Sorry pictures are out of order.
Picture 1 is toka plum grafted onto santa rosa plum
Picture 2 is side by side of indian free peach grafted onto contender peach
Picture 3 is superior plum grafted onto santa rosa plum
Picture 4 is another side by side of indian free peach grafted onto contender peach
Picture 5 is dormant pruning of peach tree. I will prune out a couple more just waiting to see what grafts take
My technique was cleft grafting. I wrapped the graft with parafilm. Then I used pruning sealer to cover the graft union and the tips of the scions.
Question 1: I was wondering if I should wrap the exposed scions with parafilm to prevent desiccation?
Question 2: It is suppose to rain really heavy tonight and I’m concerned of water seepage into the graft union. Should I cover the grafts with plastic bags to prevent water seepage?
Yes you should cover the whole graft and the graft union with parafilm. The grafts have better chances of survival this way.
Like Antmary says wrapping the exposed scions with parafilm is best. I have problems when I try to wrap already-grafted scions, so I wrap mine before I graft them. But you can do it- just be gentle. Or, paint them with melted johnny wax or some such.
I don’t think any water is going to get into your grafts- it looks like you sealed them up nicely.
I wrapped the scions with parafilm and bagged them for the night because the tar was still wet. I’m actually not confident any of the grafts are going to work upon revisiting them. The tar seeped into the graft union. I bet it’s going to gunk up the graft especially since I was fidgeting with them even more while wrapping. I’ll update the outcome.
I don’t know if I’ve ever been fully confident of any of my grafts. Some I feel better about, or at least less bad, but until the day they try to take over and bear fruit I worry about them at least a little.
I used pruning sealer for various purposes when I just started growing trees, and I don’t any more. I don’t think it’s good for trees and especially for young grafts.
My technique is similar to Maria’s and Mark’s — I cover the entire scion with parafilm before grafting, then cover the entire graft area with another layer or two of parafilm. This creates a complete water insulating cover around the scion and the graft area but does not interfere with the healing/callusing process.
In addition, I apply splicing rubber tape around the graft to tighten the contact between the scion and the understock; the tape can be applied above or below parafilm, it does not matter. The splicing tape is stretching and self-adhesive; I stretch it as strong as possible without breaking it.
I use the same approach with double cleft grafts like those in your photos — I cover both scions entirely with parafilm and use parafilm to cover the entire graft area around and between the scions. And splicing rubber tape around the graft as described above.
I anticipate you being right about the pruning sealer possibly being toxic. This was my first attempt so I’ll chalk it up as a learning process.
I have top worked trees similarly and had no issues. Cleft graft, vinyl tape around stub and union, Treecote sealant on stub and scion ends worked just fine. The stubs healed over perfectly.