I used toilet wax ring from Home Depot. The ring lasted forever since I covered the graft completely with plant tape before smeared some on to cover any possible water seepage into the graft. It seemed to work for me.
Tom
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I experimented with different combinations including TreeKote painted over Parafilm which worked pretty well but the TreeKote was messy and no matter how careful I was I seemed to get it all over my hands. What worked the best for me was Linerless Rubber Splicing Tape over top of Parafilm. Remove the rubber splicing tape after a few weeks leaving the parafilm to eventually rot off in the sunlight. The splicing tape is very stretchy and sticks well to itself despite having a weak adhesive. It’s clean and easy to use and makes for a good tight connection. I had excellent results.
I got the tape at Lowes for about $4
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So you keep an extra inch of scion wood just to hold the tape to hold the parafilm? Seems like a waste of time compared to alternatives. I keep a piece of pruning putty in a bag and pinch off a small amount to cover the tip of the scion. The scion can grow through the putty and never needs to be removed. The tape you use can save me a step if I use it to tape the scion to the tree shoot I’m grafting to. Unlike vinyl electric tape, the rubber doesn’t require cutting because it stretches with growth until it disintegrates over the years. However, it doesn’t make quite as firm a connection because of all the stretch.
Just started with the grafting and I used Vaseline as a sealant after everything was all wrapped. I used flagging tape to wrap with as I always have lots of it around and it worked well.
When cleft grafting I use toilet wax because it takes a lot. Amazon sells toilet seal wax as an add on item so I added on a dozen. Tanglefoot aka black asphalt tar stuff is what I use to paint over raw tips or whip grafts etc. I use parafilm tape and they both work fine with it.
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Thanks so much!
I don’t usually don’t need to be frugal with the scion wood, for me it’s just a hobby and I have plenty. I probably use way more than necessary. sometimes though I only leave one or two buds if the scion was hard to come by.
I think the splicing tape offers a lot of strength to the graft while it’s healing.
Here is an example of the splicing tape over the Parafilm, Robada and Hoyt Montrose grafted onto a plum…
After healing
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IH, I use parafilm to cover the entire scion above the electric tape- the magic of it is that it allows the buds to push through it and reduces evaporation. I use your tape alone for what you are using the two for- it is adequate to hold the scion and prevent evaporation in itself without an underlying layer of parafilm.
Apples and pears usually don’t dry out without the parafilm over the scion as long as you put a dab of sealant over the tip of the scion- water escapes from this wound otherwise.
Parafilm seems more important for species that are more prone to drying out before connecting when you graft, such as plums, peaches and paw paws.
Your parafilm method looks like it has merit for making it easier to remove the tape, but here, the rubber version of electric tape doesn’t have to be removed anyway- unless you are in a hurry to admire the nice healthy callous of your grafts. Plums and peaches never seem to be girdled by electric tape- mostly it can be a problem with apples.
Nice looking graft you have there- very clean.
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Yes, a very nice looking graft indeed.
I love Alan’s method of making the cuts with the nippers. I find that the tape you’re talking about sticks enough that you can wrap the graft right up and the pieces don’t slide around once you get started wrapping, since the tape holds them in place much better than rubbers or parafilm.
I do end up overwrapping the whole thing with parafilm, just to be on the safe side, but it clearly isn’t necessary once the black tape is down. What I do find useful, though, is to wrap the entire scion with parafilm before making the graft. I’m likely to dislodge the graft with my clumsy wrapping if I wait until after the graft is attached.
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Mark, that confuses me a bit- how can you wrap the scion BEFORE grafting and completely wrap it? You obviously don’t have pf between the cambiums. If you feel like splurging by AMLEO’s “Buddytape”. It is not as stiff as normal parafilm and I’m sure you will have no difficulty wrapping it after taping the scion to the tree.
Alan, I sometimes wrap the whole stick as soon as I get it out of the refrigerator. As I cut off a section the tape is cut too, and I simply peel it away from the area that goes into the cleft or onto the other half of the whip. Then the binding tape goes on and you’re done, or you can overwrap the bound part a bit with parafilm if you want to take the time and think it’s useful. Obviously you wouldn’t do it this way for chips or buds.
I’ll check out the “Buddytape”- thanks for the tip. I also want to try the Gashell grafting wax you like. Is that the same thing you call “putty”?
Yes- because it has the texture of putty or clay.
This year, I only used parafilm, with no treekote, on 100 grafts. 5 failed, which is my normal failure rate using both.
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I have been using Parafilm stretch film for wrap, then doc Farwells seal over it for years.
Doc’s is a little expensive but well worth it. Keep your bottle indoors in the winter or its ruined.
Are you (and Marknmt) talking about the wax rings/gaskets? Or something else?
Yes. The wax rings/gaskets that you can pick up at local hardware stores for a couple of dollars.
Thanks! Unless I get any strong objections, I’ll just use this stuff. Seems very easy and very cheap compared to the sticky tars and waxes that require heating.
I use Spectracide pruning sealer. It comes in a spray can and you don’t
have to come into contact with the graft. One can will last a whole season and is only $5 at the big box stores.
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I have looked for pruning dealer at the big box stores here and never found any. I googled the spectracide and it came right up at my local store, maybe I overlooked it before. Thanks for posting Ray.
I have used asphalt sealer but not any more. It just stays around to long.