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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I pulled the tape off. Here’s the successful graft. This is how they normally look, right? It looks bad to me, but seemed sturdy, and is growing well.
Looking at the failures, they were pretty rotten underneath the tape, and I even found a few earwigs stuck to the tape. I think the duct tape probably caught too much water in there (and I didn’t wrap it tight enough). So, duct tape is maybe not such a great grafting tape. Who knew?
(Answer: Everybody knew, Tim. Everybody knew.)
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Tj,
Everybody makes mistakes. We learn from it. I have found that wrapping with parafilm first to stabilize the union and wrap it tightly with either green grafting tape or Temflex works for me. I don’t use masking tape or electrical tape for wrapping.
I have not grafted on big branches or stumps so I don’t need wax or Dr. Farwell grafting seal to cover large surface. So far, I use parafilm to cover all small surfaces well.
You should try a few materials to see which one or which combination works best for you. Experienced grafters probably don’t need all the things I do 
You also grafted a larger scionwood on a smaller rootstock so there is a bit of a leftover out there.
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Well this brand works well at first, but breaks down quickly. I had to go back and fix a few because the tape was degrading quickly.
TJ, that doesn’t look so bad to me. Look at the “ugliest successful graft” thread and there are lots worse than that!
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good info, we are forewarned!
I’m consider myself a beginner. Here’s what works for me.
Practice - First year I had less than 50% success. Second year 90%.
Wrap tight - A few months of a tight wrap won’t hurt the tree. A tight rap helps the contact when the cut is not perfectly flat.
Patient - some scion starts growing in one or two weeks. Some can take four or five weeks. Don’t disturb the graft out of curiosity.
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Take comfort, newbs! Even weird grafts can really take off.
Here’s my first ever successful graft, from the beginning of the summer:
Here’s what it looks like now (graft union is at my hand):
I’d say it’s grown at least 6 feet. Mulberries are magic.
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Lol. First time I ever saw Anyone graft with duct tape. If it works who is to judge. Did the tape come off without pulling bark?
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The tape did not cause any harm to the bark, but I would not use it again. I tried several other grafts like that, and they all failed. When I unwrapped, I found that the wood was rotting from too much water being trapped in there. You would think that duct tape would form a decent seal and keep the rain out, but that wasn’t my experience.
Unfortunately duct tape has no stretch to it and one thing g I’ve learned about grafting is that tapes that can stretch to conform to the graft are the best tapes to use. That’s why so many people use parafilm and electrical tapes.
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For those of you following along at home…my upside-down graft grew well for a while, though very slowly; it appeared to be healthy. One sad day, I accidentally bumped it and it moved, easily. It seems as though it never made a strong mechanical attachment. After that, it faded away…I barely knew it.
Lesson learned: Prof. Arnold wasn’t kidding about the dwarfing effect…this unit grew very slowly. It is not the way you’d want to graft to a semi-dwarfing rootstock. Back in the day, it was more useful in that regard. I’ll probably do it again…maybe even on purpose.
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Since it’s winter and nothing to do in the garden except read about it, I’m spending a lot of time reading about grafting, pruning and spraying.
I have a question about grafting: one of the YouTube videos I was watching mentioned using Elmer’s wood glue as sealant/grafting wax. Has anybody used this? Can anybody think of why this would be a bad idea?
Thanks!
The only one I could think of is that is it is kind of runny, so there is a chance that it could get between the scion and the stock. Some folks here, I think, speculate that grafting wax used in hot conditions could do the same thing and reduce the rate/chance of takes. (Forgot who.)