This is my first year grafting and I started by putting 4 different pluot/pluerry varieties on 4 of my trees. I added Flavor Supreme, Sweet Treat Pluerry, Flavor Queen and Dapple Dandy to my already growing 3+ year old Santa Rosa Plum, Flavor Grenade, Flavorosa and Flavor King.
Super excited to say that at least one graft on each tree is growing. So far my success rate for initial pop is 5/8. Since they all started to pop this week, I’m hopeful that some of the remaining 3/8 also take. I did whip and tongue since I had good matching diameters and thought that was easiest for me since the tongue seems to hold them together when I was learning how to tape them while holding a union.
I grafted those trees while everything was dormant wrapped in parafilm and waxed the cut tips.
I have other later grafts where the trees haven’t woken up yet, but I am super excited that my first attempt worked. Yay!
Congrats! i wish i could do whip and tongue but im too shaky to get it good so i use the cleft which is more forgiving. not as pretty but in 3-4 years it all disappears anyway.
I totally understand. I think I cut each one 3-5 times till it looked correct and they fit together. I know they say one swipe with the grafting knife is best, but I’m timid with the knife since I don’t want to get cut. And so far, my multiple cuts seem to be paying off. I’ll be trying other graft cuts too I’m sure.
Hi Erica,
It’s always encouraging to see buds swelling but keep in mind that until you see sustained growth of about 3-4” you really won’t know if the graft has taken. At least you know the scions were viable. It takes about 3 weeks under ideal temperature conditions, after grafting date, for callousing to be complete enough to support nutrient flows. Once that occurs you should notice a strong growth spurt signaling clearly that the callousing was successful. On the other hand, buds that initially pop wilt and fade away signaling what you don’t want to see.
I noticed you did not apply parafilm over the entire scion which is why I am responding; it’s best practice to seal the entire scion in some way. I prefer parafilm over other methods the prevent desiccation during the callousing period. However; I would not disturb any of your grafts to apply parafilm now, but for new grafts. Applying it now would disturb the graft union and disrupt callousing.
Wishing you success
Dennis
Kent, Wa
The free knife that came in the grafting tool kit turned out to be a very good blade that sharpens superbly. It is fine on 1/4" or larger caliper. But too large for smaller scions. The two single bevel grafting knives I bought from amazon are awful. They refuse to take an edge.
So I dug out an old and small lockable Opinel and ground the blade to single bevel.
Yes, but it seems like I manage to twist my wrist in the process and end up with a curl in the scion. Eventually I make it work, but it isn’t the smooth and elegant thing I’m aiming for.
I think as you cut, the remaining wood becomes more flexible and bends away from the knife, making the cut longer along a curve. I have the same problem that I try to compensate for. When the wood is flexible, concave is fine because it flattens into a plane.
Some people compensate for this be supporting the wood with their thumb. I haven’t practiced that enough to be skilled at it, but I get great results without needing to most of the time.
