A quince branch jammed into the soil in November can slowly eke out roots in cool and damp but not very cold weather over 7 months. That is ideal.
That’s different than knitting a different piece of botany to a living rootstock in the spring. So many things that could go wrong, IMO.
John S
PDX OR
Yeah, but its not as hot to stimulate the scion to try and rapidly grow before callusing, and that along with humidity makes less drive for evaporation to dessicate the scion. No need to water, the soil stays moist.
Less heat, less intense light, more moisture, gradual change. As long as the species doesn’t need heat to callus, it seems like we’ve got extra leeway.
I like to hear different perspectives. I think that the soil would stay moist back East as well as here. They get their rain in the summer, we don’t. They’re the ones with the humidity in the growing season, not us.
It does sound like you’re saying that the timing would be more crucial back east. That makes sense to me. It does seem that if you do time it right, it would work more often there. The growing together strongly is what makes them knit together. We have a lot more time in which something in the process could go wrong.
I’ve heard a lot more people say back east that you have to actively wipe out the growth underneath the scion. That makes sense to me.
John S
PDX OR
Yeah, I’m thinking along the lines of if you had to graft an apple tree, and weren’t allowed to seal it at all, it would have a better chance of taking here. Like if you cut a scion, and left it outside on the ground for 2 weeks before putting it in the fridge, it would have a better chance of remaining viable here.
I bet you’re right.
JohnS
PDX OR
This spring I’m going to try liquid electrical tape. It dries fast and makes a thin and flexible waterproof layer.
I continue to experiment with the new grafting paste. So the 2.0 with the corn starch powder worked better than the 1.0. These last two days with record heat, the 1.0 has been looking like it is going to melt.
In the last couple of days, I developed the 3.0. I put some paint in there and added more resin from wood that I chopped for burning biochar. Some resin seeped out of the chopped wood,
so I added it. The grafting seal is no longer transparent.
The new versions seem to hold up quite well and are drying better. They aren’t so gooey. I will also be adding more wood glue soon.
John S
PDX OR
Interesting. I have a container of it and I would like to know more about how it holds up over a reasonable period of time. The old asphalt base seemed to always rub off onto my clothing even after a few years.
Maybe Flexseal would be even better?
Joke, that’s a joke
Just a warning on using toilet bowl wax. I used it to cover bark grafts on pawpaw last summer, anything that the wax is still sitting on is completely rotten! The wax has not broken down and has caused the bark and cambium under it to rot in places that were not damaged or used to graft on. I’ll post pics in a bit
This is after scraping the wax off the bark. It was a thin layer and still super sticky. I washed the rest off with soap as much as I could. I don’t know how these grafts are still alive but they are not pretty. The wax caused rot even on the scions
Late last season, I lost several grafts with the clear tape in the wind due to graft constriction. I’m using parafilm and rubber temflex tape this year; they seam much less constricting.
Treekote. That’s what I just got but mine came in a tin. I guess I’m too stingy with the Buddy tape at the union lost a few grafts to condensation after rains this year so next will be using TK to keep it dry. I’ll apply it over the rubber ties.
Toilet bowl wax ingredients- Slack wax (CAS. 64742-61-6) it’s essentially thick petroleum jelly. This is what killed the bark. Do not use toilet bowl wax. My poor pawpaw trees 
. Anyone who hasn’t had damage yet, go take a look. The bark will be soft/sunken in and rotten underneath.
Damn I just used some toilet bowl wax, although mostly I did a plastic wrap underneath it
dont let any get on the bark or scion, I’m guessing that it blocks moisture evaporation and gas exchange which causes tissue death. I’m going to let these grafts grow out and will try grafting them again in the summer if they don’t die. There are some dormant buds on the scions right now near the bottom. Will chop back all of the rotten trunk and regraft but will try a different technique.
Doc Farwells Grafting Seal is the BEST
There’s one thing that I don’t understand with the toilet wax. If it kills or rots every plant it touches, how come so many people on this site and others reported using it to great success and never before mentioned a problem? They recommended it!
John S
PDX OR
I wonder if there are different formulations. Some are slack wax (unrefined petroleum wax) and others are refined. Maybe it matters. I never used it so have no direct experience but I do know quite a few recommendations have been made here.
As I posted on some other thread, my current favorite sealant is to just use parafilm. I just wrap it around the graft and scion and around the edge of any exposed stump if it’s a bark or cleft graft. I’ve had better luck with this than with Doc Farwells, which I used for many years. I wonder if the wood might like being able to breathe a bit.
Here’s a pawpaw graft I made earlier, all of these are pushing now:
