Well, I am NOT a pro grafter, but have done some m/b work. I topworked an Illinois Everbearing tree (tiny, tiny fruit) a year ago with 3 varieties of other m/b with about 15 cleft grafts that all grew. Regretfully, all 3 kinds produced poor fruit this Spring, so they will also get replaced next Spring with Shangri La.......Here goes a very wordy rendition of the steps. NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE TERM "THE ONLY WAY TO GRAFT MULBERRIES". Dormant scions in ref. in bag with moist paper towel until tree begins to grow. Spray graft area on r/s with 91% alcohol. Sanitize knife, pruner, fingers with same. Shave wedge on scion for cleft graft with flat, symmetrical sides and gradual taper of 2" when scion is pencil thick (longer when thicker). Spray water on wedge to keep it wet while slitting r/s. Clip clean cut with minimal bark damage on r/s Use alcohol to re-sanitize blade and fingers and remove debris from scion shaving.Slit r/s branch (3/8" to 1/2" thick)with sharp, thin blade slowly, pushing downward lightly and rocking. Keep cut centered and slice down to at least 2-1/2" for a 2" wedged scion to fit. Quickly blot excess water from scion wedge with facial tissue and gently insert in slot, aligning on one side if scion is thinner than r/s. Wrap graft area with stretched Parafilm. Use 1/4" wide rubber band cut open to spiral wrap(like a barber pole with a space between bands) under tension and thus hold 3 pcs. snug as one pc. Use 1" wide plastic flagging (white or light green) to wrap on top of the band/graft area and tape in place with a strip of Skotch tape. Spray a light coat of acrylic clear coat paint over 100% of the uncovered scion. Make a white plastic sleeve/tent( from a grocery bag) about 2" wide by 8" long to loosely cover the grafted scion. The tent is taped closed on the upper end only and a strip of Skotchtape holds it in place so wind won't remove it. In 2-3 weeks, leaves may begin forming, so remove the tents. In Fall, carefully slice into wrapping over graft and patiently remove the wrapping so as not to tear the tender bark while pulling the Parafilm away from it. There are reasons for these steps and items, however flawed, redundant, unnecessary, and otherwise bothersome they may be. I do not mind. In fact, if I am in a rush, the grafting will just wait until I can do it patiently and thoroughly. If I can wait years for a tree to grow and produce fruit, I can sure wait minutes to finish a graft on it.

That's something I'd be happy to do. Like Scott and several other folks in this forum we're collectors. I'll be grafting on M111 (and limited M7) this spring. Like a couple previous posts said - you just need to cut pencil sized sticks from last year's growth. If you can find lengths from 6-12" that would be great. Wrap a strip of masking tape around them and write something to differentiate the 2 trees with a black marker. Put them in a plastic ziplock bag with a damp paper towel and mail in one of those bubble envelopes. If you can send some pics of the tree and as much information as you have on the origin, condition of the tree etc. it would be helpful down the road to identitfy them. I'd do it for free if you'd send me a couple extra sticks for my collection. Thanks, Rick Godsil, Wagon Wheel Orchard, Gardner, Kansas The link below has my address and email etc Here is a link that might be useful: Rick's blog

Since you guys were talking about different grafting techniques, I thought I'd ask about my grafted Adenium. I noticed that the grafted scion has (I'm guessing) grown its own roots and caudex? That's the only assumption that I can come up with. You can clearly see the "V" notch in the original caudex. But then, if you look closer, the grafted section has its own roots and its own caudex. If it already had these, then there would've been no reason to graft it on to another caudex. Now it seems as though the newer caudex has outgrown the original. Can the grafted scions grow their own caudex? I've never seen this before on an Adenium...

When your mango seed sends up two or more plants if one is signifiantly larger than the other(s) it probably will be s new variety; the others should be mirror images of the mother tree (subject to minor changes). One of my Kent seeds produced two plants. I clef-grafted the slightly smaller plant and the graft 'took' but died while we were on a trip last month. Four new plants are visible around the base of the original seedling and I can see some green leaflets beginning to indicate a fifth new plsnt. All will be Kents, with no more than minor variations. I grafted an Alfonso mango on a Manila mango three years ago and it lived until this year. My clef graft interface was defective as I had bought a new mango grafting tool and the cutting surface was not centered properly. The junction did not heal well. Do not cut scion wood until the new emerging growth has begun growing (possibly a 1/32nd of an inch long). I strongly recommend using parafilm to wrap your scion wood and rootstock to reduce loss of moisture. Clean your tools with ~91% alcohol between cuts. I have grafted scion wood to branches only 1/16th of an inch in diameter on stone fruit but they are very difficult to handle. I recommend using ~3/16ths inch or larger scion wood. Provide shade for a few days so the junction will be a little cooler. Search on the Internet using 'Google', or other browser, with "mango grafting" as your topic. Read several different directions. Develop skills on other plants before you use your mango scion wood unless you have a ready source for more. Apples are a good fruit on which to learn. Most grafts do well if you are careful, keep your tools clean and do not touch the exposed cambium and other materials with your fingers (oil from the hands rates very highly in killing or damaging grafts.).