I had two grafts of a genotype I really wanted and we had bad wind over night. One graft lost all the leaves and the stem was pretty bruised up too. It later all turned black and I lost it. The second still had most of a leaf and the terminal bud, didn’t look all that bad, but couldn’t take another hit of rub damage in another wind. Sooo, I cut a piece of spiral tree wrap and taped it on so that it looks like a dog who has been to the Vet. Looks definately odd, grin, but is still green and healthy looking on the remaining bits. If grafts start later than the surounding leaves, a wind will rub the tender growth away when rubbed against the more mature growth around it. Just a tip for those who also face strong winds…wish I had thought of it earlier though, grin.
What do other folks do when rub damage is likely?