Does anyone use melted candle wax for grafting? I have mostly used parafilm and it is very good for covering scions. I also have a wax ring. I do some long scion grafts that I think could be covered better with melted wax and recycle at the same time. I’m just not sure if it is suitable and if it is how to prevent damaging the wood with hot wax. Any comments are welcome. Bill
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I’ve not used it on grafts Bill but I’ve seen YouTube videos of people that use it. I’d think it would be a hassle out in the field trying to keep it melted.
I have used candle wax on scion wood. Last year I harvested some wood and brought it into my kitchen to sort and bag up. I throw a couple of teacandles into my wife’s candle warmer and it worked great. Once the candles melted I just dipped them in about a quarter inch and they sealed up really good.
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Thanks for the reply. My fruit trees are in my back yard so I think I can melt the wax inside and cover the long scions outside after attachment. I only do a few of these at one time. Apparently the low melting temperature of the wax doesn’t cause heat damage to the scions. I’m going to wax several this season. Thanks
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Bill,
I always receive some scions with the ends dipped in wax.
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Our climate here is pretty dry so I use parafilm, paraffin wax, or bees wax on the entire scion. I have a wax ring and put some of it on some Black Currant cuttings just the other day. The wax ring is pretty pliable without to much warming.
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The gentleman who taught me how to graft used to use acrylic craft spray to cover the scion once it was set. It worked great. I have used it many times as well.
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Adding to Auburn’s question: is it ok to use beauty wax 
(Hair removal type) to cover grafts? I’m thinking it might work better than candle wax since it’s in a container already.
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I know one orchard it’s that use the wax people put there hands or feet in to dip hundreds of scion ends at a time. It works extremely well.
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Both grafting wax and plumbing ring wax are cheap and easy to use. I wonder if paraffin would be too stiff to retain a seal in wind if used around a graft. I imagine it would serve well for ends.
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I use a soy based wax with a low melting point to seal bench grafts.
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grated candlewax is almost as tacky as paraffin and clay which you could mold with your fingers and doesn’t have to be very hot. You could probably take a pinch of candle flakes and squeeze them onto crevices you want sealed, as well as a sealant over wider surfaces.
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I use parafilm and then smear some toilet ring wax over the top and bottom edges to help keep it sealed. Interesting idea using spray on acrylic, wonder if a layer of latex paint would work just as well…
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Acrylic craft spray sounds like it would meet my needs. Can it be purchased at a Walmart or Home Depot? What brand/color do you use? Thanks, Bill
Bill that looks like it would work just fine. I used to get my wife to buy the cheapest stuff they had from Michael’s or Hobby Lobby! I think she even got some from dollar tree before. It worked great for me and for the person who taught me grafting. Just make sure everything is hit and you can go preatty heavy with it as it seems to give no resistance to bud break.
Drew
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I think you guys may be putting too much into this. You can achieve really high graft take rates just by wrapping the scion in parafilm. If you have good technique and use parafilm on the scions you are going to succeed.
If you don’t use parafilm I’d try using some form of bees wax as a sealant. The only time I ever use wax on a graft is when I have larger open cleft or rind graft.
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