Thank you for bringing this product to our attention. I have a friend that I think can use this product.
I just bought my first quart of Doc Farwell’s yellow. I’m a bit surprised, as I researched sealants, and didn’t see other negative reports, but this is good to know. It would help others if you can share which species didn’t work with it, in your experience.
Hi!
Yes Any sealant that is specific to a few species as the label states is not a good buy in imop. Never mind anything else. I haven’t mentioned this but one other person suggested that it may be just glue dyed yellow. I agree, having investigated further. The nose knows. It smells and behaves just like Elmer’s white glue. I have both. It is 3 times the price and it has a catchy name. There are many other good broader spectrum sealants available for less. As b4, do a sample first. Read labels.
I wouldn’t touch this stuff again except using as an adhesive to get rid of it. It seems to work ok as a simple pruning sealant for the few listed fruit species. Good on you folks if it works for ya.
I think your nose might be off. Its pH is lower than Elmer’s glue (closer to wood glue), and don’t believe glues contain kaolin clay.
With all due respect, multiple people have asked what you grafted that had a 95% failure rate, as we’d like to understand where to not use it; however, you’ve avoided answering the question multiple times, so you are not building a lot of credibility.
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As stated for the third time now the point is not to dictate species specifics one by one but be cautious, read labels, test first and not rely on my experience or anyone else’s for that matter. If it frustrates you or others I guess I understand but it is better to use good methods instead.
Weather it is glue or not the fact remains it smells and behaves the same and likely has those components in it at the very least. All should judge for themselves. As you probably also know PH can be changed easily if that even matters. You’ve bought some so you will find out one way or another. Hopefully it works for ya. Then YOU can share results the way YOU want and then broadcast that wonderful new glorious credibility.
I think I may buy a gallon of elmer’s glue for $20, put some coloring in it and market it as, “PAPA’S PLANT HEALER” FOR $128 A GALLON. Pretty D–mn good 600% return for a few hours lazy effort and no manufacturing or risk! Lot better than that Meth lab production right rssn.Those tend to blow up on ya right?
“we’d like to understand where to not use it” Now once again for those of us who demand specifics from others on this subject, instead; READ THE LABEL, TEST FIRST. The label says where it should be used. Test, or risk losing your crop which you will deserve a that point
Gotta go. Meth lab is a layin’ out in the yard. Elmer’s is on sale down the road.
I’m glad I didn’t read all this before trying my first grafts. It would have made me nervous. What I used probably wasn’t “best” but it was cheap and available.
I liked that folks who used the colored seal could see where the graft was. I was also nervous about water getting in my graft. I decided to mix some waterbased latex indoor home paint (dark pink, Ph ~7.5-8) with pva bookbinders glue (super flexy glue, ph 7). I had both of these in my garage. Mix was probably close to 50-50.
I dipped the end of scions in my mix. I painted it on unions (over parafilm and tape) and painted it over the tape (electrical) I used for cleft and bark grafts. I had wrapped some scions in parafilm but decided to experiment a bit. Some were wrapped in parafilm, some covered in this mix.
My grafts were all pears and apples - the “easy” grafts. 21/27 have growth so far. I’m hanging on for a couple more to make it! scions did not seem to have a preference mix/parafilm and I don’t know what would have happened with the cleft and bark grafts if I didn’t paint them.
For Doc Farwell’s to have the disclaimor on the label, to me, means that they’ve tested on the ones listed and perhaps know of an incompatibility with some species or process. They can’t test and vouch for everything, and don’t know how creatively the product might be mis-used and then blamed on them.
It’s similar to expiration date labels. Tylenol that’s 4 years old probably works perfectly fine. The fact that they have a 1 year expiration or something, and there is no such warning on the local herbal remedy doesn’t lead me to conclude that Tylenol has a terrible shelf life and should never be purchased.
I don’t know why Babbler won’t tell us what species supposedly have a problem. If true, knowing that may give some insight into what the problem is from which we could perhaps make some extrapolations.
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Seems pretty obvious from his prior posts, marijuana plants naturally. 
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I cover the graft with banding rubbers and parafilm or elec tape, seal the scion tip with something but rarely put anything on the scion above the graft.
Uhhhhh - medical!
Free pass.
Tough crowd~
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I have mainly been using parafilm this year to seal my grafts and I noticed an issue with the bases of my bark grafts … I had parafilm tightly wrapped there and I think it was inhibiting the callousing of the graft to the trunk on the inside. It is important to get callous there to keep the grafts on snugly when winds hit. So I decided to remove the parafilm at the base of bark grafts after a few weeks of good growth.
My Doc Farwells I have used on every possible type of graft over the years and has generally worked well, but I have an old jar which I think got too thick and it may have been putting too much resistance to the buds coming out. I decided to thin it for next year. It may also inhibit callousing at the bases of bark grafts so I might stop using it there. If the graft is well-supported it should not matter, but I have lost too many bark grafts in high winds in late spring.
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I just ordered a 5lb block of Sargent Art Plastilina Modeling Clay, Off White. Could you please share how and what you wrapped stump cut with? I see you wrapped parafilm around the scions but I cant tell specifically what you wrapped stumpy with.
Thanks @clarkinks 
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I like Doc Farwells for bench grafts, I don’t know if I like it for bigger top-grafting work though, maybe wax would be better for that application.
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This thread will explain a lot! Let me know if you have any questions.
@JesusisLordandChrist
Here is a summary of the steps from the thread above. I grabbed my photos from multiple different grafts i did in the thread. I did not make up the top working method from scratch but i made up my overall technique based on experience. Kansas has wild weather fluctuations which is not new. We also have other factors that can be very problematic to grafting such as drying winds, drought or at times excessive rain which prevents succesful grafting while the trees are wet from the rain. The plastic garden tape makes the graft really tight. A hawk or owl may be standing on that perch by nightfall hunting rabbits. The union i prefer is cleft because it works like a close pin to tightly hold the scions and gives good cambium contact. Clefts heal very fast. My method requires going back and removing the garden tape this year or the next couple of years as you get to it. The parafilm is for sealing the graft and holding internal sap and moisture imside until the graft union has taken. The plasticina goes on top and over to prevent things getting into my cleft like dirt , moisture etc. If you put just parafilm up there agrasshopper might eat through it by nightfall leaving a hole exposed to trap problematic debris in the cleft.
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You’re Awesome, Thank You very much
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Nice grafting job there!
I see you got nicked pretty good working with all those sharp things in process. Looks like your DNA is all over that stuff LOL!
You still got er’ done. True orchard warrior. Wonder if that sealer could have worked on your finger? Hope it came out ok.
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Grafting thousands of times in life i’m going to get nicked a few times. The odds are against me. The grafts wind up pretty. A nick isn’t that bad and a slip is worse.
Yowsa. That is all about ugly. I would be curled up on the ground hollering 911!
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No it was no big deal at all. I grew up out here in the country we play pretty rough out here. The way i grew up there were boys who lost limbs to bailers and lives to off road accidents etc… Farm life is not for everyone. I’m as careful as i can be but eventually you get sick or distracted etc. And it happens to the best of us. My ex girlfriend called and not wanting to be rude i kept talking to her on the cell phone while knowing i needed to pay attention. I’m not the first man to lose some blood over a good woman. She is worth it but i sure wished she called when i was making coffee instead. I’m just thankful a razor knife has a short blade.
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I have never cut myself while doing splice grafts with a double bladed Italian pruning shear. I can’t figure out why anyone uses any other method for spring grafts, unless they are grafting to big stubs. That’s something I used to do on old apple trees but learned that grafting to vigorous uprights generally led to more vigorous takes.
If you secure the grafts with electric tape, I don’t think hurricane winds could knock them loose.
I also make at least a couple hundred grafts every year. The splice works for pomes, stonefruit, paw paws, and chestnuts just fine. I’m still trying to work out persimmons for which my take percentage is discouragingly low, although every persimmon I ate this year was from a rootsock of a dead Kaki persimmon that I replaced with a selected native using a splice graft I don’t know why my persimmon grafts haven’t been taking recently, but assume it is a matter of timing and not the splice method. Oh, and my apricot grafts have been unreliable, I think because I graft them too late. But I have much more success with them than persimmons, maybe 50%.