A friend said the link is no good.

I'll try again.

Dax

Here is a link that might be useful: Dax's Grafting Videos 2011

Dax I went through all the videos and I believe if I had the understocks and equipment I could go outside right now and graft. You covered everything in them so I didn't even have any questions after watching them. Makes me want to try a couple just to see if I can do it. Good job.
Cher

Thanks Cher. It's a lot of fun too... especially when all those scions begin to push.

Now if the temps can be controlled - it's game on. That's what does em in. You gotta watch those grafts like a hawk as Spring comes along and begins to (over)heat that entire greenhouse. Those guys in the PNW don't have to worry about that. They don't see the sun like I do here.

Thanks again, Best Regards,

Dax

Great videos. Wish you had some brighter lighting.

That's my fault, I made the videos at night of course.

Watch it in full screen and pause when you want to see something. I couldn't see the green after my cuts until I did this. Then, you see what you need to see.

Dax

I've been a buyer and a planter...imformative videos.

I have a feeling I'll be visiting your nursery someday!

No nursery, no nursery, just fun.

Dax

Thanks Dax, the videos were great. Just one question, why not set up a humid tent in a basement or a room that stays relatively cool (60 degrees) in the house to save on fuel for heating a greenhouse? I live in an apartment in Minneapolis and being a cheap student the heat is usually set to 63....couldn't I graft indoors?

Some people do. Before you begin, figure out where the water is going to drain; remember you may need to spray chemicals; you're going to draw rodents and bugs... but you do what you can. You need a light recommended for the square feet of your chamber and possibly a track-system. And of course you find a way to meet the humidity requirements.

Take care,

Dax

Dax,
Your grafting tutorials helped get me started a couple of years ago. Thanks again!
Nate

Here's what happened today [still I'm going to post them (2)]

Damn video's I made today for youtube were real good but then my camera turned off and I didn't know it for about a minute. Then the camera itself shut down. So I turned it back on and kept recording not knowing I lost a minute. Then I tried uploading to youtube and it didn't process the whole file but still posted it. So I erased it. A bunch of sh!P...

There's no doubt you'll be able to fully see the mechanics except for this minor 1 minute slip up due to a camera not working as it should. I'll try to get them up asap.

Dax

Excellent videos Dax! Great presenting and informative style, you a lecturer?

I used to be a good public speaker but now I'm a hermit.
Thanks for the compliment.

Two new videos are up. I apologize for the 1-minute loss of data and naturally that one minute I was showing how to start the tying of the bud strip. Basically you hold the scion between the flap at the top of the cut and then roll your thumb back; then with your thumb rolled back you can "drop" the rubber band between your thumb and the "flap" and following the same motion, roll your thumb up to keep the rubber band, in place. Then you start wrapping that bud strip around and around until you've kept the scion so snug between the flap and the seedling (it often can require a lot of coordination/balance/and shifting of your body) until you are "damn sure" there's no miss of connection/no gaps after you've finished tying off of the bud strip.

Remember: roll thumb back while applying pressure against the scion, place the bud strip between your thumb and the flap then with the same motion roll the thumb up (forwards) to get a hold of that bud strip and then "once or twice around to keep the bud strip in place - to continue wrapping the rest of the work area.

Peace - lata. Next video will be after the scions have pushed.

Dax

Great! Anyone tried using clothes-pegs for holding the graft in place? (the two-piece type with a small spring in the middle)Just an idea... T.

No way no way no way Tunilla! :) How about a vice clamp or a pair of

Random Photos from Today as Promised to Dave of Kansas.

Abies alba Kamenna Lhota
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(3) Pinus sylvestris Bailey's Upright
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Pinus sylvestris Bailey's Upright
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(8) Pinus sylvestris Bailey's Upright
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Pinus koraiensis Shibamichi
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Pinus monticola Crawford
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Pinus edulis Lime (wow!) one of the best I've ever seen!
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(3) Pinus edulis Lime
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Pinus mugo Heinus Triumph
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(Double Graft) Pinus mugo Milky Way
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Pinus uncinata Susse Pearl
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Pinus mugo Schulz - the work required to graft on a bend on that seedling to keep the scion up against the flap and the seedling took an amazing amount of bending of this seedling in the opposite direction of the bend and watching each wrap every time I circled the bud strip, securing the scion so 100% of it was wedged into my "work area". It's similar to using two hands but needing three or four hands to "make life easier". Grafting's an art. It's indeed as recognizable as being a medical surgeon. The Slimmer Trimmer is what I'm using to individually clip the needles off the 2-needled pines (scions and if necessary, the understock... as in the case of mugo pine. Scot's pine understocks the needles easily come off by pulling them off with your hands).

Pinus mugo Schulz
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(Double Graft) Pinus mugo Schulz
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Gonna get back to grafting. I gotta go!

Lata,

Dax

Vicegrips...lol :0)

Dax

Hahaha, or a staple gun or super-glue...or get your grandmother to stitch them together! No, seriously Dax, I wasn't trying to make fun out of your VERY instructive grafting course; rather (as always) thinking of gadgets that could make the job easier. That said, I have never even tried to graft conifers, so the fiddling about with tape or strips SEEMS complicated,but as you rightly point out, grafting -as so many handycrafts- is an art,where practice makes perfect.T.
PS I'm getting in touch with a local nursery to see if they can supply me with some 2-3 year old pine and spruce seedlings,so I can at least have a go at grafting some of the conifers in the garden,where some pruning needs to be done e.g. Pinus thunbergii cv's ,mugo 'Mops',Picea pungens 'Hoopsii' and 'Glauca Globosa' and also Cedrus deodara 'Pendula.
I've got the greenhouse watered and there is a real steamy springtime atmosphere in there.That should get the young coniferstocks going in no time at all! We'll see. As you say, just for the fun of it.

Have a go, you'll probably do well.
I've exhausted myself, now I have some time to do other things until I have more scions to graft. Whew! It was a busy 2-3 days here.

Dax

Great pics and videos, Dax.
I see you're an American Spirit man... ;-)
I used to be, too.

Josh

Yep, used to make my own cause the cans could make 8 packs for 15 bucks, then the price of all tobacco skyrocketed so it's now the same price to make your own or simply purchase a carton. That wasn't that too long ago.

I appreciate any "thanks".

Take care brotherman,

Dax

Dax-

To get around the government tax on cigarette tobacco many purveyors simply relabled their cigarette tobacco "pipe tobacco". They didn't change the product. Unless you're really tied to American Spirit you can roll your own for about a dollar a pack. I actually started rolling my own because the wife was giving me grief for dropping all kinds of coin on conifers.

Thanks for the time and effort to show all you've done Dax. Very nice stuff indeed.

tj

Awesome Snowden, could you send me an email with a link, please? Thanks... I'd really appreciate that.

Tommy Tsuga, thanks old buddy.

Dax

More photos:
I'm nearing the end... good timing can be said. Dax

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