:

Dax

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Nothing new about that graft.

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Your citrus grafts you talked about somewhere? Or was it something else or, something entirely not related to your own grafting, i.e., you’ve done (flap) or (mega chip) in the past? meaning it’s not anything “new?”

Dax

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I heard about “mega chip” many years ago. There is very little really new in grafting.

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Thats ok. It was new to me. :slight_smile:

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Cool guys.

Dax