Reviving dry scions?

[Bart]

A few weeks ago I received scion wood that wasn’t shipped in a plastic bag. They were just wrapped in Newspaper which was probably moist to start with, was completely dry by the time I opened the package. To add insult to injury, the package spent a few days in the fridge while I was out of town. When I finally opened the package everything was very dry looking. I put the wood in a new bag and a piece of moist paper towel a out it back in the fridge.

I realize that I should have asked this a while back, but is there anything I can do to revive the dry looking wood? I was thinking of something like cutting the bottom tips off and putting them in a glass of water for a few hours. Or maybe wrapping them in that stretchable grafting tape to conserve moisture.

Is any of that a good idea or will that do more ahem than good?

[scottfsmith]

Your idea is exactly what you want to do. I have done this many times and it nearly always rescued the scions. I usually put them in an inch or so of water in a glass and put the whole thing in the fridge for the better part of a day.

[Bart]

Thanks! Do you wrap them in tape afterwards or put them back in bags?

[scottfsmith]

I just put them in a bag with a touch of moisture in it.

This re-hydrating step can even be a good idea on scions that don’t look too bad but may have been stored a little dry. The fatter they are when put on the tree the more reserves they have before the graft needs to stick and start feeding it.

[fruitnut]

I’ve taken to rehydrating my fig cuttings before rooting. They need to be well hydrated in order to root or function as scions on grafts. The soak in fridge idea is good where mold is a concern or if one is concerned about the scion breaking dormancy. Some people start their fig cuttings in water at room temperature for days or weeks.

I’ve also soaked grape cuttings before rooting. I’ve read that this is a very important step. I’m also going to soak any stone fruit scions in the fridge going forward if I have any concerns about them being somewhat dried out. It may not always be obvious that a cutting is somewhat dried out. We go to a lot of effort to keep the scion from drying out after grafting. It only makes sense to start with a fully hydrated scion.

[Barkslip]

I do it differently. I snip off both ends and (if you have Superthrive) add it to the water. I use a tupperware/kitchen bowl that’s longer than the scion. Submerge the scion for 15 minutes. Place something on top of the wood to hold it underwater. Remove and allow to dry completely - seal the ends again & back into the fridge with a moist piece of paper towel that you’ve squeezed every last bit of water from.

Dax

[fruitnut]

Submerge the scion for 15 minutes

Dax:

I’d have to question if 15 minutes is enough to fully rewet most scions. I’d think it better to treat the scion like a dry piece of wood than a water permeable stick. The way to find out would be to take several groups of identical dried out scions, weigh them, soak them for various periods up to several days, dry off the surface water, reweigh, and calculate percentage of water gain.

I might well try that soon.

[Barkslip]

I agree. I wouldn’t submerge for more than 30 minutes at a time, however. I’d do 15’s until the wood had the right look to it. I should’ve wrote that but was being lazy. Not like me.

Dax

[fruitnut]

So I went out and cut 28 smallish caliper fig scions that weight 190 g. I’ll let them dry on the counter until weight loss slows down. I’ll weigh them every day to tell. Then I’ll split them into 7 lots of four cuttings each, weigh each lot, soak each for a different time from 15 minutes up to several days, and then report back here.

So I went out and cut 28 peach scions. I’ll do the same for them.

[ltilton]

Science!

[Barkslip]

Excellent!!!

Dax

[applenut]

You should see what the USDA-ARS does to dry and re-hydrate budwood
https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/geneva-ny/plant-genetic-resources-research/docs/apple-collection/
I’m amazed this works; once again, the finger of God

[aheartforhome]

I just got scionwood Monday – it had been wrapped in wet paper towels and plastic bags. I added a few more wet paper towels and wrapped both ends and put in back in a plastic bag, but loosely, and had my husband take it to a cellar we have (a little cooler than a regular basement). I was too sick with a cold bug to think of much else. Then today I read I should put them in the fridge and in a sealed plastic bag. I also read a recommendation to put latex paint on the cut ends. Should I try to rehydrate them before doing that or are they likely to be just fine from these few days? We did have rain the better part of yesterday so the humidity in the air has been pretty good.

[fruitnut]

Should I try to rehydrate them before doing that or are they likely to be just fine from these few days? We did have rain the better part of yesterday so the humidity in the air has been pretty good.

It sounds like they should be fine. If rehydration is needed I’d do it right before grafting.

[fruitility]

I recently got some fig cuttings that were drying out enough that slight wrinkling/shrinking of the bark was evident. I clipped the damaged bottoms off (45 degrees) to get a fresh edge with hopefully more live tissue and stood the cuttings up in a jug with an inch of water that was spiked with 1/2 tsp of superthrive, which is much more than the stingy recommended dose. After several hours of slow wicking, I sealed the ends with candle wax and placed the now-plump sticks in the fridge inside of the typical plastic bags with moist paper towel to maintain humidity. I will cleft graft them to a tree that I am in the process of topworking, going from open-eyed/bug infested Brown Turkey to closed-eyed, sweet gel filled yellow Kadota and this new type. After 2 years grafting on 7 trees, the best long-term grafts are cleft grafts on branches 3/8" to 3/4" thick. Twin bark grafts on 1-1/2" to 3" thick branches may look great for a year or two, but strong winds can break them off, or they may eventually just dry out and die for ??? reason after many months of growing very well.

[Bart]

Does anyone think it should be standard practice to clip the bottom end of scions and put them in the fridge over night before you plan to graft?

[speedster1]

Does anyone think it should be standard practice to clip the bottom end of scions and put them in the fridge over night before you plan to graft?

I’m not sure I understand your question Bart. If you have scions they should already be stored in the fridge up until the point you decide to use them. Only then would I clip the ends to ensure they are still viable and green.

[VSOP]

When I do fig cuttings and plant them for rooting, I put a large ziploc bag over the entire pot/cutting to keep in the humidity. (I do poke a few holes to allow some air to come in.

Would this be a good idea for trying to get grafts to “take” for scions that you’re afraid may be on the dry side?

Just kind of thinking out loud here in my beginner ignorance.

[fruitnut]

Would this be a good idea for trying to get grafts to “take” for scions that you’re afraid may be on the dry side?

I’d make sure the scion isn’t dry by soaking in water before grafting. I’ll have information soon on roughly how long it takes to rehydrate a dry scion. Then yes you need some method to keep the scion stick from drying out before the graft heals. Many do this by covering the scion with parafilm. I use parafilm and cover that tightly for two weeks with aluminum foil. I just removed a plastic bag from grafts that I couldn’t cover with foil. The bag was on 10 days and was also to warm the graft a little. I haven’t used a plastic bag outside nor often, the use was in my greenhouse on nectarine.

[Bart]

I’m not sure I understand your question Bart. If you have scions they should already be stored in the fridge up until the point you decide to use them. Only then would I clip the ends to ensure they are still viable and green.

What I mean is, regardless of the quality of the wood when you first receive it, or the quality of the wood when you’re ready to graft, would it be a good idea to “nip and soak” ALL scions the night before you intend to graft?

My thought was even good, fat, healthy wood could benefit from absorbing some new water before it gets attached to a branch.