Late season grafting experiments only. Using green wood cuttings, Plastilina, tbuds, chips, and other methods

Looks like about the same as our forecast. It is summer though. We get through August, it’ll get better and back to “free days” of open windows with no air conditioning or heating. This seems to happen every year :+1:

1 Like

Just noticed this thread. I did a bit of experimenting recently which could be relevant.

I have a jujube seedling (unimaginatively and provisionally named BV1) which I cut back hard last winter for scionwood, down to about 2’ tall. This year, it is up over 5’ tall and has a lot of growth. So much that I decided to thin some out, but I felt bad wasting the potential wood.

I ended up making 5 grafts from this. Most were green-on-green, though I did do a bark graft with the smallest onto a larger branch.

Results after a month:
1.) The one I left a few leaves on died
2.) The 2 smallest, including the bark graft don’t appear to be takes
3.) The 2 larger green-on-green are looking good

No clay or anything. I just put a small bit of parafilm around the bud, used black electrical tape at the union, then covered the tape with parafilm.

Temps weren’t as high as they are now. For the first week, the highs were around 80F. The 2nd week got up to 90F a few times. I may cut another branch and try again now, just to see how things go with most days 88-90F.

7 Likes

I used white air dry modeling clay at the base a little and then put a foil yogurt lid around it. it’s wrapped in buddy tape. little yellow pear on seckel.

oh my that’s a terrible photo

2 Likes

@BobVance

Interesting that two jujube grafts survived that you did the same. That is an encouraging experiment since the results were consistent!

@resonanteye

I’m looking forward to seeing the results. Looks like a good plan!

1 Like

@clarkinks

So I got my C4 explosive bricks, uh, plastilina in.

Will do a few more grafts (Katy apricot on an aprium and pluot). Do you put the clay directly on the graft or do you use parafilm then add some clay for temp control?

3 Likes

@Shibumi

I use it like i did in this thread Grafting large Callery and Betulifolia pear rootstocks



4 Likes

@clarkinks

Sorry I wasn’t more specific. I was talking about tongue and groove. I guess there isn’t any need for it there.

I just used parafilm then a bit of electrician’s tape at the graft for strength, and aluminum foil covered the whole graft and scion.

2 Likes

If the bark’s still slipping then keep on grafting.



Here are a couple I did 3 weeks ago showing results. I did some green wood grafts today as well onto excess pear rootstock.

7 Likes

This thread is great! Would never have attempted this during the summer if not for all the success you guys are posting. Did my first ever grafts this weekend-5 cleft grafts with 2 varieties on a mature crabapple and 2 attempted T-buds on plum using a box cutter and bad parafilm and electricians tape

Of course I sliced my thumb really badly before I even completed the first graft haha so between the blood and beginners technique i’ll be ecstatic if I get one take.

Covered them with tin foil tents- how long should i keep those on? I think two weeks was mentioned in this thread as a guideline. Going to try to do at least a dozen more next weekend.

2 Likes

Here is something I forgot about but just found in my notes. I should mention that I have very low success with grafting peaches in the spring.
On October 8th I grafted a 12 inch cutting from a Zee Lady peach seedling to a small peach tree. It grew spring 2021 and I now have peaches on it. I noted that temperatures where in the 60 to 70 range for two weeks in October 2020.
Edit:
Looking at good callusing temperatures, at least temperatures in the fall are good for grafting. Optimum callusing temperatures to ensure a good percentage of viable grafts:

Nectarines/Peaches – 18-26 deg C. ( 64.4 to 78.8F)
Apricots/Cherries – 20 deg C. ( 68F)
Plums – 16 deg C. ( 60.8 F)
Apples/Pears – 13-18 deg C. ( 55.4 to 64.4F)
Walnuts – 27 deg C. (80.6 F)
Grapes – 21-24 deg C. ( 69.8 to 75.2 F)

1 Like

The foil is to reduce excess heat on the graft by reflecting sun. Useful if black tape is used. You can leave it on until fall temperatures are cooler.

1 Like

So at what point do we start putting chip buds (or t-buds) on trees and not pushing them this year? I have some seedling pawpaws that I haven’t grafted yet and am trying to decide whether I should top them and graft on top for growth this year or leave them as is and put a bud on the trunks lower down and then top them next spring to get them to push.

Does this approach work for pawpaws and persimmons? Do the chips just die on some trees if not pushed this year? Is it still best to try to get them growth this year? It is time to do my last little bit of grafting so any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

1 Like

@zendog
I am waiting for someone to come up with your answers. Wondering myself.

After someone posted Cliff’s Pawpaw grafting video I top worked 3 of last year’s seedlings. 100% failed, this was probably in July. Not sure of the cause, too hot, too late, new kind of graft?

Chip budded some Persimmon this spring. The early ones I forced and they took off. The latter ones I am going to force in the spring. Time will tell.

Still wanting to do some fall grafting too.
I have plenty of scion wood still in the fridge or is green wood better?
I’ll probably try both.

Here’s hoping someone who knows the ropes chimes in.

1 Like

Don’t try to push a bud graft unless the rootstock is growing well. If the root isn’t pushing the graft won’t either. Now is getting too late IMO. April thru June I push after 2-3 weeks. I’ve had lower success later than that.

I routinely graft stone fruits when it’s 90 or warmer with high success. 90 is a good temperature. I do cover grafts but not buds with aluminum foil for two weeks after grafting.

2 Likes

@fruitnut Do you think it is worth putting chips onto seedling rootstocks (I have both dormant scion left and the rootstocks) to force them in the Spring? Otherwise, the scion will go to waste, but of course if it isn’t a good strategy I guess it is better to leave the rootstocks alone and get new scion next year.

This would be for pawpaws and some persimmons.

2 Likes

I haven’t done a lot of that. What I have done didn’t work out very well. The only issue would be marring the rootstock trunk if the graft fails. If you can work around, then there’s not much to lose by trying. I think that is done commercially to some degree. But I’m not sure about that. Commercially most fruit trees are budded in the spring or early summer and forced soon after.

1 Like

Well I just noticed something new happening on one of my recent chip bud grafts that I did a few weeks back. I transplanted a Prune plum seedling rootstock sucker I harvested last falll into a 15 Gallon Grow bag about 2-3 weeks ago, and T budded three plum chips onto it at about the same time.

I walked by the tree today and noticed that the buddy tape had broken through and it looked like there was some green growth at the top. Upon closer inspection and opening the tape a little more I realized that the bud on the bottom chip I’d grafted was actually starting to grow out this season.


Sorry for the lousy picture, but that’s the best I can get with my phones camera on close up shots.

I’d actually topped the rootstock before I ever intended to graft to it, as it was getting too tall and spindly for my liking. I wanted to get it more girthy for a cleft graft next spring as the rootstock was actually all second growth this season. I’d grafted a cleft onto it early this spring, but it died on me. I cut it to the ground and this was all new growth that came up after I’d cut it to near the ground.

Instead I changed my mind and decided to tbud onto the new growth on this rootstock before this season was over.

Is this new bud growth going to continue without completely removing all top growth?

Should I rewrap the bud graft to keep it from desicating as it is nowhere near fully healed?

Is this new graft destined to fail breaking bud so late in the season?

Is this totally out of the norm for an Aug tbud graft to break on its own in the same summer?

3 Likes

I haven’t had much experience with chip budding but I did a splice graft in early October that was successful so a successful union is possible very late in the season. Probably not the best time but possible.

2 Likes

I would cut off all the stock there to get some buds set on the graft by dormancy. I had an apple that did that last year and it only grew a few inches that fall but came back strong in the spring.

3 Likes

Thanks for your advice Scott.

2 Likes