Quick grafting course

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Hi people,

I promised to make a quick grafting tutorial because I think everyone should be able to graft. Let's give it a try!

The bare essentials (seriously, this is the absolute minimal requirement):

• A sharp knife, like a box cutter or a grafting knife. One that's not rusty and one that doesn't have a moving blade.
• Two hands.
• Parafilm tape.
• Scissors.
• A donor plant.
• A receiver plant.
• A piece of wood, preferably straight.
• Optional: coffee.

I'll be grafting a cherry today. But it's the same technique with conifers.

Here's my setup.


First things first: mark the place you want to graft. I'm doing two grafts. Not getting in the way of the wire or anything.



Now that the locations are marked, I'm going to make the first cut; it's a cut nearly straight down through the bark (brown) and the cambium (green) into the wood (wood colored).


This cut is to guide the next cut, which will be at an angle.



Still the first cut, I use my thumb to press the knife into the wood. You don't want to slip here, you don't want the cut to be too shallow.

The second cut is at an angle, so that we end up with a flap that has everything on it: bark, cambium and wood.
See below.



Now that this second cut is made, it's time to prepare the scion based on the size of this second cut.
Please take note that this flap is a multitude of sizes larger than the scion I'll be inserting. The flap has two exposed sides where the cambium is present. In the center it's just wood. We'll be putting the scion on either the left or the right side. But first:


For deciduous, it might be wise to reduce the foliage by half or more to reduce evaporation issues. DO NOT DO THIS WITH CONIFERS. THEY NEED THEIR FOLIAGE. JUST USE A SMALLER SCION.




Peel the wax paper off of the parafilm (I prefer pulling an edge so that I have something to hold on to).


Stretch the parafilm between a flat thumb and your index fingers. It'll stretch easier on the wide side and more difficult on the length side. Figure out this orientation for yourself, and just take it easy. There shouldn't be any tears in the parafilm, there might be on your face if you go too fast.

End of post 1. Please wait until the next one.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Start with the bottom side. And work your way up the scion.

It doesn't need to be wrapped like a sandwich, just make sure it's on there lightly and that it overlaps so that the parafilm sticks to itself and leaves no holes.



All done.


Make one cut at about this angle. Pretty steep. That's the side that faces the flap.


The next cut will be the loooooong cut. That's the side that will face the trunk.


Loooong side and a short side.


Close up of the flap. Pried open a little.




Jammed into place. Notice that both outer 'barks' allign. This means the cambium aligns as well, as does the wood. We now have water going up and down.




This is what it looks like from the other side.


Wrap it tightly with more parafilm. Stretch it beforehand or when wrapping, pull it when it's on the backside of the trunk when you move forward, before overlapping the scion again. You don't want to stretch it so that it moves the scion.

End of part 2, please hold tight for part 3.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

That's a wrap!



Here are some juniper grafts I've done in the past:

Foliage pointing upwards: sign of growth.
Parafilm breaking on the branch: sign of healing.
Moisture inside the wrapping: water exchange.
When the first growth pushed through the wrapping, it's time to carefully unwrap the tip. Or just pull it apart.


Open it up a little further every week or so.


About a year later. I'm waiting for the scion to produce some growth before I reduce the rest of the branch. I wouldn't want it to die now.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

@August44 as promised!

 

[Lorax7]

• Optional: coffee.

Blasphemy!

 

[PaulH]

Do you normally graft in summer? I've been told late winter/ spring is best.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Do you normally graft in summer? I've been told late winter/ spring is best.

No, normally I don't. But this is the first cherry I've ever scion grafted, and I've heard somewhere they do better in summer.
But all odds are against it though. The scion is green instead of woody, and the receiver is not that strong.
However, for demonstrational purposes, it works just fine and the difference in color does make it easier to see. Both are throwaway practice material.

I do spring grafting for conifers but I'm going to give fall a try this year. Our springs are very unpredictable and the past four winters have been super late when it comes to freezing temps - if any.
I see more tissue swelling in fall as well, that would translate in faster connections between scion and receiver. It would mean that it'd take an extra 5 months or so to see any results, but it beats seeing them get yanked out by young birds at the end of spring just after setting them all up. All things considered, it's the results that matter.
My junipers all woke up late this year; as you can see from some of the last pictures, the scions have been in the wraps for too long and started to turn yellow and brown. The health and the amount of succesful scions are both lower than last year. All conditions (watering, nutrient timing, location in the yard, so on) have been the same, except for the weather.. So in fall I'll do a do-over and see what happens.

 

[Shibui]

Do you normally graft in summer? I've been told late winter/ spring is best.

Timing depends totally on the type of graft you do.
Winter/ early spring = dormant deciduous grafting
Spring = evergreen grafting
Late spring/summer = budding or mummy graft (foliage wrapped) as shown above

We can graft almost any time of year provided we understand all the factors that influence how the plants grow and respond to wounds.
The above tutorial just scrapes the surface of one particular type of graft.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

The above tutorial just scrapes the surface of one particular type of graft.

That sparks my interest! What would you want me to include next time in a scion graft guide?

 

[JeffS73]

Sorry if this is a bit of a hijack, but I have 4 prunus mume layers that this year, are really long, drawn out and rangy. Is bud grafting down low a good idea (summer here)? I'd like to get something going this year, so I can cut back and perhaps overwinter in the greenhouse.

 

[JeffS73]

Also, is there a bud grafting guide? Searched but didn't find one.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Sorry if this is a bit of a hijack, but I have 4 prunus mume layers that this year, are really long, drawn out and rangy. Is bud grafting down low a good idea (summer here)? I'd like to get something going this year, so I can cut back and perhaps overwinter in the greenhouse.

Why would you if they are on their own roots?
Cherries, plums and probably all stone fruits can bud from bare wood. I believe they don't even need a node to be there for them to produce new shoots.
Birds got in my grafted prunus cerasifera and stripped them bare this spring.. They flushed out all over the trunk. And suckers jumped up from the base, where there are absolutely zero nodes.

I wouldn't cut back now, but next year you can probably give that a try. However, keep in mind that my experience with plums, cherries and such is based on 15 years with fruiting trees and a couple of potted plants I owned for the last 4 years. I ain't no expert on the subject.
If you ask around on the deciduous part of the forum, I'm sure people will help you out.

 

[AnutterBonsai]

Timing depends totally on the type of graft you do.
Winter/ early spring = dormant deciduous grafting
Spring = evergreen grafting
Late spring/summer = budding or mummy graft (foliage wrapped) as shown above

We can graft almost any time of year provided we understand all the factors that influence how the plants grow and respond to wounds.
The above tutorial just scrapes the surface of one particular type of graft.

so on dormant deciduous grafting, in early spring, it is as the buds are breaking on both receiver and scion, therefore no need for mummifying/wrapping the buds in the dormant scion buds?

 

[Shibui]

so on dormant deciduous grafting, in early spring, it is as the buds are breaking on both receiver and scion, therefore no need for mummifying/wrapping the buds in the dormant scion buds?

Correct for deciduous but the window for timing is a little broader than 'as buds are breaking'. Most deciduous grafts can be done from mid winter through to bud burst.
Evergreen can also be grafted in early spring but, because the foliage is still transpiring they do better when wrapped to prevent the scion dehydrating before a union forms.

That sparks my interest! What would you want me to include next time in a scion graft guide?

My post was not intended to infer the material is incorrect. You've provided a really good coverage of the important points of grafting green scions.
I think you can already see from the replies that wannabe grafters are confused about time of year and techniques, maybe because the thread title just advertises 'grafting' then content launches straight into just one specific type of graft.
I know full explanations to cover all possibilities takes time. Some aspects are now coming out in the discussion.

Parafilm is just one option to wrap green scions. I get better results covering green scions with small ziplok bags but maybe that's just because I have not learned to use the parafilm properly yet?

 

[AnutterBonsai]

Correct for deciduous but the window for timing is a little broader than 'as buds are breaking'. Most deciduous grafts can be done from mid winter through to bud burst.
Evergreen can also be grafted in early spring but, because the foliage is still transpiring they do better when wrapped to prevent the scion dehydrating before a union forms.


My post was not intended to infer the material is incorrect. You've provided a really good coverage of the important points of grafting green scions.
I think you can already see from the replies that wannabe grafters are confused about time of year and techniques, maybe because the thread title just advertises 'grafting' then content launches straight into just one specific type of graft.
I know full explanations to cover all possibilities takes time. Some aspects are now coming out in the discussion.

Parafilm is just one option to wrap green scions. I get better results covering green scions with small ziplok bags but maybe that's just because I have not learned to use the parafilm properly yet?

Thank you for the detailed response! For trident maples, would it be better during late winter dormancy?

 

[MichaelS]

so on dormant deciduous grafting, in early spring, it is as the buds are breaking on both receiver and scion, therefore no need for mummifying/wrapping the buds in the dormant scion buds?

It helps with these too. The last 2 years I grafted a new variety of Ume onto a tree which has course growth and not very good habit. I grafted about 20 or more scions onto the sides of the branch wherever I wanted one using the buddy tape and just wrapped the graft and the scion completely. I think I had 1 fail. After the scion buds burst through the tape I cut off the rest of the stock branch. A completely new tree in 2 years!

 

[AnutterBonsai]

It helps with these too. The last 2 years I grafted a new variety of Ume onto a tree which has course growth and not very good habit. I grafted about 20 or more scions onto the sides of the branch wherever I wanted one using the buddy tape and just wrapped the graft and the scion completely. I think I had 1 fail. After the scion buds burst through the tape I cut off the rest of the stock branch. A completely new tree in 2 years!

Nice!

 

[Shibui]

Thank you for the detailed response! For trident maples, would it be better during late winter dormancy?

What are you trying to achieve with the trident? There are a number of different approaches depending on the result you want. Maybe start a new thread to save filling up this one with request for personal assistance with a specific problem?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Correct for deciduous but the window for timing is a little broader than 'as buds are breaking'. Most deciduous grafts can be done from mid winter through to bud burst.
Evergreen can also be grafted in early spring but, because the foliage is still transpiring they do better when wrapped to prevent the scion dehydrating before a union forms.


My post was not intended to infer the material is incorrect. You've provided a really good coverage of the important points of grafting green scions.
I think you can already see from the replies that wannabe grafters are confused about time of year and techniques, maybe because the thread title just advertises 'grafting' then content launches straight into just one specific type of graft.
I know full explanations to cover all possibilities takes time. Some aspects are now coming out in the discussion.

Parafilm is just one option to wrap green scions. I get better results covering green scions with small ziplok bags but maybe that's just because I have not learned to use the parafilm properly yet?

I've never been able to use bags without the wind pulling them, yanking everything out of place. Care to share your secrets?

 

[Shibui]

It is middle of winter down here now so not really time to graft but I found some older photos of pine graft with the bag.
scion


cut the stock as low as possible.


Insert scion and line up one edge.


Tie the graft securely with budding tape to hold it all together.


Then place a ziplok bag over the scion and zip the bag closed as much as possible. Any plastic bag would do. I just find these closing bags quick and easy to secure and easy to take off after the graft starts to grow.


Transpiration quickly brings humidity up to saturated so the scion won't dry out.


Maybe my place is very sheltered. I've never had any problem with these bags blowing away or dislodging the grafts. If I has to I guess I would just tie the bag to the trunk or branch with wire or string?