Links to grafting discussions

[marknmt]

Tis the season, and questions regarding grafting have been coming up. A few years ago I set out to outline some of the basics, and to try to clarify things in my own mind, and I made a few posts; the discussions that followed have a wealth of information. I will personally claim credit for all the wisdom therein, but hereby disavow any errors ; -).

Here are a few links to those posts and to some others:

Basic tip for new grafters # 1 Gathering and Storing Scions) (discussion invited!)

I thought it might work to start a series of post along the lines of “Basic Tips for New Grafters”. The idea is that one of us will enter a tip with details, and others will chime in with their own thoughts, disagreements, and refinements. I’ll lead off with a few words about, you guessed it, “Gathering and Storing Scions”. Anybody can chime in, ask questions, raise objections, and so on. And anybody can start the next “Basic Tip.” It would be a lot of fun if somebody did. So here we go! The e…

Basic Tips For New Grafters #2: Different Grafts (Discussion Needed)

I’m really hoping that others here will tear into this stuff and fix it fill it out as they see the need. Please do! Please!! When I started grafting I didn’t know the difference between grafts, so I thought it might be useful to lay out a few points. A lot of people graft in the spring as the destination tree is getting ready to take off. Typically grafters like to wait until the tree has small leaves on it, and the grafts generally used are splice (also known as whip), or cleft, or a splice …

Basic Tips For New Grafters #3: Which Graft For Which Job (Please Add Comments & Corrections)

My first graft was a cleft. I didn’t know there was any other kind. As I read up and picked brains on the old Garden Web board I started to figure it out. I was feeling my way in the dark and am still sorting things out, but here’s what has worked for me. First off, the method of grafting has to be appropriate to the job. For example, you’re not going to walk up to a gnarly old apple trunk and slip a little bud under the corky bark and expect it to find its way out. But if you cut the trunk acr…

Basic Tips For New Grafters #3a: What Graft For What Species

This section could almost be called “Pomes, And Everything Else And Don’t Forget Persimmons And Nuts” My experience indicates that the these species work with the indicated grafts: Pomes and plums: Almost any graft. Everything else: Nothing. Well, that’s just me. Other people happily graft all those stone fruit, persimmons, hickories, and so on but aside from apricots I’ve had no experience with them, and the 'cots have been a failure (probably temperature related). So I really wish somebod…

Basic Tips for grafters #4 Why grafts fail

Figs can dry easily too, why I have had failures. They tend to dry around the cut, funny, I have had them fail, cut off dry part and the scion was good, green and moist, and put it back on, two that failed took the 2nd time. Strange plants! I was thinking of using the press and seal glad wrap to keep moisture in the graft longer beside parafilm or buddy tape.

A Few Posts Discussing Grafts &c

A lot of questions have been coming up about how to graft, and all things associated with it. And I made the comment that there were useful discussions in this forum that could be found with a search. Here are a few I initiated in the past. In each case the goal was to provide a place for others to comment, dispute, correct, and add. In looking them over someone might find something useful: There are lots of excellent posts that aren’t included in this list, but some of the discussion…

[jrd51]

Nice work. A commendable display of good citizenship.

I’m facing a huge task top-working young apple trees that were girdled by rabbits and deer, so I need to be 100% confident in my bark grafting technique. I’m also going to try to turn an established Enterprise tree into a dessert Frankentree, probably also mainly bark grafts. Thankfully, apples are very forgiving.

I was also gifted some persimmon scions that I really don’t want to kill. Probably mostly W&T.

So guidance on grafting is timely.

[snarfing]

Thanks for the post. Im still a bit unsure about one aspect: can you have growth above or below the graft? I have seen people say make sure you keep some alive above, make sure you dont keep any.

For example

If i wanted to graft over those lower arms, is that feasible? Or do i need to chop off the central leader to do it. Or do i need to cut off those arms, bud graft 2 buds in where i want them, and chop the growth above it. Im so lost

[AdamNY]

You could graft over those branches using a whip-and-tongue or a similar method. With budding, you typically cut back the growth above the bud to force it to push—but that step isn’t necessary if you’re grafting directly onto those branches.