We’ve contemplated problems with parafilm here before. Simply put, some is not as good as some other, and if you’ve only had one, or the other, then that’s likely to determine your view of parafilm.
Well, I’ve had both. And it’s like the" little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her for’ead. When she was good, she was very, very good, and when she was bad, she was horrid."
My parafilm purchase this year turned out to be horrid. It wouldn’t stretch properly without tearing, and it wouldn’t stick well when you wrapped with it.
I tried to make it work with scions I sent out, and I apologize to those I sent scions to wrapped with that crap. I thought I was making it stick, really I did, but when I went to graft with my own scions that way I was not happy. It unwrapped itself, wouldn’t stick - just not what I wanted at all.
I’m thinking seriously of just setting up a wax pot like Dax does. I don’t have a lot of scions to deal with, but it would be worth the little extra hassle just to have it right!
I keep hearing that, and maybe I will. But you have to admit, it’s pricey! My problem (aside from the fact that I’m cheap) is that I just don’t do a lot of grafting and I have trouble justifying the outlay for a dozen or so grafts/year.
I’ve tried buddy tape either, Mark. I’ve also bought parafilm “new in the box” and if I recall they were not individually wrapped. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
This year I bought parafilm from an eBay seller that had them individually wrapped. I had to buy (3) instead of (6) which is a box. The first one, which I’m still on is like bubblegum being stretched a mile.
Maybe it’s good to buy less on parafil. I love the stuff.
Hey Dax! My parafilm purchase this year was from a reputable supplier (and I’m not mentioning the company because it’s the only problem I’ve had with them and I’m going to mention it to them first) and I bought just a roll of 1/2" and a roll of 1" - plenty for me before it grows old.
But it wasn’t even as good as the tail end of a roll I’ve had for years, although it looked fine.
Well, nobody ever told me life was supposed to be easy, ay?
Parafilm M is for lab work. It is high quality parafilm. I think M may stand for Medical. I used to buy the cheap one. Not worth my time and aggravation.
Parafilm M breaks down prematurely in the sun. Removing the backing paper is an aggravation I can live without. I have used it a lot and after using buddy tape I will never go back.
On the cost issue:
Buddytape works out to about 4 -8 cents per graft depending on how liberal you are and how big the scionwood is. You will spend about $1 for about a dozen to two dozen grafts.
if there’s another thing to be learned here and it’s this: when dealing with short scions like where I sent a single bud to a friend this Spring a long ways away but only a week’s trip, the wood dried out and I dabbed it with wax. had I hydrated 1) or 2) had I put a piece of damp paper towel (best choice) the scion would’ve been fine. what I’m discussing is a 2" scion with a nice bud on the end . . . (NO WAX / no parafilm - just a slightly damp towel with all water squished from it.)
I know you’re right, but you’re not thinking like a cheap person! We just have trouble putting out the upfront amount if we figure there’s any way to get around it and still get the results we want.
The only problem I’ve had is with peaches. Buds tend to swell a lot and break the seal prematurely. Other wise, I’ve never had problem with Parafilm M. I can see it being a problem in hotter areas though.
I’ve heard from @Lucky_P that it happens in Kentucky, also, so that would disprove sunlit areas vs. Ram’s Pacific Northwest, climate. That’s my impression of this.
I’ve always grafted with Parafilm… Fred Blankenship got me started with it over 25 years ago when I was a newbie. Scion and graft union get at least two layers of well-stretched Parafilm M. Then, I overwrap the union with masking tape, and then a #64 rubber band. Sometimes, for slow-callusing stuff like nut trees, I’ll put another layer of masking tape or aluminum foil over the union to delay photodegradation of the rubber band.
I would NEVER expect Parafilm alone to be sufficient wrapping for any dormant-scion graft… and probably not enough, by itself, for a growing-season T-bud…it’s got no structural strength to speak of.
I only use PARAFILM M… NOT the Parafilm Grafting Tape… don’t like it… it doesn’t stretch and self-adhere, in my hands, like the good ol’ “M” does.
I buy it from the diagnostic lab that I retired from… a 2"x250ft roll cost me less than $20 when I bought one last year… I cut it into 6" x 2/3 inch strips for my grafting kit. Most grafts use 1-1/2 to 2 strips.
I’ll admit that I have had some batches that seemed to be ‘weaker’ than others, possibly due to age… but…probably 10 yrs ago, I grabbed a couple of tubes of 20"x50ft Parafilm that they were throwing away when cleaning out storerooms in preparation for an accreditation inspection… these were probably ordered back in the early 1970s, and had been stored in a non-climate controlled storeroom in the basement/mechanical area of the lab for 3+ decades. The Parafilmin those rolls is still workable, but seems to have lost a little of its strength, and breaks more easily while being stretched than strips cut from my new roll do… so I mainly keep it for use when I do something stupid like knock a big chunk of bark off a tree with the lawnmower - I’ll replace the bark, wrap with a WIDE piece of Parafilm and overwrap with black electrical tape. If I HAD to use this roll, I’m sure it would suffice… it’d just slow me down a bit, as I’d have to be more careful in stretching.