Martha Stewart can teach you to graft

[Olpea]

@JohannsGarden

One of the things that seems important to me is that when spraying my tools with isopropyl between different cultivars, it is not just sanitizing, but also preventing build up of sap on the tools.

I hear about that, but have never really seen that with my tools. I use a modified Zenport grafting tool for grafts and never clean it. I don’t see any buildup on it. Maybe it’s the tool?

Zenport Grafting tool

That is another thing about Chinese knock-offs. There is nearly zero QC. I’ve noticed this in the remote sensing camera market as well. They have high-end features, very good picture quality, low cost but a short lifespan and one guy can get a really good one and the next a lemon. I’m guessing the cast on my anvils were just ratty and overlooked. I’ve only heard of a few folks complain about the same minor issue I was having with slightly damaged cambium.

For fall budding, I use a short blade knife. But again, I don’t experience any buildup on it. I don’t have it handy to take a pic of it. But I don’t recall ever seeing sap on the blade. I’m talking T-buds here.