I,too, use an adjustable wrench to match scion and rootstock thickness.
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When we are talking about a microscopic layer only a few cells thick, the best in the world cannot eyeball that. Anyone can, however, try to maximize contact by getting a similar size scion /rootstock whenever possible. I have seen in multiple grafting topics that some people actually purposely put their scion off kilter so that they know at least a few spots will be making contact between cambium layers, as Oscar just stated above.
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i agree with others that measuring to find exact match is definitely overkill. getting cambium to line up, tightly wrapping, and sealing are by far more important from my experience. Iāve had plenty of success with cleft grafts that donāt match at all just lining one side up. by the end of the year they practically match in size because the scion seems to catch up so quickly.
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I think itās probably overkill too, but I totally get it - Iām an engineer and stuff like that is just built into my personality. Causes me a lot of wasted time due to āparalysis by analysisā. LOL
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Ha! I have a client did some mortar / stone work for once. Tried to calculate the strengths of things I as doing!
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Measuring is good. I measure with my eyes. I would find calipers to get in the way.
If the tree is in the ground outside, and I am inside picking scions from the fridge or something, then Iād understand writing down the measurement.
But if they are both in front of me, I will use my eyes.
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I donāt trust my eyes to be accurate enough as calipers so I use an adjustable wrench to be on the safe side. It takes very little time to do that.
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There are many parameters that go into a successful graft ā- temperature, binding, sealing, quality of scionwood/rootstock, grafting technique.
Matching thickness is something that I donāt even worry about. Why? Scionwood of the right varieties is scarce and I donāt have the luxury of matching rootstock and scionwood diameters.
Anyway here is a highly mismatched kiwi graft I did last season.
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Yeah Ram, I donāt really sweat the diameter, but all else equal I prefer to match them for whip and tongue.
But Iāll make due with whatever size I have. Thereās a type of graft for everything.
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I had scions from thumb sized to toothpick sizedā¦actually the biggest are mostly the ones failed.
The little ones got cleft grafted (one in each side) or several became bark grafts and a couple became saddle grafts.
Probably 70% that I could reasonably match size of scion to root or limb, got whip & tongue, or side grafted as whip & tongue.
Never does scions all match āpencil sizeā that the rootstocks might!
Oh, and used utility knife. (One minor cut of thumb and one on back of hand that bumped into utility knife laying on a ledge and the blade open). Over 90% takes on apples, not sure on pears.
Did not graft other fruits this year.
Have benchgrafted at 35 degrees and at 75ā¦have planted outdoors in pots at that 35, and have kept 7 to 14 days in dark at 68 degrees for better callousingā¦and then planted in pots outdoors. The difference for apples in success is not tht greatā¦graft as you have time and just do it.
No need to be intimidated by persimmons. I grafted 21 last year because I read that they were hard to graft, but I got 19 takes. The two keys (beyond the grafting basics) are that it absolutely has to be warm enough (highs in the 70s and 80s) and you have to make sure you rub off any and all growth below the graft every few days.
As far as matching things up, I find itās more productive to eyeball the size (I hold the sticks next to each other), then just make sure things are lined up on one side. 90% of the time, your eyeball is going to be within the margin of error for it to line up on both sides. And when itās not, lining it up on one side will ensure more than adequate contact. Then wrap it tight! I think there are more issues with things not getting it cinched down properly than with actually lining things up.
Regarding margin of error, I think thereās more of it than people realize. The cambium can be up to almost 1/2 mm in thickness. That doesnāt sound like much, but itās well within the bounds of visual perception and less than the measurement error you are likely to get from holding two sticks next to each otherāit they look like theyāre the same size, they are almost certainly close enough. And since itās all the way around, you get two chances to line it up well enough.
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You must be right about the margin of error. Iām not especially adept, yet I had 100% success with apples and pears this year, roughly 20 bench grafts and 10 field grafts. Iām at least 1 for 2 with bench-grafted persimmons; too soon to tell with field grafts.
Maybe the caliper compensates for klutziness.
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On the topic of persimmons, I got nearly 100% on bench grafts but only 1 of my field grafts out of 6 succeeded.
I attribute this entirely to our cold climate. It rarely goes above 70 here. Persimmons seem to want 80s to graft reliably.
I need to figure out a reliable way to get heat to the graft union. Iāve been eyeing various ways of electrically heating the joint in the field (with a huge extension cable) but nothing is jumping out as very easy or reliable.
Didnāt read all the posts but @disc4tw I use a manual caliper when cleft grafting pawpaws.
I know all the stuff about yeah you only need one side to match, but i have had much better success using the caliper.
I actually try to cut the stock at a place just barely smaller than the scion because inevitably somehow the scion comes out smaller than the stock once I cut it and insert it.
I never heard of a digital one! might have to look into that.
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Ram, are your place colder than Seattle, like San Juan Islands, or you mean doesnāt go over 70 in the spring?
Folks have said, but I didnāt realize, how much warmer it is here than Seattle.
I bought a couple of Virginiana rootstocks from Burnt Ridge and planted them out this winter. I fear they didnāt make it. I was hoping to graft to them after they leafed out. I guess Iāll be parking scions on my NOT Izu, along witht he Izu scions.
Hi Jafar,
I am in the Seattle area. I meant we get 70s in Spring but barely stays there for a few days. Its then back to the 60s. Most things graft fine at these temps but persimmons and peaches/nectarines in particular appear to want consistent higher temps
And yes, it is much cooler here than where you are ā you have the Willamette valley effect.
I had the same experience with burntridge rootstock. 5/5 of their bare root rootstock didnt make it. Meanwhile all my Missouri rootstock survived even though they were much smaller.