2014 Grafting Adventures of CrazyED

[CrazyEd]

Good call Honker I probably should hitup goodwill and see what i can find. I was just too cheap to buy one on amazon and i already had the camp stove. I usually just heat it up right when is start grafting. Once it's liquid then i shut it off and dip everything right as im packing up shop.

 

[CrazyEd]

Here's a few more pics from my grafting adventures. So this is what I was talking about in my previous post when Whip & Tongue grafting. I don't try and cut through the whole rootstock, I just shave off a side and I get it nice and flat.

 

[CrazyEd]

There are some scions I have in very limited supply. Some are really short, sometimes you just dont have a lot to work with. Sometimes you just have to try your best to make it work.

 

[CrazyEd]

Here's an example of a whip and tongue graft. As you can see it's not perfectly flush, you can see a little bit of space in between the scion and the rootstock. You obviously want them as flush as possible but this isnt really a bad thing. As long as you get the cambiums lined up properly and wrap it tight it should be just fine. Thats the reason I really like to wrap my grafts with 1" teflon plumbing tape. It's flexible tape but you can wrap it up nice and tight.

This one was so small I couldnt really whip and tongue it well so I just clamped it down and wrapped it. I could have cleft'd it but i decided not to.

 

[dipper]

.

This one was so small I couldnt really whip and tongue it well so I just clamped it down and wrapped it. I could have cleft'd it but i decided not to.

U confident in this technique Ed?

 

[Honker]

They look good Ed. The only thing I try to do differently is not make the cut on the rootstock too wide so the small scion lines up. So the width of the cut is only as wide as the scion. Hopefully that makes sense. I'll try to get some pictures tonight of what I mean to explain it better. I'm not sure if that's the right way or not, I'm learning as I go too.

 

[buckvelvet]

Well I'm gonna try some W & T grafts again this friday night, i sure hope I can make some work. Otherwise its back to the cleft graft, lol! :)

 

[CrazyEd]

U confident in this technique Ed?

Yes, I am. And if it fails i'll have a rootstock that grows into a nice b118 tree I can sell to Sandbur :)

 

[CrazyEd]

They look good Ed. The only thing I try to do differently is not make the cut on the rootstock too wide so the small scion lines up. So the width of the cut is only as wide as the scion. Hopefully that makes sense. I'll try to get some pictures tonight of what I mean to explain it better. I'm not sure if that's the right way or not, I'm learning as I go too.

I follow what you're saying honker. I could try slimming it down I suppose. Smaller cut would allow for cambium match on 2 sides versus one.

 

[dipper]

Hope it works out. My stuff should be arriving tomorrow.
Hey can you use dormant wood collected now to t bud this summer when the bark slips easier? My t buds might make it, but it would be easier to work with scion buds that don't slip, and rootstock bark that slips? If that makes sense. The nice thing with t buds is you are working with less cambium that needs to be touching.

 

[CrazyEd]

Hope it works out. My stuff should be arriving tomorrow.
Hey can you use dormant wood collected now to t bud this summer when the bark slips easier? My t buds might make it, but it would be easier to work with scion buds that don't slip, and rootstock bark that slips? If that makes sense. The nice thing with t buds is you are working with less cambium that needs to be touching.

I dont believe you can do it that way. When you t-bud you cut off new living growth, you clip the big leave and keep those tiny ones. I dont know all the science behind it.

 

[greyphase]

Matt

Darn your grafts look good. You make those whip and tongue grafts look so simple. Obviously you don't have two extra thumbs per hand like I do :eek:.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Do cleft grafts generally work out as well as w / t grafts do ?? I did clefts for my first attempts at grafting a couple weeks ago. I think I'm just beginning to see the signs of scion buds starting to crack open. I don't see GREEN yet, but the buds are swollen and I see some pale, white-ish tissue starting to show. I hope that's a good sign !!

 

[CrazyEd]

Do cleft grafts generally work out as well as w / t grafts do ?? I did clefts for my first attempts at grafting a couple weeks ago. I think I'm just beginning to see the signs of scion buds starting to crack open. I don't see GREEN yet, but the buds are swollen and I see some pale, white-ish tissue starting to show. I hope that's a good sign !!

I think both methods are effective methods of grafting. I think some people favor cleft because they are perceived as easier by some. I would agree W&T is not an easy thing to do for everyone, but for me personal preference, I prefer them.

 

[wiscwhip]

What do you(or others you have "trained" under) consider the "strongest" graft union?

 

[buckvelvet]

No ones trained CrazyEd, he's just that, Crazy. What happened is one day while in the woods an apple fell out of a tree and hit him square in the noggin. He's been hooked every since. :)

 

[CrazyEd]

What do you(or others you have "trained" under) consider the "strongest" graft union?

Thats a really good question that I dont have an answer for. I mean a good graft you shouldn't even really even see after a few years. But as for strength i'm not sure.

 

[Scenttrails]

Great information and pictures to illustrate.
Thanks Ed.

 

[CrazyEd]

Matt

Darn your grafts look good. You make those whip and tongue grafts look so simple. Obviously you don't have two extra thumbs per hand like I do :eek:.

Rick, those whip and tongue grafts pictured I believe are the Adirondack crab scions from you. I think you also gave me the Lane Crab. Do you have a picture of that one?

 

[Jordan Selsor]

What do you(or others you have "trained" under) consider the "strongest" graft union?

Great question!