I’ve been wondering the same thing. Since my rootstocks were dormant when I received, grafted, and planted them I saw the first tries to leaf out as very encouraging. Now, I realize that with almost no roots on all but one unit, I suppose I should eliminate the little leaves/buds because, ideally, the rootstocks should have been planted and grown for a year just to form roots. The good news is that the scions are budding, too.
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I remove all the buds on the root stock as they appear. If the scion fails I have never had a root stock fail to leaf out at that point.
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Note to self.When making the cut on a branch for a splice or especially a whip and tongue,think about the placement,so that it will easier to do the next steps,like cutting the tongue or having the best view of the union when wrapping up. Brady
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Well, now…my (accidentally) upside apple graft is lookin’ good.
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Some apple chip buds i did in summer 2014 have quite a few flowers opening… can i let these fruit?
Here is a topic that I started a couple days ago. It doesn’t conclusively answer your question, but it presents plenty to think about. Based on the comments, I’ll probably be removing all the fruit this year. The one fruit I let grow last year on a tree that I had had one year may have affected the tree. That tree essentially didn’t grow last year. All the rest of my trees I planted in Feb 15. I think I’ll let them get better established before allowing any fruiting. If you follow this link, start at the top of the page.
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Ummm…upside down graft (accident).
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Looks like one of my mulberry grafts is actually taking. I think this one was whip & tongue, but I’m not sure. Jury is still out on some of the others, although a few have a not-promising shriveled look to them.
What worked? This was probably the largest scion I had, in terms of width. Narrower ones have failed sooner. I’ll make sure to go with the thicker ones in the future.
Not a great success rate, but I’m still pleased, since this was the variety I most wanted to propagate. It’s tasty in the white stage, but the berries will turn light purple if you leave them long enough.
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curious, what’s that duct tape at the top for?
Most grafters I’ve seen put some parafilm or wax on the ends of a scion when they cut it off, I think to cut down on moisture loss. This is my version.
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Have you done that before? I would be afraid of ripping strips off removing it later.
I have not. I’ve only grafted once before, with help. I am not recommending this to others.
(Unless it ends up working, in which case I will be recommended it loudly and often.)
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It you’re talking about parafilm, buds grow right though it, you don’t remove, no need to. I use the stuff with fig cuttings too. If you mean duct tape, I agree, i would not use it. I used wax this year too, and I’m sold on it, I will be using it from now on.
So any recommendations on when I should try to remove the duct tape? I can cut a slit if people think it is likely to cause damage otherwise.
On my failed grafts, I visited the parent tree the other day, and a lot of its end segments (corresponding to pieces I cut off for scion) seem to be dead wood. I’m not sure what’s happening there, but it makes me think that maybe mine didn’t fail because of my grafting technique. Perhaps some spray it caught from the roadside? The tree seems otherwise healthy, it just isn’t leafing out on the last six inches of most branches.
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Tj,
I have found that poor quality scionwood is a major cause of failed grafts. If the wood is healthy, the chance of grafting success is higher even with relatively new grafter ilke me.
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I guess I would let it go now, see what happens. It should be fine. I guess worries of removing bark, but maybe it will be fine, let us know. I would leave on for now.
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Seeing some bud swelling and a little pushing out of buds on different app,e grafts I did. Love the self fusing splicing tapes.
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I think if depends on how tight it its how soon you should mess with it. I think the accurate but possibly unhelpful answer is right before it starts to bulge under or above the tape.
I think you also may want to try using wd40 to loosen the adhesive when the time comes.
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There are several good suggestions above about tape removal and when to do it. Sometimes when I’m not sure if I can get the tape off cleanly I just use a new box cutter blade and make one single cut just going through the tape. In a day or two the tape will start separating. This is a good time to see if you missed cutting the tape cleanly. Once the tape has this single cut the pressure is relieved and you can wait to remove completely at a later time or just let it push off on it’s on. Bill
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I have started putting the electrical tape on backwards ( sticky side out) it still pulls nice and tight, sticks to itself and is easy to remove later. I got this tip from someone else, wish I could remember who?
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