I have tried most of the different covering and prefer to put parafilm over the whole scion including the connection. W&T, and Cleft.
Why do you add beeswax for field grafting?
Also - do you dip in the cooler immediately to keep them from cooking afterwards?
Would toilet ring wax work? I’m not even sure what kind of wax that actually is.
I think if you had the right coat of wax you’d understand why, Bill. You know I do 25 or 50 scions and then go graft and it took me all of 10-minutes. That recipe and temperature I got from an old timer who told me to ‘dip quick’ and I’d have ‘the greatest wax coverage possible.’ The coat is thin and it lasts, Bill. Temperature and all is dead on.
Bryan, you put your scions in a cooler to carry around the yard. The cooler has nothing to do with waxing. If you’re going to use parafilm you can pre-wrap them if you want and still use a cooler, or, take your scions from either a tree or from having pre-stored them in your refrigerator and off you go to your trees to graft.
Everyone uses toilet ring wax, sure. I think they just roll the scion in it w/o preheating. I could be wrong because I haven’t used it. I like my hands clean all day and so on and so forth. This recipe I now have uses the correct ingredients & that’s all I can comment on.
Dax
I keep a toilet wax ring in my kit and use a stick to daub it on the occasional bare spot or cut end after I graft as necessary. But the stuff is sticky and messy and really hard to get off of your hands, so I try to not need it. If you get it on your hands while you’re grafting it’s going to get all over everything and probably get on the cuts you’re making.
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Here’s the exact recipe I was given many years ago. That guy used to cut the top off a plastic milk jug bottle so there was enough room to work. He would heat water above 160 F and pour that in with the piece of wax and wait for it to cool to 160 and then work fast. I modified it for that 1.1 liter deep fryer. This is exactly what he wrote:
"Box of paraffin wax from grocery or hardware store. Cut the box in half. That gives you (8) pieces. Cut those in half. You now have (16) 1 oz pieces.
For 1 gallon:
1 piece (1 oz)
Heat wax + water to 180F and allow to drop to 160F. Once at 160F start dipping quickly if temperature cannot be kept.
–
Some people use crock pots but I can assure you they do not keep the temperature consistent. Some people use a ladle so they don’t get soil media into their crock pot.
The guy that helped me always grafted with rootstocks in Anderson Band Pots and he cut two pieces of cardboard and put a slit in both and “worked fast” after he had done a flat of grafts and covered the tops of the pots with the cardboard squares.
If he would’ve known about a deep fryer, that would’ve changed his game tremendously.
Dax
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Thanks, I always wondered.
Dax
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Bryan, the beeswax provides a coat for outdoor conditions that’s necessary because the sun breaks down paraffin too quickly when used alone.
Dax
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I used this method a couple of years ago with excellent results. Totally agree it is a fast and easy way to coat several scions. Since then I don’t do as many and in this case I prefer to just wrap as I go. I still have my wax container and I might dip some again this year. It really is a good method especially for larger quantities.
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That deep fryer there’s no fussing around. It heats up extremely quickly (5 minutes maybe) and off you go. You know the right tool again . . .
Dax
So you’re melting the wax on top of water or directly in the fryer?
Toss it all in man stir it up.
Dax
Also - 160 sounds so HOT. I believe you, but wow. How does it not fry the buds?
10,000 scions later, Bryan . . .
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Read everything I wrote. “Work quickly”.
You can put your entire finger in that wax/water 160 F mix just don’t hold it in there and expect it not to hurt cowboy.
Dax
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I was concerned about the heat damaging the scions but they were all ok. My process wasn’t as exacting as @Barkslip. I used an old stainless thermos jug. It doesn’t take much wax. I put a few chips of paraffin in and added microwaved water. Probably didn’t need it but I had cold water nearby to immediately dip the coated scions.
Did you stick your finger in their first, Bill? 
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No way was I sticking my finger in hot wax although its low melting point would have been safe. I used the old eye look check when I pulled out the coated scions.
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Makes sense. Same concept as to how a 2-hour freeze of 25F may not hurt peach blossoms, but a nine hour freeze of 27F might.
We wrap the graft itself (always a cleft graft, no matter the size of the scion or rootstock) with 1/2" clear vinyl tape, then wrap the graft and scion with parafilm tape. We only leave one bud on the scion, as they get shipped immediately after grafting and often go thousands of miles in shipping and then by scooter, boda boda or on top of the head once they arrive. From grafting to planting is about two weeks, they sprout about two weeks after planting.
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