Whip and Tongue Grafts, Unwrapped. 6.5.15

Apple Whip / Tongue at 3 months.  6.5.15

Apple Whip / Tongue Graft at 3 months.  6.5.15

 Today I unwrapped the 3-month old whip & tongue grafts on apple and plum.  They turned out the best of any I have ever done.  Very pleased.

The incisions are very closely approximated.  The graft unions healed without excessive callous.  On the plums, some are so close, it's difficult to see the unions.

I'll need to take better photos tomorrow, and update this post.  My better camera had a bad battery.

What worked:

These were standard whip and tongue grafts.

I wrapped with polyethylene tape, then over-wrapped with Parafilm.  It must be that, and not my carpentry, that improved the results.

I waited until now to unwrap them.  This is 3 months.  The new growth ranges from about 6 inches to about 2 foot.  

Hybrid Plum Whip / Tongue @ 3 months.  6.5.15

Hybrid Plum Whip / Tongue @ 3 months.  6.5.15

Apple Grafting Progress Report. 5.3.15

Whip / Tongue with Parafilm.  Columnar Apple.   Two months after grafting.   5.3.15

Whip / Tongue Graft on Columnar Apple.  Two months after grafting.   4.3.15

I grafted a 2nd columnar apple onto 1-year-old growth of another variety of columnar apple, at end of February. 

Not being familiar with Parafilm, I have tried a couple of methods.  For this graft, I used Parafilm and no other material, to wrap the graft.  It was a good fit, and I did not need a tighter material.

Now, 2 months later, the graft has taken, and the join has expanded to the point where the Parafilm wrapping is torn wide open.

At the lower end, a stock bud grew through the parafilm.  That also happened at the terminal aspect of the wrapping.

Since the graft has taken, is strong, and the wrap is no longer holding anything together, I removed the rest of the Parafilm.  That is probably not necessary, since it looks like the tree can stretch it to breakage, by itself.

This graft took very well.  The scion is growing nicely.  There is no open wound.

Even More Grafting. 3.21.15

Fedco Scion Wood.  3.21.15

Jonared Apple with 5 other varieties now grafted.  3.21.15

I did the rest of the grafting at the Battleground place. 

Most of the scion looked good to me.  One - South Dakota - looked dead and a little mildewed, so I did not try.  One was a hybrid of McIntosh, which I did not want, so I did not try that one either.  Thought went into each choice.  No reason to grow one that I didn't choose, no idea about disease resistance, flavor, or other characteristics.

Jonared now has grafts of 5 varieties - Priscilla, Granite Beauty, Keepsake, Redfield, Porter. 

The unknown plum now has grafts of Ember, La Crescent, and Hanska.   There are 2 each of La Crescent and Hanska, making 2 4-inch scion from each 8-inch.  That plum already has grafts from Hollywood, Shiro, apricot seedling, and possibly, Toka.

 I also used left over 4-inch scion from the grafts made earlier from Ember and the Redfield apple.

Some sources list Hanska as a Plumcot.  Makes sense given its ancestry.  It might be a better choice than California - bred Pluots, which are also plum / apricot hybrids.

My prior listing and description of these apples and plums is here.

This time I did the initial wrap with polyethylene tape.  Then I thought, maybe that doesn't seal well enough, so over-wrapped with parafilm.

I also discovered that I can keep a jar candle burning, and dip the top end of each scion in melted candle wax, before grafting.  That seals them without the problem of potentially dislodging the graft while over-wrapping with parafilm.  It's also easily available, does not have to be specially bought.  I dipped a couple of times, each quickly, for a good seal.