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  • From: "tanis cuff" <tanistanis@hotmail.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] grafting basics
  • Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 14:36:54 +0000

Composed this draft for a gardening lesson, thought it might do some good on the NAFEX listserv too. Comments/ corrections?
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scion wood:
harvest vertically growing healthy wood, pencil diameter to half that, before a few warm days of early spring; store in at least one plastic bag with damp paper, preferably in a bag which is in another bag with damp paper; store in a refrigerator which doesn't store any fruit, and preferably doesn't get regular open-&-shut use. (scion might also be stored in freezer, in a bag of snow-- I haven't tried this yet.) Inspect once/week as soon as you see bud swell on apple trees. Remember to label the bag(s) with variety name(s)!

root stock:
anything with well-established root system! Prefer as close a genetic match/ parentage as possible to the scion. Prefer rootstocks of similar diameter to the scion, in the ground and growing at least one year. Watered before grafting, and during dry periods of that growing season. Keep track of what rootstock variety you try with what scion variety.

timing:
Prefer May. After rootstocks have broken dormancy and are growing well, but before you notice any dormancy break in the stored scion. See "Inspect..." above.

knife:
any good sturdy knife with a comfortable handle and a flat straight SHARP edge. Prefer a knife which you use regularly, which you know how it cuts. Prefer one with minimal sideways flex. Wash it after sharpening, and after any grafts with possible contamination which you don't want to spread, especially if going from one orchard to another.

method:
one long slanting cut on the stock, one long slanting cut on the scion. Put the cut edges together, and wrap with something slighty "springy".

THE BEST WRAP I'VE FOUND:
RUBBER SPLICING TAPE, ALSO CALLED RUBBER ELECTRICIAN'S SPLICING TAPE.
Cut off 3-4" pieces, remove the backing, pre-stretch, and wrap the graft.
Advantages= cheap and available in most hardware stores; easy to use for bench-grafts or for "remote" field work; fits in a pocket; not messy; fun; fast; self-adhesive enough that you don't need to puzzle out how to tuck the end under the last wrap, just WRAP; doesn't need to be removed from the growing graft-- it expands with growth, and eventually falls off.

I worry about cutting the tape with the same knife at the same time as I'm doing graft cuts. Is that a slight trace of rubber on the knife? Will it bother the cambium match? I either carry another knife, or scissors, or cut the pieces before going out.

Other Tips:
Practice! Even this user-friendly method & tape requires that you get the feel of it.

I've found there is no need to paint, dip, coat, wrap, or cover the scion & graft with anything, to obstensibly prevent moisture loss. (The wrap of rubber splicing tape should extend below & above the actual graft union.) This may be because I've decided not to graft with scion which hasn't store well, and because Wisconsin spring is usually humid.

Tanis Cuff, s.WI

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