Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Need source for parafilm

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Scott Smith <scott@cs.jhu.edu>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Need source for parafilm
  • Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:15:09 -0500

To get a tight bond I take the 1" wide grafting parafilm and fold in half and
wrap tightly 3-4 times around, as tight as you can without it breaking. With
this method there is no need for a rubber band. On bud grafts there is less
of a need for a tight bond so I skip the folding step. I used to use the
more narrow grafting parafilm, 1/2" I believe, but I now prefer the 1" on any
kind of graft since it will give a tight bond all by itself.

Mark, is there a reason why you want to use the parafilm M, the kind for test
tubes etc, and not the grafting parafilm? I have only used the grafting
parafilm. The M stuff I have used in chem lab and the main difference is it
seems to stretch more than the grafting parafilm, and comes in wider rolls.
I can see how the wider size would be handy when topworking larger trunks.

Scott

On Jan 12, 2011, at 1:37 PM, Idell Weydemeyer wrote:

> Hi-- yes the parafilm alone is not really enough--birds knocked off 3 of my
> grafts one spring. I now do a short wrap at the join with green stretchy
> floral tape-- narrow kind-- and keep it on for a year. I can find my graft
> more easily in the canopy that way too.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Ginda Fisher
> Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 9:31 AM
> To: North American Fruit Explorers
> Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Need source for parafilm
>
> I keep my roll in the garage, and it's lasted for years, now, with no
> visible aging.
>
> I find I get better takes if I bind the graft together with a rubber band or
> something first, and then wrap with Parafilm. Just the Parafilm doesn't
> give a tight enough bond, at least the way I've used it. But Parafilm is
> far and away my favorite "coating" for grafts. It's fast and easy to use,
> works very well, and there's no prep or clean up to speak of. Getting the
> "grafting compound" off my fingers was a major hassle, and keeping wax soft
> enough to work with in the field was pretty much impossible. Plastic bags
> and masking tape didn't keep the twig moist enough (especially not masking
> tape.)
>
> happy grafting!
>
> Ginda
>





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page