I’ve never bench graft. I read some threads here to learn.
This is one of those thread. Bench Grafting Questions - #2 by thepodpiper.
It may answer your question.
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Does bench graft have to be whip and tongue graft, or it still can be cleft? I am going to do just one graft, so I can give it as much care as needed after the grafting, just not sure if I can perform whip and tongue.
bench grafts can be anything you want it to be, w/t, cleft, saddle. Whatever your comfortable with or scion/stock size demands.
Bench graft means, sitting on a bench grafting… more or less. You could be outside on a five gallon bucket sitting there, like at a bench. You can sit on a bench and graft any type of graft, cleft, whip, whip and tongue. That is how I would explain it… bench is not a type of graft. I hope that makes sense… at least it does to me 
The way I interpret “bench graft” is grafting a scion on a rootstock that is not yet be planted in ground.
w/t offers excellent contact of cambium of scion and a rootstock. If you can do it, good for you. Also w/t when bench graft allow you to easily manipulate both scion and a rootstock in any direction you want.
Doing whip and tongue on a branch of a tree is not as easy. I, for one, do not posses the fine motor skills needed for it.
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I understand that bench is not type of graft) But I only can find online references for whip and tongue, so I thought, it is only graft is used to graft to root stock. So to rephrase my question - can grafting to newly arrived bare root dormant root stock be done with cleft or saddle graft?
You can do it with cleft. saddle, or W&T. Bark is hard to do because the rootstock is in a dormant stage.
Tony
Thanks! And how short should I cut the root stock?
I would graft it about 4 to 5 inches above the ground level for just in case the graft fail and you can have enough wood above the ground level to re-graft the second time.
Tony
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Good point, but if it takes, how do you keep root stock from growing below the graft?
Plant it deep enough, but not so deep that the graft is buried
You can just rub off the growth below the union.
Tony
Thanks, all!
The simplest would probably just be to top your yellow trans with a graft and keep a few low branches, depending on tree size, how much of it you want to be which apple, etc.
You can also graft to crabs.
Another possibility: m7 suckers like nobodys business. When you see apples w/ little red pencils or whips near the base they are often on m7 and suckering. If you have permission or whatever you could recruit a few of those brought home (i did this recently as a farmstead was bought and made public land, including an orchard) then you’ll have to deal with the suckering yourself at a later date.
Or buy rootstock.
As far as storing, keep the cyan wood in the fridge in the bag it came in and don’t let it dry out. When you do graft parafilm can be extremely useful and make your first cuts somewhat more forgiving.
Sorry i see you bought rootstock galinas.
Your easiest thing to do is probably a cleft graft. I cut my finger really bad the first cleft graft I ever did, badly enough that I couldn’t feel anything in the fingertip for almost a year. Dont do that.
That said since you have a root stock which you can move in position as you see fit, the safest way to split the wood for cleft grafting if you’re not comfortable is to lay the wood down flat on a cutting board after you’ve left off the top. Then you can just take a knife and lay it along the center of your rootstock top and split w the knife headed for cutting board instead of a hand.
Well, I have had the most success with Konrad’s modified bark grafting method (other than t-bud) that he posted in an old Gardenweb thread where he makes an angle cut and then a parallel cut on the scion. I still have a link to that thread if anyone is interested.
I like his method as well and used that for some peaches this year. They are just starting to push growth but it looks like all four Red Haven grafts took this year (both sides of the top worked branch, and two back ups on other trees). Konrads modified bark graft really made top working a small tree feel easy.
Thanks everybody!
OK, I grafted it! (At least i think I did).
Is it too much tape on the end of scion? Will be bud able to push through?
Where should I place my bench grafted tree? Some sources call for 60-70F for a week, others for cool humid area. I can leave it in the house, and provide from 70 to 75 degrees there… I can place it in garage, it will be 60 there. Garage will be more humid, but with no much of the bark exposed, does it really matter?
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