I like cleft grafts for dormant grafting (mostly apple and pear). The few times I tried practicing W&T with pruning scraps, I messed it up so badly I decided to not risk an actual graft that way.

MrsLizzyKate

The W&T is the easiest dormant graft that I do. As long as you graft similar sizes you get a high percentage of takes. I started my 200 or so grafts around Christmas time. A word of caution is to stop this method about 2-3 weeks before bud break. All my grafts are either apples, pears, or apple to pear. Good luck, Bill

I have never tried to graft during full dormancy, as there is some risk of dehydration, animal damage, or the scion emerging partially during a warm spell but not having enough "legs" to survive a succeeding cold snap.

I do all my spring grafts when the new leaves are "the size of squirrel ears". (This can be problematic if you can't get the squirrel to pose long enough to compare, but it works somehow ...) Main thing is to have the tree in an active growth phase, with plenty of juices flowing. For spring grafting I use cleft, side graft, whip and tongue, bark, chip, and occasional budding if the bark is slipping. Chips and buds are usually just for backup grafts.

I'm sure there are some differences based on the particular kinds of trees. My experience is primarily with persimmons. Here is my general understanding:

With bark grafting, you are pealing the bark back from the wood. While some variations of bark grafting techniques do try to do come side cambium layer alignment to improve acceptance, bark grafting does not rely on cambium alignment. You need to wait until the sap is running. This allows the bark to easily peal from the wood leaving some cambium cells on both the bark and wood side.

Most other forms of grafting focus on some kind alignment of cambium layers between the scion and root stock. This can be accomplished anytime. However, with all forms of grafting, there is a race going on. The scion is slowly degrading from the time it is cut. The race is between scion decay and knitting of the graft to allow nutrients to flow into the scion reversing the decay process to growth.

That is why we do things like using parafilm on scions to keep them from drying out until the graft takes. So, while most of these other grafting techniques can be done in the dormant season, the earlier you perform them, the greater chance the scion will decay beyond rejuvenation.

That is my best understanding to date. Smarter guys than I will correct me where I'm wrong...

ForestAndFarm

Thanks for the bark graft explanation. I have been considering doing some grafts with this method. I'm assuming that the scion wood is collected now and stored in the refrigerator until the sap is flowing well enough for the bark to slip. Is a damp paper towel in a zip-lock bag sufficient for storing the scions? Thanks, Bill

Bill
yes. You can store your scions that way for a couple of months. If I needed to keep the scions say from late December then I would use 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar mixed to prevent molds. Either way, I am still checking the zip lock bag monthly for mold. If mold developed then wash the scions with dishwasher soap and re zip lock and store in the fridge until time to graft.

Tony

Thanks Tony

These scions were harvested in the middle of December in the greenhouse environment and I rinsed them with 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar and they are still fresh.

Tony

Forest a perfect explanation!

That is why IâÂÂm using parafilm on scions to keep them from drying out.
Since iâÂÂm using parafilm most of the cleft grafts survive this critical phase.
Apple, sweet cherry, and apricot

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Alcedo

2010ChampsBCS,

If you have access to long-fiber sphagnum (home depot carries it) I would use it rather than a damp paper towel. (This is not regular sphagnum peat moss you buy in bales). Simply take a handful and soak it. Then, squeeze out all the water you can with your fist and put it in the bag with the scions.

It serves the same purpose as the paper towel to keep them hydrated, but it has anti-fungal properties.

If you use paper towels, be sure to check them every few weeks and change them if you see mold to keep it from spreading.

Good Luck!

TonyTran
Your scions do look fresh. After the vinegar/water rinse do you leave them wet and bag without something like a damp paper towel to hold additional moisture? Thanks Bill

ForestAndFarm
Thanks for the tip on using long-fiber sphagnum. Bill

Alcedo
The parafilm looks like it would work well. Do you wrap over the dormant buds?

I had a guy tell me once to use synthetic cloth (like rags from old synthetic cloth shirts, etc.) instead of paper towels to store the scions and keep them moist. He said it wouldn't mold like paper towels. It may help, but I still use paper towels. If they mold, I just change them.

Bill
I am still covered the scions with moist water/vinegar solution. I removed it to take the display photo.

Tony

Thanks Tony

2010ChampsBCS

Yes, i do wrap them totaly.
Similarly, all dormant buttons
buttons will break through it.

alcedo

By the way, I have found that not all parafilm is the same. The parafilm I first bought did not work well. It held in the moisture but you had to tie it off at both ends.

After doing some reading, I started buying Parafilm-M. This stuff is waxy and has some stretch. When you wrap it tightly it stretches out and thins. It sticks to itself and you can just twist the end after the top bud to seal it.

I buy it in 1" wide rolls but generally cut it into 1/2 wide strips when using it to wrap scions. I use it in the full 1" width to seal the root stock cut for a bark graft in the spring. I find that sometime liquid sealants will leak down into the graft and cause failure. This parafilm can be stretched across the top of the cut along the scion. This keeps any liquid (latex paint or whatever) sealant used to seal the cut from leaking into the graft.

F&F
Thanks for the pictures showing how the parafilm works for you and the follow up details on the different types. I see 1" parafilm labeled as nursery grafting tape, but the only one I see that is specifically labelled parafilm-m is 2" or wider. Would the one in this link work?

Here is a link that might be useful: parafilm on ebay

Thanks Alcedo

Great info on why bark grafting works--I'd wondered. The vinegar tip is great too. Thanks all! Question--for whip and tongue grafts, should I only graft onto vertical stock, or would the graft still be vigorous enough at an angle of, say, 45--75 degrees?

A note on parafilm--I researched everything I could find online and it looks like even though there is now a parafilm tape just for grafting, grafters with experience seem to like the original parafilm-M better. But the grafting one is stronger so you don't have to use another material for support with it. Just got my parafilm-M in the mail today, and yes, the narrowest I could find was 2 inches wide. It's very stretchy--more fun than silly putty. It was 75 here yesterday so I guess I should get my dormant grafts done soon!

BTW great photos, too!

zendog,

You are correct. I misspoke. It is 2" wide that I cut to 1" wide strips.

I also use the 2" wide Parafilm M.

Okay, the votes are in. I'll get the 2" . Thanks.

My daughter the chemist gave me a few feet of parafilm m/2". I hit the back yard orchard as fast as a not so young guy could go. Did you ever see the Lipton tea commercial where he takes a sip and replies something like where have I been all my life? Well that's how I felt after giving the tape a try. This stuff is so easy to work with. Ordered some from Amazon today. Thanks for everyone's suggestions on how to use it. Bill

Yep. 2" Parafilm M for me. Been using it for 20 years. A 250 ft roll lasts me several years.
I cut it into 6" lengths, then split those lengthwise into 3 more-or-less 2/3" wide strips.
Had a chance to use some Parafilm 'grafting tape' during a presentation on grafting that I was giving to a Master Gardeners class...did not like it. Thicker, doesn't stretch or adhere to itself like good ol' Parafilm M.

Wrap graft union and entire scion with parafilm - but for most purposes it does not have enough material strength to hold a graft together by itself - you need a 'strength' wrap - whether rubber bands(what I use), actual grafting/budding rubbers, Buddy tape, rubberized electrical splicing tape, strips cut from plastic bread bags, cotton string, surveyor's plastic tape..the list goes on.
A friend, who for decades operated a major fruit tree nursery, just used plain ol' masking tape on apple/pear whip&tongue grafts - but those callus in so quickly that you don't need a whole lot of 'support' from your wrapping materials.

"Wrap graft union and entire scion with parafilm - but for most purposes it does not have enough material strength to hold a graft together by itself - you need a 'strength' wrap - whether rubber bands(what I use), actual grafting/budding rubbers, Buddy tape, rubberized electrical splicing tape, strips cut from plastic bread bags, cotton string, surveyor's plastic tape..the list goes on."

That was well put, and exactly what I do. For a few years I went w/o the parafilm and finally listened to Lucky and others. It made a big difference for me. I wouldn't try to graft without it now.

What you guys said about parafilm, with the observation that parafilm sold as grafting material did better when fresh then it has after some seasons (but the deeper you get into the roll the better the aged stuff seems to be). That said, I think my next purchase should be of the "M" variety ... would rather buy 1/2" wide strips, though!

By-the-by, sometimes when I'm wrapping the exposed part of the scion with parafilm I damage the graft by clumsily whipping the tape around the wood. It's useful to wrap the top part of the scion before grafting so that there is less whipping to do. And don't forget Johnny Wax at the tips of the scions and anywhere else you want to seal things up if the parafilm feels clumsy.

I always do it that way. I use parafilm-M to wrap the scion leaving myself about an inch or so at the bottom for the actual graft. I've used a lot of things to bond the graft. If a W&T graft fits perfectly, with some trees the parafilm-M is enough, but with some kinds of grafting (bark grafting is a great example) pressure is a very important component. Of all of the things I've tried so far, I think electrical tape works best. It has both stretch and adhesion and is inexpensive. This allows for good pressure without having to tie or half-hitch it to the scion. It is that tie-off process I find awkward.

One more little trick I've found with electrical tape is this. At the very end, I fold the tape over and stick the last half inch to itself. This creates a little tab at the end that doesn't stick. The tape adhesion is enough to keep the graft in place until it fully calluses. It is then easy to grab the tab and unwrap the tape before it constricts growth.