So after 90-days here it is again after being up-potted to a 30" Treepot sometime 2-3 months ago.
Dax
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Dax, do you still use this graft often? Tom mentions it as his preferred method and called it a barn door graft on the Red Fern Farm website. Thank you for the writeup and the awesome photos. I’ll be getting a very sharp knife to try this out. Additionally, I wanted to mention it looks like you cut towards yourself and I noticed Tom cuts away from his hand in his video. I’m not one to critique a method if it works well for you, just saying I’ll plan on cutting away from myself for the sake of safety. I like keeping all of the corners on my whittling chip.
I had a calamity today
I had topworked some harrow delight pears onto mature callery (4" diameter trunk) around Easter this year. I did 3 bark grafts around the trunk. The grafts took off like gangbusters, with maybe 4ish feet of growth, and I was so happy.
But, it’s been super windy here and two of the grafts snapped off today, despite having tied them to a 10’ Bamboo stake. One graft remains, but I’m nervous it’ll snap off soon, too, just from the shear size of the thing, so I’d like some more backups.
I salvaged a bud from a snapped off graft branch and mega-chip grafted it onto the callery trunk, about an inch below the cut surface, and directly opposite from the last remaining grafted branch. I’ve never done any kind of bud/chip grafting before, and I picked this method cause it seemed the most fool proof. (@Barkslip, your tutorial was excellent and gave me the courage to try!)
But I’m super nervous that the timing and temperature are all wrong and my mega-chip graft will fail…
Questions
- Has anyone else mega-chip grafted this time of year (late August)? Was it successful?
- The forecast here for the next few days is highs in the mid 80s, and lows in the mid 60s. Is this too hot? Will it cook my grafts? Is there anything I can do to help insure success, temperature wise?
- Usually the first frost date here is mid to late October. Will that give the graft enough time to heal?
- Should I try to bud or chip graft more backups? Would mega-chip be the way to go?
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Hi!
You gotta chip bud, right-now, 8/29…
Cut the graft on the bamboo stake back to two-feet and walk away. (or 3-5 ft.) If too keep the stake rigid too, cut it to where it needs
mega-chip will be when the bark ‘slips’ during Spring bud-break until the next 4-6 weeks after. Swollen buds and/or growth and bark is slipping until appx. traditionally sometime near July 1st.
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I chip budded a peach tree yesterday. It’s fine even here in WI this time of year (July-Aug are best). I placed plenty of them so if some don’t make it oh well. All i need is one taker.
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A bump for this technique as a reminder! I’ve changed my mind on cut direction; Towards myself with locked thumbs is my preferred method. Sure I’ve knicked myself but putting a bit of tape on my thumb would limit damage during longer grafting sessions.
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