I think I remember @JesseinMaine (formerly @JesseS) doing root grafts and it working. I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t work with persimmons. I found them to be about as easy as any other species last year. The two critical things are temperature (preferably mid 70s to low 80s) and being vigilant on removing buds from the rootstocks every few days until (and even after!) your grafts push. Also, they callus black, which could be worrisome if you weren’t expecting it.
I knew about the grafting temps, but I did not know about the black callus. Thanks- I am sure I would have believed they failed if I saw black!
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One more thing that occurred to me regarding why I think it will work: the roots REALLY want to grow if you sever them from the main plant. I took a lot of my root prunings and put them in a seed tray. Almost all of the roots over 1/8" sprouted new tops. I had a nice start on some new rootstocks, until the squirrels came and dug it up!
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Good to know. I love making new plants. I’ll plan on harvesting some roots in the future!
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Is that electrical tape on some?
Yep
Ten flex rubber electrical tape. On some I add vinyl tape on top but not pulled as tight. Experimenting
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That’s how I feel about mulberries, except I’m probably well below 50% with mulberries. When they take they seem to be really easy and the grafts grow vigorously with no issues, but most of the time they just never really get going.
I get nearly 100% on jujubes, and I can’t imagine you’re not more skilled at grafting than I am. I do mostly let my rootstocks get up to a pretty good size (typically around 6’ tall) before grafting, so my best guess is that that’s making the difference (unless there’s some climate or soil thing making the difference.)
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It’s early here for outdoor persimmon grafts, but I did start two W&T grafts of JT-02 on American rootstock indoors (for warmth) in mid-March. FWIW, this is my first attempt to graft persimmons. Both grafts look OK but one rootstock was fatter and more vigorous than the other. That one is growing especially well:
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Yeah, I purposefully left out mulberries because they are way down there… 
I think dealing with the sap on mulberries gives me a good excuse. I had a friend with a seedling (I guess) mulberry in her back yard and I collected a bit of it and put four pieces on an old Alba rootstock that has been grafted on for years and hasn’t had a successful graft. Every graft has taken and is growing… 
I say that as I am still waiting on juju grafts to prove themselves!
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A few pics of my grafts from the spring. A few have put on over 10 feet of growth!!
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Wow, those are incredible! Congrat’s ggrindle.
Most of my grafts from this year grew well, and then died. When I asked Cliff England about it, he surmised that the cambium contact was lost due to movement because I did not support the new growth.
But when I look at the failed grafts, many seem to have full, strong callousing.
This leads me to a question that has been brewing: Where is the cambium in a bark graft, i.e. what surfaces are we trying to maximize contact between? Cliff told me the cambium is on the surface of the woody part of the rootstock, not the inside of the bark that is peeled away. But then why does David Osborne scrape away the outer bark on the scion to expose the cambium there?
If anyone has light to shed on this I sure would appreciate it.
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I’m not saying I didn’t lose any. I probably lost a third of my persimmon grafts and half of my pecan and walnut grafts.
Who know why. Bird lands on it. Poor contact. Not rubbing buds off enough. Too early. Too cool. Too hot. Too late. Wind. Lack of skill…? Who knows
I just do more than I need knowing I’ll lose a few.
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Yes, that’s my approach as well, but I was really surprised this year when almost everything looked great and then died. I guess there’s always next year … but I just like to have some new knowledge in my bag of tricks to make the percentages better.
That is a VERY extensive link, thank you! It looks like the answer is right there on page 436:
“Some propagation methods, such as T-budding and bark
grafting, depend on the bark “slipping,” which means
that the vascular cambium is actively dividing, producing
young thin-walled cells on each side of the cambium.”
So it seems that both contact surfaces are possible sources of connection between the scion and rootstock in bark grafting.
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