I have grafted in last days some apricot over apricot rootstock, and greengage roostocks (Torinel).
I used cleft grafts and enclosed completely both the graft and the scion in parafilm.
The rootstock sends (not in every graft, and it doesn’t behave consistently even on the same plant) a lot of liquid from the cuts, like, a lot! Sometimes it drains, but sometimes it’s so much that deforms the parafilm. It literally drowns the scions!
Has anyone had this issue? I don’t think is pathology related because the liquid is clear, it doesn’t have any odour, and it does generally look like just sap (moreover: it appeared the day after the graft, so too soon for any mold to be growing under the parafilm), but i fear such liquid might interfere with the healing of the graft.
Any suggestion?
This happens, apricots (and, to a lesser degree, plums) tend to produce sap as a reaction to any injury, including injury from grafting. Usually, more sap is produced when it’s raining.
Do you think this may impair the healing process?
I’m beginning to think that the traditional “rafia” would be better for such kind of grafts because it would allow any kind of liquid to drain freely.
It’s difficult to say. Probably a lot of sup might prevent proper callusing but most apricot grafts work well for me despite seeing sap under parafilm here and there.
I see this a lot with fig grafts. Once the graft starts bleeding, chances it will take drop dramatically.
A few ideas and my success with them:
You can leave a nurse branch behind. This works well.
Make a cut or two below the graft a few days prior to grafting to let the sap bleed for a while. I found this approach only partly reliable.
Do side veneer grafts or chip buds. These have been very reliable for me.