Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - [nafex] grafting tape

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [nafex] grafting tape
  • Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2020 04:44:24 -0500

As mentioned, the use of parafilm is to hold in moisture, I doubt it lets
any oxygen in. I use electric tape to hold my splice grafts together and
then wrap my scion with the parafilm. Pears and apples don't really need it
and a dab of some kind of sealant at the tip is generally adequate.

Vinyl electric tape can eventually girdle apple grafts but peach growth is
strong enough to force it to stretch. A longitudinal cut with a razor knife
after the tissue is merged and strong is sometimes needed, but if you
unwrap it when the bark isn't slipping you can usually get away with that
without peeling off any bark. Alternatively, you can use rubber electric
tape which stretches much more than vinyl.

Where the parafilm seems useful and even necessary is with stonefruit,
persimmon and paw paw grafts.

I exclusively use splice grafts because they are the quickest and require
the least skill, especially if you use a double bladed Italian pruning
shear to cut the scion and annual shoot (or 2nd year) you are grafting
together. If you match diameters any idiot can do it without ever cutting
their fingers. The trick is to make long diagonal cuts of scion and mother
wood as close to the same as you can. This creates a lot of matching
cambium.




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page