I used cheap caulk last year but it let water in and callouse looked like it was trying to rot by mid summer. I pulled the tape and caulk back to give it some air and then it dried up and killed a lot of the callous on large sections of the pear trees stumps. By late summer it looked pretty sad.
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For some reason my HD seems to almost hide it on the very top
shelf with all of the other garden chemicals. I have to ask an employee
to get it for me. Lowes is even worse. Walmart carries it in plain sight.
It’s so easy to use, I don’t understand why you would use anything else.
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Thanks Ray!
I’m changing gears and going with your pick instead of the toilet bowl wax.
Besides getting it all over you too! Thanks, I’m going to try this, sounds great! Thanks!
Could we go over when you apply this? What is your technique, what other products do you use? I had bad luck last year, and i want to have a little better luck this year. For me I have to wait a long time in my very cold zone, so every aspect is important. The scion get’s old, the temps are just there etc by late June, so it’s important to get it right.
Andrew,
There are other people here that are far more experienced than I, when it
comes to grafting. This will be my third year, and I learn something new
every year. First of all, you need a good teacher. My teacher was Tom
Spelman and his DWN videos. Watching those videos over and over is the key, because I would always pick up something I overload the previous time. Then I researched which tools I was going to use. I decided on a Swiss Army grafter with straight blade. It has two blades, one that is straight for grafting and one that is curved for budding and bark lifting. I decided I would become proficient in two methods that I felt comfortable doing, bark grafting and cleft grafting. I don’t do anything else, and as the videos tell you, I practiced an awful lot. I also decided that I would use only parafilm and grafting tape. I didn’t want to mess with trying to heat wax and all of the other things, and had been using Spectracide pruning seal on a nectarine that had been attacked by borers. It was easy to use, so I stuck with it. If you get in a hurry, it can be messy, but if you take your time and aim the spray nozzle properly, the spray goes on the graft and not on you. You also need to hold the can upside down and press the sprayer, when you’re finished. This will clear the nozzle, so you can use it again the next time you graft. I spray any exposed wood on the graft and on the host.Once I finish grafting, I go back and touch any areas I missed.
My first year I had over 90% takes, but last year, I was less than 50%, all because I grafted too soon and we had a freeze on Palm Sunday that killed over 100 grafts. I will not make that mistake again. I will wait, until all of my trees are fully leafed out and the weather stays consistently warm. I’ll also graft by the weather and in this order. Pears first, then plums, then apples, and lastly peaches and nectarines. I’ll also be grafting onto root stock for the first time, and have already received instructions from Olpea and Fruitnut. Personally, I don’t see how anyone uses a box cutter for grafting. I like the tool that I have, and I respect it. It also has a thumb supporter, which helps a lot. I also tape the fingers that I’m going use the most, in order to protect them from the blade and from getting blisters. I am extra careful with that blade, because I’m on Plavix, and I cannot risk a serious cut. Since my blood will not clot, I’ll be in serious trouble, If I do. I hope I answered all of your questions, and if I missed something , ask again.
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Very nice description of your grafting experiences Ray. I am about in the same place as you, will be doing my 3rd year of grafting this spring. I watched Applenut’s (Kuffel Creek) videos over and over enough to figure out the cleft graft with a good success rate. I could not seem to get the hang of the W&T but was probably too impatient to practice enough. I have stuck to the cleft graft for everything so far. Santa got me a Swiss Army grafter 2 years ago and having only 1 side with the blade seemed to help me make a straighter cut than with the utility knife. Had 50% take on grafting peaches for the 1st time last year which I think is pretty normal and will be attempting persimmon grafting for the 1st time this spring.
I’ve tried the spectracide spray sealer. It seemed too runny to me and I didn’t feel it provided a thick enough barrier. Not to mention if it’s slightly windy it goes all over the place.
I like this stuff the best. It has a little paint brush attached to the cap so doesn’t seem to be very messy. And I can paint it exactly where I want it.
The reason Gashell is superior to these other products is that you can take a piece of it and put it in a sandwich bag and carry with you in your pocket. If you are doing cleft grafts I can see the advantage of something that quickly covers a large area but for just covering the tips of scions the convenience of Gasho trumps everything I’ve tried. It doesn’t crack in the months its doing the job and the little left on your fingers can be rubbed off on your pants and it comes out in the wash.
One pound lasts me a couple of years and handles hundreds of grafts. For a home orchardist it would last a lifetime because it doesn’t dry out if you keep it wrapped in plastic.
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Do you tape the fingers of both hands or just the non-dominant hand (the one not holding the knife)? I’m thinking you’d need bare fingers on one hand to do the delicate work.
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Bart, When I graft, it’s usually an all day affair. I tape just about all of my
fingers and don’t really find it to be that restrictive. Furthermore, the knife
does the majority of the work. When I bark graft, the knife has a bark lifting
blade that does all of the detailed work, so I don’t have to.
Olpea gave me my advice on how to graft, I feel confident! I’m just looking for more input, see what others do. So no worries!
One question I have is do you spray before you wrap graft or after?
I like using box cutters to cut the wood. For a cleft graft on the rootstock I just use a pocket knife. I have only done cleft grafts and whip (no tongue) grafts to me aligning is hard on the whip, but if you get it right it is a near perfect fit.
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For several years I used those straight “snap off” type razor blades to cut wood. I got by just fine w/ them, but they were a bit to flimsy than I would have preferred. Then I moved to a short double sided blade which was thicker. It worked a little better.
Last summer I went to a Swiss Army grafter with a single edge blade (as Ray mentions). I like it quite a bit better, but if I were in a pinch, I wouldn’t hesitate to use some type of razor blade again. I’ve always thought timing and controlling water loss was more important than a perfect fit.
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Well timing yes, but a perfect fit does prevent water loss.Less exposed cut wood.
Drew,
Actually I meant controlling water loss by wrapping the scion w/ parafilm, or spraying it with something. As you know, I wrap the actual graft union with rubber tape and parafilm so I don’t think there would be any water loss there, even w/ a sloppy fit. But obviously a better fit is better.
I’m going to do this too, I got the right rubber tape.
Also I think it was you who starts the black tape backwards for the first wrap so it doesn’t stick to the bark. I was wondering if you could wrap this too tight? A little worried about girdling.
Drew,
I actually use the rubber electrical tape, not the vinyl. I like the tape not to stick to the bark, so wrapping vinyl tape backwards may be a good thought IMO.
I prefer the rubber tape because it expands more and doesn’t stick too hard to the bark, regardless of how it’s wrapped. It’s expensive at about $3 per roll. I cut it lengthwise with a razor, so the width is only 3/8" instead of 3/4". I find the 3/8" width is just about the same width as budding rubbers, but I prefer the rubber tape to budding rubbers because it sticks to itself just enough that it won’t unravel if you let it go. Plus it doesn’t slide around as much as budding rubbers when starting the wrap.
I think I read a recent thread where someone had some girdling problems w/ rubber tape left on too long. Unlike vinyl, the rubber will degrade in sunlight, but perhaps it won’t degrade fast enough sometimes. I generally make a vertical slice in the rubber when the graft or bud has callused in, but not always. I’ve not had any girdling from it yet.
I don’t think one could wrap rubber tape too tight, but I’m not sure about vinyl.
I’m only up to doing about 40 bud grafts per year, plus a few more scion grafts, so I’m certainly not a professional, but I’ve found a technique which works for me. I think that’s the way it is for most grafters. Each person finds a technique which works for him/her, but they are all a little different.
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Drew,
I usually spray before, but sometimes I do both. Everyone has their
favorites, but I use vinyl tape that expands with plant growth, so girdling
shouldn’t be an issue. Besides, you’re going to remove the tape at some
point. I also use 1 inch parafilm that’s stretchable and moldable.
Thanks! OK, I think I’m ready, as ready! Now the long wait for mother nature to give me a window. I have some awesome scion, I can’t wait for it to get there!
It’s fun to watch someone else get the grafting bug.
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SO true. Last year was my first time, and I actually had quite a bit of success if I do say so myself! I just cannot tell you how much fun it was- definitely my favorite project. Its so fun going out there everyday, at first trying to determine if my graft is going to actually leaf out, then whether it will remain viable long enough to form a real connection, then whether it will withstand the wind and birds, and so on. And as a beginner, I can tell you that it just seemed like magic to take one tree and essentially turn it into two different ones. Yes, I know that’s old news to most of you, but never forget the awe you felt as a beginner like I did last year. Just seeing a new limb with different shape/colored leaves from the rest of the tree and knowing I “made” that was extremely fun! Seeing two different kinds of fruit on the same tree and knowing I made it that way will be 10 times MORE fun. Can you tell I’m enjoying my newfound fruit tree hobby? Can’t wait for spring!!!
For what its worth, I bought one of those omega grafting tools and for me, as a beginner with zero wood-working skills, it was a huge benefit for very little cost (I just got one of those “cheapies” but it worked for my limited needs. I then carefully put the two pieces together and wrapped with parafilm and then a rubber-like electrical tape. Worked great. On bark grafts I used toilet bowl wax rings with great success as well. Thanks to all the growingfruit.org folks for making that excellent, inexpensive suggestion!
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