When to remove a rubber band from grafted plants
Howdy!
I got an awesome grafted 4222 plumeria from Florida Colors back on 10/17/12. It's been growing under a CFL since I received it and is putting out new leaves so I'm assuming the graft took? It had recently been grafted and still has the rubber band on the graft union (that's how I received it). I'm thinking I should remove it soon however being a newbie I'd like some expert opinions if possible. :)
I've snapped some pics and would love some advice!
One side the graft union looks deep, the other side looks fine.
Thank you,
Robert
Comments (13)
mksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
11 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
Loveplants2 8b Virginia Beach, Virginia
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Planting my Tamora band from Rogue Valley
Comments (17)Susan-- I've grown quite a few Austins and have planted more in clients' gardens. I'm not as in touch with new releases from the last 4 years. I was a garden designer but I've been full-on teaching for 6 years and mothering a toddler. Tamora is an earlyish Austin but still one of my very favorites. I could post 1000 photos of her. She is gorgeous at every stage of bloom and always appears to glow from within. Her color is saturated enough to grab attention but soft enough to blend with just about any other shade of anything. She grows to a modest size and is easy to site. Then there's her scent.... Tamora is one of a handful of roses that is always fragrant for me. The only downside is that she's not so much long-lasting in a vase. Maybe a couple of days? My apologies that I droned on. I really am enthusiastic about this rose! Mlle. Melanie-- Oh, yes! Isn't the fragrance just the bomb? Carol...See Morewhen to graft
Comments (8)Bring rootsock inside so that the roots are growing. When you see about 1/2" white growth then they are ready. I take my scion wood when the temps are above freezing. I usually do this in Feb. You can start earlier Dec, Jan, but as you get closer to March the window closes. The reason I suggested Dax's instructions was because he spells this out in detail. Much better than I. Also If I need to take scion wood early - weeks before you graft then I will wrap in moist paper towel and place in a zip bag in the frig. I use grafting rubbers and then rap again with clear flexible grape grafters tape. I have also used wax, see above for type - I heat in an old crock pot and use a paint brush to apply. I am not sure of the temp of the melted wax, but you can get it too hot and may cause damage to the graft. I have gotten lucky and have many sucessful grafts. Each year I take a grafting class at Nancy Vermuelen's Nursery and always learn something new Good luck...See MoreRubber plant - remove mature leaf where a branch grew in the axil?
Comments (14)From Pam: But Al, don't you agree that the red shoot looks like the sheathing that a new leaf would have?? Yes - absolutely. Does a branch always grow from a cut at the leaf axil? In the case of broadleaf trees like ficus, maple, ......., yes. If you make the cut through the axil itself, the bud and other latent buds lined up behind it (insurance - in case the first bud dies) are likely to succumb to desiccation. In the OP's case, we can see the axillary bud remains viable because the pruning cut was distal to the axil such that only the internode was severed. The internode, predictably, died back to the first leaf proximal to the cut. The new leaf will appear, protected by the leaf sheath, but it will have an apical meristem (where extension growth originates) immediately distal to all the leaf. All the latent buds already formed and lined up in leaf axils already have an area of meristematic activity immediately distal to the nascent leaf in each bud. Many species of broadleaf trees will continue to activate these axillary buds as the tree grows. Maple is a plant you're really familiar with, so I'll use that as an example. Let's say I buy a maple and find a favorable trunkline in it (for bonsai), but there's a problem. There is a branch near the top precisely where a branch is needed, but it's much too thick/heavy. I can remove the thick branch and rely on an axillary bud to erupt BELOW the branch I stubbed off. This seems odd, because the axillary buds erupt from ABOVE the leaf to form a branch. If we think for a moment, the branch was above the leaf axil, which means the rest of the latent axillary buds would be BELOW the branch. This is a very significant issue in trees like Ficus benjamina "Too Little" because these latent axillary buds are very prone to erupting below larger branches that are an important part of the composition. To feed branches, photosynthate moves downward in the phloem, then turns upward to feed branches from below. The branches formed by the second third fourth ....... axillary buds in the row, growing immediately below older branches, sap strength from old branches (obviously they get first crack at the flow of energy into the branch) and weaken them severely or kill them outright if not removed in a timely manner. So even after a branch is solidly in play, those latent axillary buds are still a consideration. ******************************************************************************** Keep an eye on it, Andrea, and let us know if there is extension growth beyond the first leaf already forming. Keep up the good work, Pam. You're one of the best we have! Keep an eye on ToC, too. He's no slouch. Al...See MoreHow to avoid overwatering when trying to root a rubber plant
Comments (1)Use a rooting medium that makes it virtually impossible to over-water (the gritty mix). No matter what medium you use, you should be aware of the ht of any perched water column it supports, Armed with that knowledge will help you select a pot deep enough that when you stick the propagule, the basal end won't be submerged in that 100% saturated perched water table. This is an extremely important consideration. Also, if you take the cutting with scissors, pruners, or most other cutting tools, you get a certain degree of crushing of the cambium an sapwood. This leaves thousands of tiny shreds of material that are a natural home for fungal rot organisms, which quickly ruin your chance for success. Make the basal cut on the propagule extra long and then prepare the cutting by using an extremely sharp blade to clean up the cut. Also, make sure the cambium hasn't been pulled away from the underlying sapwood due to the tendency of opposing blades to crush. I use a grafting knife, honed on a .0030 water stone and stropped to a sharpness you can hardly even imagine - much, much sharper than a new razor blade or even a surgeon's scalpel. A straight edge razor blade or utility knife blade (if new), will do a reasonably good job of preparing the basal end of the propagule. Al...See MoreRobert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agocitizen_insane
11 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
rox146
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRobert (zone 7a, Oklahoma)
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agomksmth zone 7a Tulsa Oklahoma
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoMrFrangi
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agowally_1936
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agocitizen_insane
11 years agolast modified: 9 years agoMrFrangi,
I am still developing and evaluating the new technique including long term effects in comparison to the standard method. When I am done I am going to publish it in the PSA newsletter. The key is to cause the scion and rootstock to fuse at the cambium line before a callus develops in the center and pushes the two appart. Here is a graft that was broken off accidently (I hit it with the ladder's end). Note that the graft did not open up. It broke below the graft and there is a piece of the rootstock attached to it The graft line is the faint brownish line that runs from the bottom brown spot to the top at 30 degrees. Note that there is no callus between the scion and rootstock but the two are fused together! This type of graft makes a hairline graft scar and by far the strogest bond in the shortest time. I do not use cable ties with this technique.
Wally, grafting is a great technique that can be used in many instances. Some varieties are impossible to root, like Bill Moragne (only available grafted). A lot of varieties (a lot of the reds, Katie Moragne, Hilo Beauty. Pink Wave Rage, etc.) are very difficult to root and it is best to graft them. I do not graft all my trees, just the difficult ones. Most people are scared of grafts because they appear weak. There is nothing farther from the truth. Grafts, when fully healed, are the srongest pieces on the whole plant. A lot of people object to the graft scar as not aestetically nice. You can burry the graft union below the soil with no problems.
Another use of grafting is called 'downgrafting'. Plumerias grow leggy and tall and do not look vey good in pots. They also get blown down by wind easily. There are two ways to make more compact plants: a) root a multi-tip cutting from the top of a tree, and b) use 'downgrafting' to make a compact plant. The picture below shows a multi-tip top cutting. You can use iron fence post to pull the branches to train them to make a nice canopy.
However, most people do not have access to large multi-tip cuttings (very expensive and expensive to ship). So you start with normal multi-tip cuttings, like in the next two pictures. The problem is they grow leggy by the time they first bloom and split or the branches are bent from the mother tree.
You can reshape these plants by downgrafting. It is a technique where you remove a middle section of the branch and graft the tip back on. You can also use tips from other plants. This also allows you to orient the tips to get a nice shape plant. Here is a plant whose two out of the three branches were downgrafted. It makes a more compact plant with a nice shape.
Here is another plant where all three branches where downgrafted.
Another use of grafting is to make rainbow plants. You can graft multiple varieties on a single plant. You can pick the varieties so they all bloom together and you have many different colors on the same plant. You can also pick the varieties so they bloom at different times, in which case the plant becomes everblooming and blooms all year. No more plumerias that just have leafs most of the time. Here is an ever blooming plant with multiple tips of four different varieties.
As you can see you can use grafting to do some neat things. It is a great technique.
Regards,
Georgemurphy9999
9 years agoNicholas Moen
8 years ago
citizen_insane