The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: spaugh on July 12, 2018, 04:13:08 PM
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I got some hard to get scions from a member here. Thanks for those. Ive got 20 or so seedlings Im going to graft tonight. I am a novice at this and dont want to screw it up. I usually get 1/3 to 1/2 takes. Would like to ensure success of at least one of each of the 5 cultivars I got scions of. So I have a few questions for the experts.
1.) Best gfraft type for seedlings? Cleft or? Scions are pencil size.
2.) Leave some leaf sets below the graft or leave none?
3.) Best place to put the trees after grafting? Greenhouse with 50% shade and 90F temps. Outside in the shade also around 90+F. Or in the garage which stays in the 70s and 80s and I have a dimmable grow lamp I can put on them. Since its mid summer Im not sure where the best place to set them after grafting.
Any other advice? I really want to get at least 1 of each type to take so I can get trees growing here.
Thanks
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2. Leaves support the tree so leave them on.
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I got some hard to get scions from a member here. Thanks for those. Ive got 20 or so seedlings Im going to graft tonight. I am a novice at this and dont want to screw it up. I usually get 1/3 to 1/2 takes. Would like to ensure success of at least one of each of the 5 cultivars I got scions of. So I have a few questions for the experts.
1.) Best gfraft type for seedlings? Cleft or? Scions are pencil size.
2.) Leave some leaf sets below the graft or leave none?
3.) Best place to put the trees after grafting? Greenhouse with 50% shade and 90F temps. Outside in the shade also around 90+F. Or in the garage which stays in the 70s and 80s and I have a dimmable grow lamp I can put on them. Since its mid summer Im not sure where the best place to set them after grafting.
Any other advice? I really want to get at least 1 of each type to take so I can get trees growing here.
Thanks
Brad, I would recommend you go modified cleft/veneer, where you go into the trunk of seeling no more than half its thickness at an angle, what it does is it gets you a graft if takes you can cut head off, and if it fails, you still have seedling available to regraft. Another thing it does is leaves of seedling are intact thereby providing energy to the graft.
I would put the grafted pot in semi shade
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My success rate went way up when I started using rubber bands.
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Brad...I watched the avocado grafting operation at LaVerne Nursery.
The use cleft grafts on small Zutano rootstock, sometimes without leaves below the graft. They use rubber bands to hold the grafts in place and then touch up unwrapped areas with pruning sealer (as needed). So, no parafilm for avocado grafts. The grafted trees were placed in a white color covered greenhouse with controlled temperature 80-85F (with vent fan) and humidity (felt like 100%). Main grafting season is March. Their success rate is about 90%+.
Shane was there with us...perhaps that's where he learned the rubber band technique.
This is the link for the first Laverne Nursery tour I arranged.
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=9075.25 (http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=9075.25)
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Thanks guys. One thing I noticed is the longer the scions are in the mail the worse my success rate. If scions come off my own trees or other trees in SD and graft same day I get good luck. If they come from LA, I get ok luck. If they come from Hawaii I get poor luck. These scions looked decent but were already discoloring after 3 days in the mail from HI. I had about a dozen good scion/rootstock matches and grafted those tonight. We will see how it goes...
Im using clothes pins instead of rubber bands. Hopefully its just as good. Seems to work well.
Would like to get these few new cultivars and then I am done with new cados.
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I feel sorry for the guy that had to do all these. :o
(http://i1182.photobucket.com/albums/x457/Richard_Renshaw/CRFG/La%20Verne/la_verne_4218_zps2bb1ae9b.jpg)
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Sucks I couldn’t make it to help you graft today as I had previous arrangements with Leo Manuel.
I don’t like to use rubber bands because they deteriorate rapidly in our hot sun. The clothes pins are so much easier to use. When I used to use rubber bands, many of them would go bad and release tension on the graft union.
For avocado grafts, which I haven’t done too many of compared to Mango, I have had success with cleft, veneer and side grafts. The clefts are easiest but veneer seems to have slightly higher success rate, similar to side grafts. As long as you keep it warm and out of direct sun for the first couple weeks, you should get some good takes. The most important factors are the health and vigor of your rootstocks/scions.
Simon
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Short answer: grafting in Jan/Feb, parafilm.
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January ? Trees are blooming and not flushing Jack. Im surprised you suggest winter. Whats the reasoning?
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Jack just dropping in to drop knowledge on the new heads like always. Thanks Jack!
Brad,
I'd think same reason as the commercial nursery's that graft in March. It's not blazing, fry your scion hot.
I would stick them inside in the 80 degree temps , actually I'd hedge and put some in full shade in the greenhouse or under a mature avocado tree.
Why would you use rubber bands and clothespins to hold your scion to rootstock instead of green or clear plant tie tape??
neither would hold the scion as tight to the rootstock for a tight cambium match.
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I live close to Jack S. we have grafted at many different times here on the Central Coast, but we have found that Jan - Feb. into March works best for us and that goes for grafting trees in ground. When grafting seedling I've found that you can push that time frame out to March, May, June if grafting to seedling rootstock, bottom heat and 30-50% shade cloth and i use parafilm and buddy tape mostly buddy tape on avo's and rubber bands on top of graft! If you use 1/2" poly tape be careful not to wrap to tight because you can bruise seedling avocado wood! Less than 90 degree heat would be better. I aslo put white paper bags over graft's outside to protect from sun.
May the grafting god's be with you!! Just grafted some seedling about a month ago and most are growing well in G.H. on bottom heat and 30% shade cloth Thanks Jonah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I use mostly whip and tongue graft and Jack uses cleft so use what ever graft your comfortable with and seedling or mother plant is pushing growth! ;)
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Jack just dropping in to drop knowledge on the new heads like always. Thanks Jack!
Brad,
I'd think same reason as the commercial nursery's that graft in March. It's not blazing, fry your scion hot.
I would stick them inside in the 80 degree temps , actually I'd hedge and put some in full shade in the greenhouse or under a mature avocado tree.
Why would you use rubber bands and clothespins to hold your scion to rootstock instead of green or clear plant tie tape??
neither would hold the scion as tight to the rootstock for a tight cambium match.
I agree with hedging bets, some are under banana trees in 80% shade outside. Its 90 today. And pulling half in the garage under some cree leds on low in an air conditioner set to 80. Yes I have power to blow we have a big solar system that makes more than we use.
Green tree tape works well but the clothes pins are easier when it comes times to remove. I put 2 or 3 on each graft and squeeze tight.
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This probably isn't adding much, but I've found that scion freshness matters a lot for avocado grafting, much more than any other trees I graft and probably as much as it does for passionfruit. One trick that seems to help is put scions in a cup of fresh water (room temperature water, boiled/filtered if your tap water isn't great) for a while before grafting.
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Brad, we don't get blooming that early in the year. What I look for is the new growth starting and hopefully a connection between stock and scion before hotter and dryer weather. Of course your weather is much hotter than here in the cooler CA coast and you probably harvest before we do. We had the blast of heat last week and we were 108 degrees two days in a row. Hottest we have had in our 46 years here. Lots of fried new growth on avocado trees and a yardfull of ivy looks like I had sprayed it with Roundup. Heck, Roundup hardly works here with cool foggy weather. Now I am looking a a huge avocado crop of bb sized fruit waiting to fall off. Still, limited damage due to extra watering and overhead spraying of the trees. By the way, macadamias didn't seem to notice any heat. Would like to get back to our normal 75 degree summer weather with morning and evening fog.
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Wow, thats really interesting that you dont get blooms yet. Your trees are 4 or 5 months behind whats happening here. I start getting blooms in Octomber/November that last until around April or May. January is full bloom time. A friend was telling me that carpentaria area is ideal for avocado farming. I dont know how much further north you are from there but I think your climate is better suited for it than here.
Yes its way hotter here (bordering too hot). Especially where I am is worse than the agricultural areas like fallbrook and vista because no one else is farming out here. Its just lots of open space and dry native vegetation where I live. Our place backs up to a nature preserve and a military bases. My hass are black and falling off the tree ripe now. They are amazing but done for the season. Even my lamb hass is black and starting to drop.
I think the best time to graft here is after blooms are finishing around April and the scion wood is flushing. But I am still trying to get the grafting thing dialed in.
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Jack, how are grafts holding up?
I had 1 take and the rest ended up failing. They were green for about 2 months and then started to shrivel up. Eh. Not that I doubted you, but it seems that in my hands grafts do better earlier in the year. That being said, it was 80s and 90s here in Jan and February this past year.
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Khaled...only grafting I did this year (avocados) was on a seedling tree that is about 5 ft tall. Grafted about 8 different scions (some from N Cal: Solano and Seminary) and some from my stuff (Lula, GEM, Creamhart F1, Blue Haze). All grew through the Parafilm with 1-1 1/2 in shoots. I started counting the upcoming avocado crop! The hot spell just before the last one fried them and just Lula and Creamhart F1 are still green. They were grafted in March. Some scions are still green, but buds may be destroyed. We don't get the hot and dry weather "normally" in Jan or Feb so have best luck with avocados then. However, there is no "normal" anymore with regard to hot weather and I even installed airconditioning last year after 45 years of just opening windows. Sorry about the "takes" on the grafts. It's all magic anyway. Failure is a part of success. Let me know next winter and take advantage of at least shorter days with hopefully cooler weather. Our chapter of CRFG in San Luis Obispo has its scion exchange in early February at Cal Poly and I'll cut avocado scions again. OR e-mail me.
Jack
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On the rubber bands....
Yes might have got it from the tour as wslau says. But I didn't take it serious for more than a year.
In my climate the rubber bands deteriorate in about two weeks. I cover in foil for 4-6;weeks then remove after it buds out. Alternately you can wrap the rubber in parafilm and it'll last for a couple months.
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On the rubber bands....
Yes might have got it from the tour as wslau says. But I didn't take it serious for more than a year.
In my climate the rubber bands deteriorate in about two weeks. I cover in foil for 4-6;weeks then remove after it buds out. Alternately you can wrap the rubber in parafilm and it'll last for a couple months.
I have a dumb question -- why not just let the rubber band deteriorate after 2 weeks? I sometimes use them and do a layer of parafilm first and then rubber band on top, usually when it's a graft I won't be able to come back to later. And even if the rubber band goes away it seems ok.
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Sometimes the tip of a cleft graft will spread open as the very tip of the cleft dries up. It can happen after 2,3 even 4 weeks depending on the stage of growth of the scion and rootstock and also depending on the variety of plant that is grafted.
Grafts on more mature wood of Pomegranate for example will sometimes spread open when the wood is older but on younger wood, it doesn’t happen as often.
For soft wood cutting such as that using the stone grafting technique, I will often not use any binder other than parafilm or buddytape. The wood is so soft that it will not cause a breach in the parafilm or buddytape and the stretched parafilm or buddytape is strong enough to add enough tension on the union to provide more than adequate contact.
Simon
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I think with everyone's micro climate being different and the climate in general being a different new normal every year, It's best to graft Avocado when the temperatures are in the 65- 80 degree range and not 80- 95 degree range.
I agree it is hit or miss as you could have a 2 week fog spell by the coast in June or July that would make for good conditions for grafts to heal. Just keep trying when the conditions are within those parameters and you will succeed at some point.
The more we report our experiences of success the more we can learn and succeed at grafting Avocado.
I like the 1/2 green plant tie tape for grafting scion 5/8" and thicker. The 1/4" clear tie tape for all smaller grafts.
I was taught Avocado wants more cambium contact than other grafting may require and a tight cambium connection.
I want to see someone's rubber band technique as I cant imagine how to get a tight connection , easily, that way.
Jack, Thanks for the scion and advice! I got at least 1 take on each variety. It is magic and failure is part of the success in the long run. Too true. 108 in Nipomo , Wow! Topped out in the low 90's in S.C. I believe.
Robert, Good work with the BD man!
Now how do I slay these encroaching gopher's , which trap do you use?
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Sorry to steal thread a bit; Jonah , I like to use traplineproducts.com I like the mole traps for small to mid size gophers and big gopher trap for big boy's and girl gophers! ;)
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Brad, you can not beat a WET paper towel and thin plastic bag tied on the bottom. Patrick
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I prefer whip over cleft and in a mismatch I do whip at the edge of the accepting branch to match the whole arc of the cut. Wrap rubber in parafilm if I expect a long incubation. Foil for two to four weeks.
I actually don't sweat the cambium contact too much on green grafts since the entire center is conducting water up.
Avocado from a few weeks ago:
(https://s33.postimg.cc/7d1n0nl5n/IMG_20180714_105946332.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/7d1n0nl5n/)
Mismatched lemon on lemon with whip on edge from a couple months ago:
(https://s33.postimg.cc/tozfu9ph7/IMG_20180714_110030965_BURST000_COVER_TOP.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/tozfu9ph7/)
Perfectly matched pomelo on lemon whip. When the rubber and failed this one split open a little on the top end but has since mostly healed over:
(https://s33.postimg.cc/8td5is8mz/IMG_20180714_110044192.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/8td5is8mz/)
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Newish Surinam. Just removed foil:
(https://s33.postimg.cc/47h1ax03v/IMG_20180714_092430552.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/47h1ax03v/)
And feijoa
(https://s33.postimg.cc/sf67sw0hn/IMG_20180714_110409141.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/sf67sw0hn/)
For greenwood on hardwood I plan to start trying saddle grafts as well. Should work better than cleft at least in terms of flexibility and in terms of water transport too.
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what does the foil do?
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Protects from heat and preserves rubber band.
If you meant in that picture...nothing much. I just wanted to leave it nearby if the new growth starts wilting again. But a week ago it was entirely shading the graft.
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Shane how far from the ocean are you? Whats the temps over your way? Its around 88 here today. Not too bad.
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I put most of these grafts in the bathroom in my garage with AC set to 80 and grow lamp on 25%. Since they are long distance scions I think this will be best for them. In a couple weeks if the buds start to push I will move outside to acclimate.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/842/43409686911_05b6a06c55_b.jpg)
This is a sharwil I did 2 weeks ago with scions off my own tree. Buds are already popping. This one is in 90F greenhouse 50% shade, and 60% humidity. I have really good luck using my own scions. They usually pop in 2 to 3 weeks and those are the trees that gain vigor and take. If they take more than 4 weeks to pop they seem to stall and never take off and eventually die.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1810/42693400564_fb0326711d_b.jpg)
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Shane how far from the ocean are you? Whats the temps over your way? Its around 88 here today. Not too bad.
Probably hit 84ish. 80 right now. 3 miles from the beach.
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I like the clips!
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I put most of these grafts in the bathroom in my garage with AC set to 80 and grow lamp on 25%. Since they are long distance scions I think this will be best for them. In a couple weeks if the buds start to push I will move outside to acclimate.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/842/43409686911_05b6a06c55_b.jpg)
This is a sharwil I did 2 weeks ago with scions off my own tree. Buds are already popping. This one is in 90F greenhouse 50% shade, and 60% humidity. I have really good luck using my own scions. They usually pop in 2 to 3 weeks and those are the trees that gain vigor and take. If they take more than 4 weeks to pop they seem to stall and never take off and eventually die.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1810/42693400564_fb0326711d_b.jpg)
Brad, I've grown under grow lights and just a thought, not sure what lamps you're using but those lamps sure look far away from your pots. One of the best tools I have is an old analog G.E. light meter that registers up to 10K foot candles. No, it doesn't measure PAR but it's still a valuable tool, a guide. I'd be giving those faves about 5,000 f.c. Keep in mind Hawaii is around 22 latitude. For long day/short night plants I kept the timer on a 20/4 on/off cycle to induce vegetative growth. Citrus is photoperiod dependent, not sure about avocado.
FWIW, summer noon sun is 10k - 10,500 f.c., cloudless day, 27 latitude.
Good luck on the grafts. I must have 6 Sharwil that are shooting the moon, one on a Gwen tree.
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I like the clips!
Works for me! :D
(https://s22.postimg.cc/deja6yrml/Citrus_Grafts_June23.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/deja6yrml/)
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I put most of these grafts in the bathroom in my garage with AC set to 80 and grow lamp on 25%. Since they are long distance scions I think this will be best for them. In a couple weeks if the buds start to push I will move outside to acclimate.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/842/43409686911_05b6a06c55_b.jpg)
This is a sharwil I did 2 weeks ago with scions off my own tree. Buds are already popping. This one is in 90F greenhouse 50% shade, and 60% humidity. I have really good luck using my own scions. They usually pop in 2 to 3 weeks and those are the trees that gain vigor and take. If they take more than 4 weeks to pop they seem to stall and never take off and eventually die.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1810/42693400564_fb0326711d_b.jpg)
Brad, I've grown under grow lights and just a thought, not sure what lamps you're using but those lamps sure look far away from your pots. One of the best tools I have is an old analog G.E. light meter that registers up to 10K foot candles. No, it doesn't measure PAR but it's still a valuable tool, a guide. I'd be giving those faves about 5,000 f.c. Keep in mind Hawaii is around 22 latitude. For long day/short night plants I kept the timer on a 20/4 on/off cycle to induce vegetative growth. Citrus is photoperiod dependent, not sure about avocado.
FWIW, summer noon sun is 10k - 10,500 f.c., cloudless day, 27 latitude.
Good luck on the grafts. I must have 6 Sharwil that are shooting the moon, one on a Gwen tree.
Those are 4 x 50w of very efficient COB LEDs. Its like 400w of MH or HPS. Ive got the photo period synched to outside so I can move them freely in and out. I wouldnt normally be putting avocados indoors. Just taking some stress off them while the grafts heal. So they are getting a mild stimulus from the lamp and low temps inside. I have been dropping the lamp and turning up the current slowly. They will get blasted with light and heat as soon as they start flushing. Hopefully that happens.
I have been working with Simon a lot on various projects and one of the things I have learned from him is using grow lamps for grafting or rooting works really well. So we will see how these go. Will keep you posted.
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Those are 4 x 50w of very efficient COB LEDs. Its like 400w of MH or HPS. Ive got the photo period synched to outside so I can move them freely in and out. I wouldnt normally be putting avocados indoors. Just taking some stress off them while the grafts heal. So they are getting a mild stimulus from the lamp and low temps inside. I have been dropping the lamp and turning up the current slowly. They will get blasted with light and heat as soon as they start flushing. Hopefully that happens.
I have been working with Simon a lot on various projects and one of the things I have learned from him is using grow lamps for grafting or rooting works really well. So we will see how these go. Will keep you posted.
Interesting! This would really work well for citrus during the winter, short day months. I might have to dig out that old 600W HPS. ;)
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Well its been 3 weeks or so now. Lost 1 of 12 of the grafts. The other 11 are still green and just barely starting to buldge. I removed the clips and the top of the parafilm to try and get them to draw some moisture and start flushing. Fingers crossed. This can go a few ways, they can stay green and buds sit there but wont budge. They can dry out without the tape and die, or they will start flushing. Im only removing the tape tips because these are inside and theres no wind to dry them out. Outside, just making a small pin hole around the buds would be a better way to get them to draw some water up. Everyday I go and remove any new shoots on the rootstocks.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1813/43741834882_0aa255492b_b.jpg)
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Meanwhile, the sharwil I did off my own tree 5 weeks ago is going just fine outside in 100F and part shade. Its crazy how much better fresh scion do.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1795/42887100465_a3371820d0_b.jpg)
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I have a nishikawa graft that is pushing right now outside in ground.
(https://s15.postimg.cc/nidsa9c0n/D4_D9_B600-65_F8-4717-9_BEF-70_B5_D3_BC407_F.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/nidsa9c0n/)
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Fresh scions about ready to push and a good rootstock with plenty of root mass is what it's all about.
Those are really good results Brad!
Good luck Khaled.
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Fresh scions about ready to push and a good rootstock with plenty of root mass is what it's all about.
Those are really good results Brad!
Good luck Khaled.
Hey Im not celebrating yet. Ive had these things look like they are going to go before and they do nothing. A few of them look like they may start growing though. I wish there was a way to encourage the buds to push. Anyone have any ideas how to coax them into sprouting shoots?
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Has anyone tried this method?
https://youtu.be/LWKDnFLBaq0
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Hey Im not celebrating yet. Ive had these things look like they are going to go before and they do nothing.
I've lost quite a few avocado grafts this year. Just lost a Sharwil on a Gwen. I figure the 18F finally did it in. It's pushing up rootstock shoots now.
The Lamb Hass, 3 or 4 Sharwil and one Pinkerton I did on a frozen back Oro Negro are going nuts. Helps to be on a massive root system. Solo Pinkerton on another old tree is doing well too.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/ap0ddy1a5/Avocado_Aug7.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/ap0ddy1a5/)
This picture doesn't do my recovering Reed justice. This is probably the most gorgeous avocado I've ever grown, rehabilitated is more like it. It's a good 9' tall by 6' or so wide. I expect it to be 10' or so come winter. Your pitaya cutting is protected from a west sun behind the Reed. Will eventually put something in that 100 gal. bottomless "pot" aka raised bed.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/ey53ga4l9/Reed_August7.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/ey53ga4l9/)
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Pinkerton on another frozen back tree. This is what a Holiday, Pinkerton, Ardith, and Sir Prize were on before the Jan. freeze. This thing is growing at a crawl. I know its not vigorous but this seems ridiculous.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/dqr5njjgd/Pinkerton_Aug7.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/dqr5njjgd/)
BTW, that clover in the pot is a volunteer legume I broadcast on 14 acres about 14 years ago. Stuff re-seeds and pops up in some weird places, like my greenhouse. Have you considered a legume or green manure crop Brad? I grew Elbon rye, hairy vetch and this Madrid yellow sweet clover for years before I farmed it.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/rkficuz9p/Snoball_House_Rye.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/rkficuz9p/)
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Nice looking trees Mark. Things are looking promising here. I already got a few of the grafts to start pushing leaves and moved them outside in partial shade. Im pushing my luck a bit moving them outside, its been 100F and low humidity. Just don't want them to get too comfy indoors. If all goes well these will be ready to plant by October.
(https://s33.postimg.cc/8ivavlj7v/20180807_073409.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/8ivavlj7v/)
(https://s33.postimg.cc/wmm2jvm97/20180807_073829.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/wmm2jvm97/)
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Hey Mark I have no idea about those crops you mentioned. Not sure we can grow that kind of stuff here since theres no rain.
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So the time that the cultivars make fruit does not matter. You will graft all cultivars the same time when your climate is right. Say in spring or summer.
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Hey Mark I have no idea about those crops you mentioned. Not sure we can grow that kind of stuff here since theres no rain.
Probably not. Most are drought tolerant with deep root systems though.
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Well the avocado grafts were a success. Of 12, only 1 died and the rest look like they are going good. I already put 5 of the 11 outside and they are growing nicely. Getting ready to put a few more outside soon. And theres 2 or 3 slow pokes that are just now going.
I will take some photos on the weekend.
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great success rate Brad, nice work may they grow strong ;)
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Thanks Scott, so far this indoor thing works really well.
I think these will be ready to go in the ground in a month. Heres the ones I have outside in full sun already. It was around 87F today and that is mild enough to put them out for the first time in full sun. Looks like the weather will stay under 90 for at least a week and I can capitalize on that with these.
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1800/42253909440_5c56aa1db8_b.jpg)
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Nice job, hope they don't burn as they have not been acclimated to full sun. When folks have been growing anything under shade and that pretty much describes under lights as the output doesn't come near the 10,000 f.c. of a typical summer sun, I sit them on an east facing porch and give them full sun for a while up to say....10:00 a.m. gradually increasing their exposure until they're hardened up.
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Mark Im on it! Breaking plants into full sun is like a full time job over here. Ive got way too much practice doing this.
The COB leds have full spectrum that mimics the sun including the UV component. Plants transition really well to outside with this lamp. You can't do this as quick with other types of grow light.
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Heres some of the areas for breaking plants in. Plants coming out of the greenhouse are even more tender than these little indoor plants.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/pugbrj7ct/20180815_084857.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/pugbrj7ct/)
(https://s22.postimg.cc/dskxxdiot/20180816_074611.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/dskxxdiot/)
(https://s22.postimg.cc/5zua5d2f1/20180816_074701.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/5zua5d2f1/)
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Heres some of the areas for breaking plants in. Plants coming out of the greenhouse are even more tender than these little indoor plants.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/pugbrj7ct/20180815_084857.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/pugbrj7ct/)
(https://s22.postimg.cc/dskxxdiot/20180816_074611.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/dskxxdiot/)
(https://s22.postimg.cc/5zua5d2f1/20180816_074701.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/5zua5d2f1/)
I figured after hitting the SEND button I should have kept my mouth shut. You aint no newbie. ;D
Looks great........
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I wont let them burn. One of those was drooping a bit and it got moved back under the burlap. The others are looking good and sit next to the passionfruit vines and get afternoon shade. These puppies are going to be ready to plant really quick. They dont do much them bam they are going good all of a sudden. Pushing them quickly into as much sun as they can take speeds things along. Someone mentioned doing grafting in winter, these things would be doing nada in winter.
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I wont let them burn. One of those was drooping a bit and it got moved back under the burlap. The others are looking good and sit next to the passionfruit vines and get afternoon shade. These puppies are going to be ready to plant really quick. They dont do much them bam they are going good all of a sudden. Pushing them quickly into as much sun as they can take speeds things along. Someone mentioned doing grafting in winter, these things would be doing nada in winter.
Keep us posted as this is pretty exciting. Early spring is the best time to graft IMO, when budswell is just beginning to show, meaning sap is about to flow.
You know I'm not an organic purist, far from it but I recommend innoculating the rootball upon planting with an ecto mychorrizal fungi. I innoculated my Xmas trees with both endo and ecto (conifers sync with the endo form), grapevines, landscape trees....everything. Learned a lot about some which are nothing more than rocket fuels contaminated with trichoderma bacteria and some which are the real deal, viable. My grapevines are a jungle and figure some of that vigor is due to the innoculation at planting. I went almost 2 years without supplemental water and no fertilizer. Still went nuts and we are in a central, more western area of Texas so we don't get more than the average of about 27" a year.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/va8cef8dp/VAM.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/va8cef8dp/)
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I wont let them burn. One of those was drooping a bit and it got moved back under the burlap. The others are looking good and sit next to the passionfruit vines and get afternoon shade. These puppies are going to be ready to plant really quick. They dont do much them bam they are going good all of a sudden. Pushing them quickly into as much sun as they can take speeds things along. Someone mentioned doing grafting in winter, these things would be doing nada in winter.
Keep us posted as this is pretty exciting. Early spring is the best time to graft IMO, when budswell is just beginning to show, meaning sap is about to flow.
You know I'm not an organic purist, far from it but I recommend innoculating the rootball upon planting with an ecto mychorrizal fungi. I innoculated my Xmas trees with both endo and ecto (conifers sync with the endo form), grapevines, landscape trees....everything. Learned a lot about some which are nothing more than rocket fuels contaminated with trichoderma bacteria and some which are the real deal, viable. My grapevines are a jungle and figure some of that vigor is due to the innoculation at planting. I went almost 2 years without supplemental water and no fertilizer. Still went nuts and we are in a central, more western area of Texas so we don't get more than the average of about 27" a year.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/va8cef8dp/VAM.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/va8cef8dp/)
Mark, I will try and find some VAM. For some of my nicer trees I throw some organic ferts w innoculant in when planting. Avocado trees are kind of like weeds here, never do anything special for them and thry grow really easy. Ive got a gallon of EM1 Im planning on activating in 5gal buckets then running through the fert injector onto everything. It would be great if I could put something like VAM in a bucket and squirt all the trees at once with it.
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VAM contains stuff that doesn't dissolve like humic acids. I'll post Carlos' photo of what he uses. Great info with contacts too.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/gngknytl9/Carlos_Products_I_use_1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/gngknytl9/)
https://www.amazon.com/BioAg-grams-Endomycorrhizal-Plant-Inoculant/dp/B00J2FHVDI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1534520081&sr=8-3&keywords=vam (https://www.amazon.com/BioAg-grams-Endomycorrhizal-Plant-Inoculant/dp/B00J2FHVDI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1534520081&sr=8-3&keywords=vam)
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VAM contains stuff that doesn't dissolve like humic acids. I'll post Carlos' photo of what he uses. Great info with contacts too.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/gngknytl9/Carlos_Products_I_use_1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/gngknytl9/)
https://www.amazon.com/BioAg-grams-Endomycorrhizal-Plant-Inoculant/dp/B00J2FHVDI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1534520081&sr=8-3&keywords=vam (https://www.amazon.com/BioAg-grams-Endomycorrhizal-Plant-Inoculant/dp/B00J2FHVDI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1534520081&sr=8-3&keywords=vam)
Done, got the kilo size bag.
Got a few tons of pine mulch that is going out then this is getting put on it and watered in and then EM1 injection.
Then Im going on vacation.
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VAM contains stuff that doesn't dissolve like humic acids. I'll post Carlos' photo of what he uses. Great info with contacts too.
(https://s22.postimg.cc/gngknytl9/Carlos_Products_I_use_1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/gngknytl9/)
https://www.amazon.com/BioAg-grams-Endomycorrhizal-Plant-Inoculant/dp/B00J2FHVDI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1534520081&sr=8-3&keywords=vam (https://www.amazon.com/BioAg-grams-Endomycorrhizal-Plant-Inoculant/dp/B00J2FHVDI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1534520081&sr=8-3&keywords=vam)
Done, got the kilo size bag.
Got a few tons of pine mulch that is going out then this is getting put on it and watered in and then EM1 injection.
Then Im going on vacation.
Wow, you deserve some time off. Take your pack off and have a good one!
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Update on the trees. Planted out in fall. They are still very tiny but starting to grow.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7898/46447282315_18a2c1650b_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7904/47362256371_1eb1b22d64_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7802/33485981428_ab4627556f_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7824/47309369762_199d00e254_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7819/40394863873_63cfa6412c_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7834/47360235981_d48438c46c_b.jpg)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7803/40394859043_82d5e83271_b.jpg)
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Brad, your young cados look so healthy!
I very much like the idea of setting up a "breaking in" area,
seems like you are an expert grafter/nurseryman now Brad!
Grand opening "Brad Spaugh" Nursery in view...? :D
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Brad, your young cados look so healthy!
I very much like the idea of setting up a "breaking in" area,
seems like you are an expert grafter/nurseryman now Brad!
Grand opening "Brad Spaugh" Nursery in view...? :D
Thanks samu. I really want to sell more grafted avocado and mango trees but to be honest its a huge pain. The weather is too extreme here to make it worthwhile.
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Heres hass tree I just put a bunch of sticks on that CA Hockey donated to me. Thanks Khalid. Hopefully Some of them take. This time of year seems pretty ideal to do this stuff.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7833/47362592411_fcdb8662d6_b.jpg)
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Hi Brad, why are your grafts so far out on the branches??? you know it is going to be getting pretty hot AND BRIGHT SUNNY in your area soon. Regards Patrick
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Day grafted Jan. 8th
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7914/46646884064_d08f077914_c.jpg)
Day today
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7886/47370106251_8a5ed13317_c.jpg)
Whitsell, Don Gillogy, Day, Popenoe, Mexicola Grande, Monroe, Gwen, Choquette and a seedling that is reported to be excellent. Hopefully I will get some fruit to taste test this year.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7923/47370166381_fc65bdce28_c.jpg)
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Hi Brad, why are your grafts so far out on the branches??? you know it is going to be getting pretty hot AND BRIGHT SUNNY in your area soon. Regards Patrick
Patrick, I put them where they matched up diamter wise. Then trimmed off extra branches to force energy to the grafted tips. Now they are way out there, you are right. Maybe it was a mistake? I just want to save these here temporarily. That entire tree will haveto be removed in a couple years.
Yes, its going to be hot and sunny. Should I tinfoil them? I never really had a problem with scions in 80F sun to be honest. The parafilm will keep them from getting dry.
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Day grafted Jan. 8th
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7914/46646884064_d08f077914_c.jpg)
Day today
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7886/47370106251_8a5ed13317_c.jpg)
Whitsell, Don Gillogy, Day, Popenoe, Mexicola Grande, Monroe, Gwen, Choquette and a seedling that is reported to be excellent. Hopefully I will get some fruit to taste test this year.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7923/47370166381_fc65bdce28_c.jpg)
Nice collection. I notice you got the blurple grow lamp in the background.
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Nice collection. I notice you got the blurple grow lamp in the background.
I was trying to get a head start on papayas to sell at a tree sale in May. It is just a cheapy Amazon cob. I had too much stuff and the light too high up for the small output.
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Hi Brad, cados look great. Got a Pinkerton pushing already, other 2 looking good with bud swell. Thanks.
Nothing beats the ease and efficiency of Surround. A TB in a gallon and you've got a great whitewash. I can't see going thru the trouble of foil or latex paint. I've got 20# or so which enough to supply all of SoCal. If you want some let me know.
https://www.groworganic.com/surround-25-lb.html (https://www.groworganic.com/surround-25-lb.html)
Pesticide ID required for California? That's crazy. It's nothing more than clay powder.
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Hi Brad, cados look great. Got a Pinkerton pushing already, other 2 looking good with bud swell. Thanks.
Nothing beats the ease and efficiency of Surround. A TB in a gallon and you've got a great whitewash. I can't see going thru the trouble of foil or latex paint. I've got 20# or so which enough to supply all of SoCal. If you want some let me know.
https://www.groworganic.com/surround-25-lb.html (https://www.groworganic.com/surround-25-lb.html)
Pesticide ID required for California? That's crazy. It's nothing more than clay powder.
I got a bag of surround to use this summer. That pesticide thing is a mistake on that website. I ordered some last year.
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Hi Brad, cados look great. Got a Pinkerton pushing already, other 2 looking good with bud swell. Thanks.
Nothing beats the ease and efficiency of Surround. A TB in a gallon and you've got a great whitewash. I can't see going thru the trouble of foil or latex paint. I've got 20# or so which enough to supply all of SoCal. If you want some let me know.
https://www.groworganic.com/surround-25-lb.html (https://www.groworganic.com/surround-25-lb.html)
Pesticide ID required for California? That's crazy. It's nothing more than clay powder.
I got a bag of surround to use this summer. That pesticide thing is a mistake on that website. I ordered some last year.
I've been interested in trying this too. I think Mark recommended it to me (Or someone else) and I've been interested since. Going to check my local orchard supply and see if they have smaller quantities as I only have 3 'cados going in the ground as soon as I drop my 25-30ft palm tree.
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Vermented, nice to see someone using root tip pruning systems. With the exception of my pineapples everything in the greenhouse is in RootBuilder. even pitaya I sell panels for $3 each at our scion exchanges. 10 panels = 100 gals. for example.
I used Griffin's Spin-Out for decades.
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I wanted to update this with some findings that may be useful to other people. A month or so ago I did some grafts on an in ground tree and on several seedlings. Its gotten quite hot here but the scions have done fine in full sun. Just parafilm and clips on the grafts was used. After 2-3 weeks the clip are removed. Temps have hit 90 several times and no issues, grafts are still taking. I also did a bunch of seedling trees and intentionally left them in full sun. The grafts are taking no problem in strong spring sun. And small new growth also unaffected. So don't be afraid of sun when temps are under 90, it seems to be a non issue.
I had really good luck taking scions off of trees about to do their first good flush for the year. Around mid march seems to be a great time to take scions with swollen buds. I would say March is the best month to do grafting here. Even with some buds being flower buds, doesnt matter.
There will be extra grafted sharwil trees in a month or so if anyone wants any of those. Im really impressed with the way sharwil is growing here and am planting more of them here. Havent tried the fruit yet but by all account they are excellent.
Heres some not so great pics of the grafts
(https://i.postimg.cc/grHJ8bdk/20190420-084307.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/grHJ8bdk)
(https://i.postimg.cc/18f5kgFf/20190420-084323.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/18f5kgFf)
(https://i.postimg.cc/JGTzY3Gf/20190420-084329.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/JGTzY3Gf)
(https://i.postimg.cc/3drwZfJj/20190420-084335.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/3drwZfJj)
(https://i.postimg.cc/34gMMh9y/20190420-084346.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/34gMMh9y)
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My Sharwil grafts done last year are on steroids Brad. 7' tall, full and gorgeous. FWIW all pitaya are doing really well including the Frankie's Red.
Am playing with 3 gal. RootTrapper "Squats" now. Here's a new Pinkerton graft about 2 weeks ago. So far so good. These rigid bags are pretty cheap wholesale. Seams are tripled stitched.
(https://i.postimg.cc/JDrwhkCc/Root-Trapper.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/JDrwhkCc)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Rq055KRv/Root-Trapper2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/Rq055KRv)
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Cool, sharwil has a nice compact/spreading growth and also has thick stems and tough leaves that hold up to intense heat. It doesnt seems to be very salt sensitive either. If it stays that way through another summer, this is a real winner. I planted this tree a year or 2 ago. It had gotten eaten down to a nub by a jackrabbit but made a nice comeback last summer.
(https://i.postimg.cc/crR2nVVh/20190419-085321.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/crR2nVVh)
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Nice project, Brad!
I wanted to ask: what did you use as rootstock and where did you source it, or did you germinate pits?
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I grow seeds from fruit off my mature trees. Its pretty easy to get avocado seeds started. They are pretty much 100% germination.
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Cool, sharwil has a nice compact/spreading growth and also has thick stems and tough leaves that hold up to intense heat. It doesnt seems to be very salt sensitive either. If it stays that way through another summer, this is a real winner. I planted this tree a year or 2 ago. It had gotten eaten down to a nub by a jackrabbit but made a nice comeback last summer.
(https://i.postimg.cc/crR2nVVh/20190419-085321.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/crR2nVVh)
Looks great and no match for the Easter bunny.
Believe it or not I have Sharwil branches thicker than a broom stick handle and if you remember I grafted those May of last year.
Am up shit creek though with my Reed which is about to go nuts with flowers - for the first time in years I have few if any pollinators. :-\ In the past I usually had a greenhouse full of many different species of moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, and flies. Don't know what's going on but I do know if I don't get some visitors soon I won't have a Reed crop. Neighbors lost their hives but many of my pollinators were flies.
Anyone know if you can hand pollinate avocado flowers? We get an hour or so crossover with both male and female flowers on the same cluster, like this one.
(https://i.postimg.cc/pyYYWwRJ/Mail-Female-Flowers.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/pyYYWwRJ)
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Mark, you could probably break out a paintbrush and do some pollinating. We got a lot of rain this winter and the hillsides are covered in wildflowers. My neighbors honeybees arent doing much here either. They're busy playing in the wildflowers.
Was looking at the trees yesterday and only saw small wasps and ladybugs pollinating. Was worried there were mites or something on the trees but nope, lady bugs all over the trees only on open flowers.
(https://i.postimg.cc/CBVwvJMM/20190422-162041.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/CBVwvJMM)
(https://i.postimg.cc/4KcJbjgF/20190422-162431.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/4KcJbjgF)
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Those Lady bugs are your "guard dogs" ;)
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Side note: I noticed at least 20 honey bees on my Brewster Lychee the other day going about their business. Hope they take notice of the towering Avocado behind it.
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Yeah, lady bugs are great. They love aphids.
Come to think of it is wildflower season, big time. We have folks drive from far and wide to view them, something Lady Bird Johnson started many years ago. Now that the bluebonnets are finishing maybe they'll be back. My Gwen was pollinated by flies, hundreds of them. Even flies are not around. Nice when you're trying to bar-b-q, not so nice now. How ironic!
(https://i.postimg.cc/fSLJ2XRm/Flieson-Gwen.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/fSLJ2XRm)
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As my trees are young and not ready to bear fruit I don't mind there not being any bees on them, but I too noticed the bees are distracted.
In my case I have hundreds of them in my citrus trees. It's the first scent that hits you when you walk outside, they're ignoring my wildflower bed almost completely to swarm my citrus, and to a lesser extent my strawberry beds.
If my trees flower at the same time as my citrus on a regular basis I'm worried I may have to manually pollinate for any fruit set...
(https://i.postimg.cc/s19GDh4P/bees-lemon.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/s19GDh4P)
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veneer
(https://i.postimg.cc/MvFb27Ns/Reed-Veneer-Graft5-6-12send.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/MvFb27Ns)
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As my trees are young and not ready to bear fruit I don't mind there not being any bees on them, but I too noticed the bees are distracted.
In my case I have hundreds of them in my citrus trees. It's the first scent that hits you when you walk outside, they're ignoring my wildflower bed almost completely to swarm my citrus, and to a lesser extent my strawberry beds.
If my trees flower at the same time as my citrus on a regular basis I'm worried I may have to manually pollinate for any fruit set...
(https://i.postimg.cc/s19GDh4P/bees-lemon.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/s19GDh4P)
No you wont need to manually pollinate. The tree is going to make a million flowers and only need to get 10s or 100 to set fruit. There will be plenty of little bugs to do it for you.
Even in the greenhouse I doubt you wont fet pollination either Mark. You will probably have way too much fruitset even without the bees.
Just my guess... My trees are covered in pea sized fruit. And bees arent around.
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Check this hass tree out. Ive got 2 differwnt strains of hass it seems like. These are lavern hass. They completely drop the leaves and bloom like crazy. The fruit is smaller and peels easier than the other one type. Ive got a few of each type.
(https://i.postimg.cc/GTCrpgtb/20190425-085029.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/GTCrpgtb)
(https://i.postimg.cc/FfqmcsWF/20190425-083715.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/FfqmcsWF)
Heres the other ones from clausons. Both are on zutano seedling rootstock. This kind doesnt drop as much leaf during bloom and fruits harder and less prone to sunburn.
(https://i.postimg.cc/TynTXX2t/20190425-085043.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/TynTXX2t)
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Heres what the hawaii avos I grafted in the original post are doing
(https://i.postimg.cc/RJK77hvc/20190425-082944.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/RJK77hvc)
(https://i.postimg.cc/3WvF5S2d/20190425-083026.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/3WvF5S2d)
(https://i.postimg.cc/yDPTpDcj/20190425-083304.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/yDPTpDcj)
(https://i.postimg.cc/PP1yZ3qB/20190425-083341.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/PP1yZ3qB)
(https://i.postimg.cc/cvMDq9yQ/20190425-084221.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/cvMDq9yQ)
And Ive got about 6 of these reed seeds in the ground I need to graft up soon. Some are starting to get too big.
(https://i.postimg.cc/f31S8s25/20190425-083138.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/f31S8s25)
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Looking good there. Hope those avos sprout up. I acquired a few new varieties from green scene recently. Hopefully they will grow well this year.
Mark, yes you can hand pollinate. You can use a q tip or or something soft or a dead bug trapped in a spider web. You can then light brush against s male flower then come back to pollinate female flowers
You can also just pull off a Male flower and walk around and pollinate female ones later on
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Looking good there. Hope those avos sprout up. I acquired a few new varieties from green scene recently. Hopefully they will grow well this year.
Mark, yes you can hand pollinate. You can use a q tip or or something soft or a dead bug trapped in a spider web. You can then light brush against s male flower then come back to pollinate female flowers
You can also just pull off a Male flower and walk around and pollinate female ones later on
Out of curiosity...Which varieties did you get from green scene? I missed it this year...I have attended the two previous years before.
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Looking good there. Hope those avos sprout up. I acquired a few new varieties from green scene recently. Hopefully they will grow well this year.
Mark, yes you can hand pollinate. You can use a q tip or or something soft or a dead bug trapped in a spider web. You can then light brush against s male flower then come back to pollinate female flowers
You can also just pull off a Male flower and walk around and pollinate female ones later on
Thanks for the info! I'll try that.
Stock looks great as usual Brad.
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.........
Am playing with 3 gal. RootTrapper "Squats" now. Here's a new Pinkerton graft about 2 weeks ago. So far so good. These rigid bags are pretty cheap wholesale. Seams are tripled stitched.
......
Whats wholesale equivalent per unit and minimum order size?
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I bought a bunch of no name ones that aren't really propagated
One called 'tal', reportedly excellent flavor but every few years some avos will have fiber . Jf said it was her sons favorite and is in her yard. Research name is TX something.
I bought malama to replace my dead and one.
Bob avocado and Schindler avocado. Dont know mich about
Them.
Marshalline avocado also.
These are the ones they usually propagate just 1 of (except malama) and so the budwood doesnt really get passed around. I was trying to find a sally avocado but it wasn't grafted this year. I bought the only tree last year as it came really highly recommended but it fried. I did manage to get some budwood though and it's still green.
Looking good there. Hope those avos sprout up. I acquired a few new varieties from green scene recently. Hopefully they will grow well this year.
Mark, yes you can hand pollinate. You can use a q tip or or something soft or a dead bug trapped in a spider web. You can then light brush against s male flower then come back to pollinate female flowers
You can also just pull off a Male flower and walk around and pollinate female ones later on
Out of curiosity...Which varieties did you get from green scene? I missed it this year...I have attended the two previous years before.
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.........
Am playing with 3 gal. RootTrapper "Squats" now. Here's a new Pinkerton graft about 2 weeks ago. So far so good. These rigid bags are pretty cheap wholesale. Seams are tripled stitched.
......
Whats wholesale equivalent per unit and minimum order size?
Minimum of 10, about half the cost of retail.
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Check this hass tree out. Ive got 2 differwnt strains of hass it seems like. These are lavern hass. They completely drop the leaves and bloom like crazy. The fruit is smaller and peels easier than the other one type. Ive got a few of each type.
(https://i.postimg.cc/GTCrpgtb/20190425-085029.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/GTCrpgtb)
(https://i.postimg.cc/FfqmcsWF/20190425-083715.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/FfqmcsWF)
Heres the other ones from clausons. Both are on zutano seedling rootstock. This kind doesnt drop as much leaf during bloom and fruits harder and less prone to sunburn.
(https://i.postimg.cc/TynTXX2t/20190425-085043.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/TynTXX2t)
Good grief! That's a Claritin pill just waiting for some action.
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Heres more pics of the grafted trees. Everything is coming along nicely. After doing a lot of avocado grafts Im going to say my best results are with 80F weather and grafted scions put in full sun right away as long as its not much over 80. The heat and sun on the wood seems to make it flush out faster. I think thats important if you are grafting small rootstocks and there are little or no supporting leaves left after grafting. Probably less critical for larger trees. Im still doing more avocado grafting now in May and it seems fine with the may gray we get in so cal this time of year.
The small trees are now at the stage where they need corrective shaping and pruning. You can see the tree tape pulling several of them to correct the leaning. They sometimes have a bad trunk shape where the graft grows sideways. Ideally the trunks would be straight and no branching until at least 1 foot above grade. I am straightening and removing all branches below 1ft. I like avocado trees with a good central leader at the bottom of the tree.
(https://i.postimg.cc/WDDp7f7B/20190512-091545.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/WDDp7f7B)
(https://i.postimg.cc/S2CyB23V/20190512-091559.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/S2CyB23V)
(https://i.postimg.cc/c6fHj2NZ/20190512-092056.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/c6fHj2NZ)
(https://i.postimg.cc/DSwwSz4y/20190512-092222.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/DSwwSz4y)
(https://i.postimg.cc/CZt5TV1M/20190512-092245.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/CZt5TV1M)
(https://i.postimg.cc/njyX7tbS/20190512-092324.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/njyX7tbS)
(https://i.postimg.cc/zVSyLMdp/20190512-092347.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/zVSyLMdp)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Lgjn30m9/20190512-092410.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/Lgjn30m9)
(https://i.postimg.cc/Wqc4z6gQ/20190512-092653.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/Wqc4z6gQ)
(https://i.postimg.cc/jLK5rcsf/20190512-092730.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/jLK5rcsf)
(https://i.postimg.cc/874fY3Ms/20190512-095201.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/874fY3Ms)
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Do I see correctly that the scion is a shooting tip with a bunch of fresh leaves? Do you do anything special in terms of watering before/after grafting?
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The scions are small branch tips taken off the donor tree. They are stripped of their leaves and wrapped in grafting tape and then grafted onto a rootstock. Then the buds grow and break through the tape usually a few weeks/months after grafting. Hopefully that answered the question, I wasnt sure exactly what you are asking.
Nothing special as far as watering goes. If they are in pots and you chop them down to a nub and graft it then they don't use any water if theres no leaves so you can just water less in that case.
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Oh, I misunderstood your previous post, I thought they were of freshly grafted plants ::). Now it all makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.
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The little trees were seedlings that I grafted last year in pots and planted in the orchard. The pictues with green name tags are different scions that were all grafted onto a small hass tree already growing in the orchard.
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Lookin' great Brad.
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Its getting hot here and getting late to be grafting. Today I went to GregA's house and tried to do one last avocado graft for the year. I only had one seedling left to graft and have already tried and failed to make a copy of this tree of his. So today I tried putting a side vaneer graft and then also inarched his tree onto the seedling. The grafts were double wrapped with tree tape over the parafilm and then clipped up. Hopefully it works...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48032823082_0f3baf66af_b.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48032824352_a24704683f_b.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48032753258_dc45e48be4_b.jpg)
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It's going to work!
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Looks good. Avocado takes well to side veneer grafting.
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Good luck looks awesome!
Here’s my recent avocado Graft
I think it fused !
(https://i.postimg.cc/bsqKZcRV/5-EB6287-F-A49-A-4-B02-B202-54-FE55271-D7-B.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/bsqKZcRV)
(https://i.postimg.cc/bdx7YN12/6-BC1-D1-F2-0-A2-B-40-A5-8-CE1-B0-B8-B9-BB0-E90.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/bdx7YN12)
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Good luck looks awesome!
Here’s my recent avocado Graft
I think it fused !
(https://i.postimg.cc/bsqKZcRV/5-EB6287-F-A49-A-4-B02-B202-54-FE55271-D7-B.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/bsqKZcRV)
(https://i.postimg.cc/bdx7YN12/6-BC1-D1-F2-0-A2-B-40-A5-8-CE1-B0-B8-B9-BB0-E90.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/bdx7YN12)
Nice, its great when things go as planned. I had good luck lately but it looks like slugs or snails ate one new graft. Some grafts look good then fizzle out too. Once they get a normal size leaf its usually in the clear.
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Looks good. Avocado takes well to side veneer grafting.
I did this in ground seedling a month or so ago based on your suggestion to vaneer it. It started growing then it was around 102F here yesterday so it may have gotten cooked. Will be interesting to see how all the grafts do in a week from now. Ive got several small trees that were starting to grow that are totally unprotected in the sun/heat. Its actually good to see just how much abuse they can handle.
(https://i.postimg.cc/YGqt64dn/20190610-181829.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/YGqt64dn)
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Heres some pics of the hawaiian avo trees started last summer. They are starting to grow nocely now. Ive been trying to train them to have a main trunk with no branches for at least a foot or more.
(https://i.postimg.cc/HrVZyT0w/20190605-112838.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/HrVZyT0w)
(https://i.postimg.cc/K1w97CQd/20190605-112845.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/K1w97CQd)
(https://i.postimg.cc/qzmDqNKB/20190610-181123.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/qzmDqNKB)
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I got my son out to paint the small trees.
(https://i.postimg.cc/T551bLw8/20190514-181948.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/T551bLw8)
(https://i.postimg.cc/mhPtJqSd/20190514-182134.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/mhPtJqSd)
(https://i.postimg.cc/PpxPtFn5/20190514-190049.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/PpxPtFn5)
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Cool pix.
Train them while they're young. :)
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I think she’s pushing 😊
(https://i.postimg.cc/HrB16wR3/46-EE288-D-20-FC-4-DC9-9-E43-211-FDC872857.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/HrB16wR3)
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I think she’s pushing 😊
(https://i.postimg.cc/HrB16wR3/46-EE288-D-20-FC-4-DC9-9-E43-211-FDC872857.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/HrB16wR3)
Congrats, looks like you got a take.
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Thank you !
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Looking Good👍
(https://i.postimg.cc/B8wRrYDC/75-EA58-BD-496-C-4953-BF9-B-44-FBF643296-D.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/B8wRrYDC)
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Looks like most of my grafts done in late april or may have all failed. These were all on in ground trees. Maybe with shade cloth and plastic etc some could have made it but next year I will graft in March and early April only as I feel that is the best time to do it here.
The hawaiian avocados from a year ago are all growing well.
The inarched tree with all the clips on it seemed good and we disconnected in a week ago. But after planting it and shading it with 70% the leaves still got cooked in the heat here. Looks like that was a failure also. It should have been put in full shade, was my fault. I assumed it could take it in 70% shade. But it has been quite hot here and any grafts that start to push get burnt and fail.
Will post pics of some of the successful stuff I did this spring though next time I get a change to take some pics.
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I lost mine too. It's too damn hot.
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I haven't grafted any 'cados but my young trees got scorched even painted and covered with surround. They are pushing new leaves but all mature leaves burned to a crisp when we hit 110. :(
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These trees are all starting to take off after a year now. I didn't realize how many trees I made and planted last year. It was around 15 avocado trees. Thanks to everyone here who sent me bud wood. Some of them have surround white wash on them, I've been experimenting with that vs shade cloth. It works ok, shade seems better but more labor intensive. Once trees are too large to shade, the surround should work well in case of emergency (severe heat wave or fire). With these little trees, when temps hit 100, they need some help.
I've also been training all my trees to have a central leader. A few of them have been let go to their own shape but most I am trying to keep a central trunk. I really like dealing with central leader trees vs big bushes. Much easier to prune and harvest.
OTA
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424273531_3be60607b8_b.jpg)
Nishikawa
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424271616_0a774a24b1_b.jpg)
Malama
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424270346_717f784c24_b.jpg)
Jim Bacon
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424269351_3548b1236d_b.jpg)
GEM
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424268181_34927a8d83_b.jpg)
Mexicola Grande, this tree is a beast. Its already 6ft tall in one year.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424266806_1fc2508e1b_b.jpg)
Jan Boyce
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424409102_4dd6816b54_b.jpg)
Carmen
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424406987_76ffc3499a_b.jpg)
Gwen
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424261631_c51d7a2f6c_b.jpg)
Hellen
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424403657_efcebae3ef_b.jpg)
Kahaluu
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424257896_bd1dc2e8cb_b.jpg)
Fujikawa
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424253131_e84492a098_b.jpg)
Yamagata
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424418437_523213580f_b.jpg)
Murashige
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424421862_738183098d_b.jpg)
Sharwil done in spring of this year on an in ground tree. The in ground grafts grow way faster than potted transplants.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48424276376_cebf760720_b.jpg)
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Your young avocado trees look so healthy.
I also notice that you use adjustable mini sprayers to irrigate them. That's
what I use on some of my trees, besides using drip lines as well.
I am thinking of yanking my very slow growing Holiday (bought in pot)
with a direct seed in the ground planting; learnt it from Simon's thread.
Thanks for sharing those pictures, Brad!
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Your young avocado trees look so healthy.
I also notice that you use adjustable mini sprayers to irrigate them. That's
what I use on some of my trees, besides using drip lines as well.
I am thinking of yanking my very slow growing Holiday (bought in pot)
with a direct seed in the ground planting; learnt it from Simon's thread.
Thanks for sharing those pictures, Brad!
Thanks Sam. Yes quarter circle adjustable from drip depot. I can swap them for bigger heads or spinners in the future. I have some seedlings in ground on 8 stream octopus dipper head things too. Those seem ok as well but the spray type or spin type wet more evenly.
Leave the holiday and plant a foot away from it. Get some reed seeds and plant them now and graft in mid march. You wI'll have trees the size of these this time next year if all goes well. Then yank the holiday. My buddy Greg told me that some pros said holiday doesn't dwarf whatever you graft onto it also. So it should be ok to use as an interstock.
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Beautiful tree's Brad, you've acquired quite the collection of Avocado's your area seem's perfect for your fruit adventure concrat's ;) 8)
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Well done!
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Hey Brad,
How’s the Sharwil doing? Did it get burned in the heat? The Avocados are looking great this year.
Simon
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Hey Brad,
How’s the Sharwil doing? Did it get burned in the heat? The Avocados are looking great this year.
Simon
Looking great, its flishing nicely and no burns under 70% shade. I have 3 sharwil trees now with the addition of your tree.
Trees are not getting much heat damage this year, its fairly humid and not crazy hot ( knock on wood).
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The inarched tree from post #102 had a miracle comeback its alive. This it it, nimlioh
(https://i.postimg.cc/CxK0VYj4/20191019-090647.jpg)
The avocados grafted last summer have taken off. Most are 4ft+ tall now. I will give them another year then let them hold a few fruit in 2021.
Heres an OTA tree. Looks beautiful
(https://i.postimg.cc/X7J1jvzX/20191003-091443.jpg)
This one is kahaluu
(https://i.postimg.cc/5yk3YwRy/20191019-090704.jpg)
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This one is mexicola grande. It was a 6" stub when I grafted it in summer of last year. It has now reached 9ft. Its the most vigorous tree I have. Its on a bacon rootstock and was watered really hard just to see what it would do. It was on a timer and getting watered with the others but I also hosed it really hard everytime I visited that tree with what seemed like very excessive amount of water. It will be ready to bear fruit next year.
(https://i.postimg.cc/TPtM7sy4/20191019-123719.jpg)
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Ive been very diligent in training the trees to all have a central leader. Most of these trees got planted on a 12-15 space and will be kept as column shape trees if possible and kept around 15-20ft tall. A few of the trees still have their training stakes and ties but it looks like they will be removed by 2 years of age. Im only using a single stake to pull the central leaders perfect straight up. If the trees are allowed to lean then new dominant branches form and the tree turns into a bush. That might be preferable to some people but I have decided its not what I want in my orchard. For 2 reasons. Having a column tree means higher density planting and more production per area. And its much easier to get at the fruit. If you dont have to climb into a big bushy tree. Theres rattle snakes here and climbing into trees sucks. I rather use a picker pole. Some varieties just dont grow in a colmn shape like hass and fuerte tend to get bushy. But I will at least try to keep them this way. I have a lot of trees that have bad shapes because I didnt know what I wanted or how to properly prune and shape them when starting out. Its a really important thing to do in the first few years of growh.
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Heres a jan boyce tree 1 year in ground and is 6ft now. Its quite vigorous. The tree needs to be staked and the leader pulled over to the left to correct the leaning or it will become a bush. Its not too late to fix this tree and I am going to restake it this week. It was staked and then the staking was removed and the leader leaned over and a 2nd dominate branch formed on it. It has a V shape half way up the tree. I had the orchard on autopilot for a while and I didnt pay attention. Now I just need to restake this up and correct it.
The other issue with this tree is it has a scaffokd brqnch forming very low on it. You can see it at the bottom on left side of the tree. That branch is going out almost horizontal. And its got leaves touching the ground. The fruit that forms on that branch will be on the ground. And it will block the irrigation. And its going to be a pain in the but to get the feuit off the tree with a big branch down there. So that will probably also get pruned off now that the tree has gained some size and vigor it wont be missed.
The reason Im posting all this is to give ideas about your own young trees. Make sure you get things off to the right path when they are young.
(https://i.postimg.cc/jdKVTNVT/20191019-123756.jpg)
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The trees you have are looking great and your getting some fast growth.
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Nice work Brad!
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Great points, success speaks for itself.
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I graft in my house so i can have grafting success almost any month of the year,if i had 1 tip to give it would be dont try to graft too young of seedlings thats were ive had most failure rates when ive tryed to graft too small, i advise tree age of 6 months to 1 year old and at least pencil size of trunk or even a bit larger for better take rates. Lately ive mostly done cleft grafts but had success on side grafts also, i use parafilm and sometimes rubber band on outside of parafilm in case im looking for added presure esp if my cuts are not super straight, im ready for commercail grafting cutting tool as i think this could help me for straighter cuts, also cut scions in straightest part of scions as bends in scions has lower success rate.
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Buddy tape and clothespins work well for me on t-bud, side veneer, cleft. You can forget it if the timing is not right. I wouldn't think of grafting anything right now as we are damn cold with outside lows in the teens with the last cold front.
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Ill be doing way more avocado grafting than I care to in a couple months from now. Theres about 15 seedling I let get big and need to do something with. Will take some pics.
All the little grafted trees from this thread are getting flower buds on them now. Its very tempting to let them each carry a fruit. Cant wait to try all these new varieties.
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Ill be doing way more avocado grafting than I care to in a couple months from now. Theres about 15 seedling I let get big and need to do something with. Will take some pics.
All the little grafted trees from this thread are getting flower buds on them now. Its very tempting to let them each carry a fruit. Cant wait to try all these new varieties.
How exciting. On the bigger trees you might want to try t-bud. Almost a no brainer if the rootstock bark slips easily. There's a perfect cambium match. It's my favorite way to graft citrus. On pencil size stock I apply a clothespin just above and one below the slice of budwood.
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Ill be doing way more avocado grafting than I care to in a couple months from now. Theres about 15 seedling I let get big and need to do something with. Will take some pics.
All the little grafted trees from this thread are getting flower buds on them now. Its very tempting to let them each carry a fruit. Cant wait to try all these new varieties.
How exciting. On the bigger trees you might want to try t-bud. Almost a no brainer if the rootstock bark slips easily. There's a perfect cambium match. It's my favorite way to graft citrus. On pencil size stock I apply a clothespin just above and one below the slice of budwood.
The rootstocks are 1-2 inches wide. I was going to try doing some bark grafts with pencil or larger size scions. Maybe take a couple sticks off each rootstock and graft them onto one tree and to see if any produce good fruit. And top work the rest of them with known cultivars. My problem now is I have 2 months to decide what to graft and where to source it. I can make duplicate trees with what I have but would like to try and get a few new types if possible.
Honestly Mark, I don't enjoy the actual grafting. I find it tedious and laborious. But when the grafts work and things grow it is very rewarding. And obviously eating the final product is awesome as well.
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The rootstocks are 1-2 inches wide. I was going to try doing some bark grafts with pencil or larger size scions. Maybe take a couple sticks off each rootstock and graft them onto one tree and to see if any produce good fruit. And top work the rest of them with known cultivars. My problem now is I have 2 months to decide what to graft and where to source it. I can make duplicate trees with what I have but would like to try and get a few new types if possible.
Honestly Mark, I don't enjoy the actual grafting. I find it tedious and laborious. But when the grafts work and things grow it is very rewarding. And obviously eating the final product is awesome as well.
Watching a new graft push is very exciting as is having some tasty fruit that you (here in Texas) few can only dream of. We're really enjoying citrus now and "they say" oranges are a super healthy fruit. Really looking forward to some Reeds this summer. All of grafted avocado trees are just gorgeous and should bloom big time soon.
(https://i.postimg.cc/06hxhsWQ/Oranges-Dec24-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/06hxhsWQ)
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Heres one that sprung a sucker. Lame holiday tree was falling over and seemed to have triggered the rootstock to make a sprout. In less than 6 months the sucker is as tall as the holiday. Im going to stump the holiday and dosome bark grafts and also try and put some on the sucker.
Ill put some holiday grafts on my bacon tree too. This holiday fruit is big and needs a real tree to hold it up. The holiday has a lousy growth pattern, nice fruits but pathetic tree. Best bet will be hang it on a stronger tree.
(https://i.postimg.cc/xCcyM3TF/20191220-141125.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/WbR6qrRX/20191220-141104.jpg)
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Solid plan. That sucker looks to be a good candidate for side veneer.
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I just started grafting. I'm looking forward to grafting avocado soon. I have a couple seedling trees that are about 1/4 to 1/2 in trunk diameter. Has anyone try to t-bud with avocado and has success?
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Now's a great time James. I did a lot of grafts in the last 2 weeks and have severalushing now.
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Now's a great time James. I did a lot of grafts in the last 2 weeks and have severalushing now.
I've never tried a t bud but I have chip budded avocado successfully.
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I have a avocado seedling to graft over.
Also have access to Reed scions from a friend's tree.
What would be good pollinator for Reed?
Thanks,
FruitFool
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Reed is self fruiting. It flowers later than most everything.
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Thanks, Brad
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Reed is self fruiting. It flowers later than most everything.
My Reed isn't even showing flower buds yet.
So far my sequence of flowering was Pinkerton first (which was self fruitful) and flowering solo, Ardith, Sharwil and Lamb Hass are just beginning to explode with open flowers, and hopefully GEM will have flower buds after 3 grafts took on 3 shoots late 2018.
Most everything was root drenched with Bonzi about 2 months ago.
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I just started grafting. I'm looking forward to grafting avocado soon. I have a couple seedling trees that are about 1/4 to 1/2 in trunk diameter. Has anyone try to t-bud with avocado and has success?
If your bark is slipping it should work well. Take buds from older growth, not growth that is pushing now. I do/did a lot of T bud on citrus, about 80. Easy peasy as you get a perfect match of cambium to cambium if you're careful. A Schick single edge blade is the only way to go as the cuts are clean with no fuzzy tissue shearing.
Clothes pins, one just over and one just under the dormant bud insures a tight fit.
(https://i.postimg.cc/GBtcYsbY/Citrus-Grafts-Aug23.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/GBtcYsbY)
For rootstock your size you also might try side veneer grafting.
(https://i.postimg.cc/RNG5RVsT/Reed-Veneer-Graft5-6-12.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/RNG5RVsT)
Reed is on steroids requiring a hair cut at least twice a year. Fruit is sizing up very nice.
(https://i.postimg.cc/c6FG7L5B/Reed-March2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/c6FG7L5B)
Brad as you know, after a couple of years researching, here's what I figured out would work best for me regarding cooling efficiency, cost, and low maintenance.
1. 2 Norwesco water tanks sitting under 2 gutters, 2,800 gals. total.
2. Complete on demand pressure system that can handle ultra low volumes - 15 gph.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/TALLAS-3-4-HP-115-Volt-Pressure-Switch-Controlled-Shallow-Well-18-L-Tank-Jet-Pump-D-BOOST-1100-45-115-120V-60Hz/310259923 (https://www.homedepot.com/p/TALLAS-3-4-HP-115-Volt-Pressure-Switch-Controlled-Shallow-Well-18-L-Tank-Jet-Pump-D-BOOST-1100-45-115-120V-60Hz/310259923)
3. AquaFog, 15 gph
https://www.jaybird-mfg.com/products/gt-500-series/gt-500-direct-feed/ (https://www.jaybird-mfg.com/products/gt-500-series/gt-500-direct-feed/)
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:D Thanks Brad & Mark. I'm going to wait a year for my in ground seedling to branch out more to do a multi-graft.
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:D Thanks Brad & Mark. I'm going to wait a year for my in ground seedling to branch out more to do a multi-graft.
Good idea, no reason to rush into it. It doesnt cost you anything to wait to graft since your root system is growing, the new grafts will grow super fast if youcut the tree back and top work.
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A few grafts, Simon came by a few weeks ago and we top worked around 10 trees. And I did half a dozen reed seedlings in pots from last summer.
(https://i.postimg.cc/LhV97JzZ/20200303-085836.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/LhV97JzZ)
(https://i.postimg.cc/qhYqpg1c/20200217-123053.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/qhYqpg1c)
(https://i.postimg.cc/SXRmjk2g/20200217-123121.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/SXRmjk2g)
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Nice Brad, I see on bigger stumped avo you did a veneer graft and what type of graft on top? I like to do whip & tongue even on the bigger truck's some time's if not to big other wise let re- sprout and graft next year ! Keep us posted on take's! 8)
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Ive been doing a lot of offset clefts scott. Seems to work like a charm on peaches so I gave it a shot on avocados. That one may have been a bark graft though, cant remember for sure. Its a surprise. Will update this post in a few weeks once I see how many are going. But so far its looks promising.
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Cool, offset cleft's are great also !!
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Heres how some of the grafts worked out this year. Pretty good success rates. Everything on reed seedlings took. I did a few others on hass and lamb seeslings and had the worst luck with those. They seem to not get sap flowing until much later in the year than reed seedlings.
I started grafting stuff in mid february. Was way too soon, the weather was very cool this spring and delayed the grafts a long time.
Heres a few pics of the different grafts and how they worked out. Most have only started to push this week. Over 2 months later...
This one was a big root sucker on a holiday tree thats falling over. Top worked to nabal and will remove the main holiday tree later.
(https://i.postimg.cc/grjLnB8V/20200503-180919.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/grjLnB8V)
(https://i.postimg.cc/r0VcYm5B/20200503-180823.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/r0VcYm5B)
It looks good after removing the tape 10 weeks later. But this one will grow fast and likely pop apart if left untied. So after checking it out, Ive put presco pvc flagging tape back on it to help it for another month or 2.
(https://i.postimg.cc/dhnLsz4c/20200503-182027.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/dhnLsz4c)
Sorry my hands are a mess, they got blisters even through gloves pounding in T posts with a stake driver. They look bad I promise they get washed very often these days.
Heres a few potted reed seedlings top worked to gem and lamb. These were in the greenhouse and under a grow lamp while it rained outside all spring. They did much better and quicker than the in ground seedlings this year. The GH really got them going faster than outside. I did 6 potted trees and 15 in ground seedlings. Most reed seedlings from last summer.
(https://i.postimg.cc/nsysgq3X/20200503-181704.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/nsysgq3X)
Heres a few more of the in ground ones. Because of the larger size, most had to be bark grafted or offset clefts. The offset clefts seem to work ok. I put the scions in slightly crooked to make sure the cambiums cross. Otherwise its hard to tell how to properly line them up with mismatched bark thicknesses.
(https://i.postimg.cc/JDbzDvMq/20200503-183145.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/JDbzDvMq)
Other side view. These will pop apart easily and so they get rewrapped with flagging tape around the union. All of them are re wrapped on the in ground stuff. Potted ones wont grow as fast and pop apart and dont need to be held together longer. These in ground trees are going to explode when it gets hot very soon and the graft will split without extra help for a while.
(https://i.postimg.cc/crK4fvxC/20200503-183206.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/crK4fvxC)
Heres one with 3 grafts. I thought they were going to fail but it now looks like all are takes. Will only keep the middle one.
(https://i.postimg.cc/WDqHnPDM/20200503-181816.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/WDqHnPDM)
(https://i.postimg.cc/N2GhbzvB/20200503-181827.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/N2GhbzvB)
This is one Simon did, looks like a very small bark graft maybe, not sure. I left the union tape on this one for now.
(https://i.postimg.cc/KK9tRKcf/20200503-180659.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/KK9tRKcf)
(https://i.postimg.cc/G9PhQWGw/20200503-180617.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/G9PhQWGw)
I used buddy tape on the scions this year. The tape is really nice and stretchy and stays sticky forever. But the stuff does not breath at all. And it never dries up and cracks like parafilm. Many of these scions were not growing for 6+ weeks because of the weather. They had stalled and were starting to rot in the tape. I had to go and remove all the tape so they could breath and then they started growing. It seemed to be a combo of removing tape and warmer weather. I have mixed feelings on the buddy tape. Its best to check on it often and if moisture is accumulating and buds are rotting after a few weeks, use a razor and remove the tape just over the buds. Or if its been 6 weeks, remove all the tape above the union.
We'll be doing a lot more trees next year and I havent decided which tape to use. I really hate having to come mess with the tape multiple times after top working the trees. Im planting 50-75 more avocado seedling trees in ground this year and not looking forward to top working next year. Too much effort and care has to be taken to remove and then check and reapply tapes. Maybe theres an easier way?
These are next years trees starting to sprout.
(https://i.postimg.cc/G4DMTnHV/20200503-182943.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/G4DMTnHV)
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Heres one of the fujikawa trees grafted in July 2018 when this thread started. Its now flowering along with all the other hawaiian types. Ive go about 10 hawaii types, all seem to be doing well so far. This one had a hummingbird nest with some eggs in it.
(https://i.postimg.cc/WD0BMJfG/20200503-181104.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/WD0BMJfG)
(https://i.postimg.cc/7CqVWGZM/20200503-181208.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/7CqVWGZM)
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I used buddy tape on the scions this year. The tape is really nice and stretchy and stays sticky forever. But the stuff does not breath at all.
The tape is very breathable per manufacturer.
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Nice Brad. that's a lot of avocados you'll have.
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Very cool Brad, looks like you a good percentage of take's on your graft's well done like the hummer nest too!!
Congrat's on your graft's hope they all make it !! I hate the false start graft's when they look like there taking then one boom dead( because scion was just living off of stored supply) well any way best of the grafting god's luck to you.
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I used buddy tape on the scions this year. The tape is really nice and stretchy and stays sticky forever. But the stuff does not breath at all.
The tape is very breathable per manufacturer.
Im not sure what they mean by that. It clearly traps water in there. Which is fine, all tape is going to do that. It just does it really well, to the point of needing to be checked on and removed after some time if the buds havent begun pushing.
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I remember years ago talking with Mark Albert (of Pineapple Guava fame), and he said that he used to run a commercial Avocado nursery in Santa Barbara where he would use a grafting sealer (I think it was Doc Farwell's), which he said is pretty much the same as diluted Elmer's Glue. I've been meaning to try it out, because I sometimes have the same problem with buddy tape. Parafilm cracks too easily and buddy tape never breaks apart...
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I was introduced to diluted Elmer's glue years ago by John Moore (when CRFG had around 60 members and a mimeographed newsletter). Grafted many a tree with the glue protecting the scion. In our area with night and morning fog (well, used to) the glue would soften and turn whitish allowing buds to push through. I keep my Parafilm in a cool dark area to keep it stretchy and soft. That which I leave out tends to break, not stretch. Much easier to use than diluted Elmers glue.
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My grafts this year did really well also, but last week's heat wave fried my Kahalu'u blooms (every single one) and some of my new grafts as well. >:(
I really like buddy tape. Works really well, and I just fold pieces to hold the graft union in place. The wood grows through it within a year and doesn't have any trouble.
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I did this avocado graft in the Fall and it pushed out some leaves, but I guess I removed the tape too soon. Although it was never as bad as it is now. Is this salvagable? Will it heal long term?
(https://i.postimg.cc/QKcQcFdY/20200722-152520-1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/QKcQcFdY)
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Wow, looks like only cambium connection on one side a little I don't think it will heal over completely the way it is another idea to save it might be to carefully re-cut section that has callused over and re-wrap whole graft!
Best of luck how ever you precede :o ;)
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The grafts are going good here. Was able to retry and get most of the trees top worked. Had 4 out of 15 that didn't work and need to be redone next year.
This one really took off, it was a bark graft. If I were to do this again, I would ha e made the joint 2X as long. Now it grew so fast and theres only a small section holding together.
(https://i.postimg.cc/9ft08fWH/20200217-123121.jpg)
3 months later
(https://i.postimg.cc/9MXt22dB/20200722-113619.jpg)
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Nice Brad, I like it when they blow and go I also had to re-due a few graft's this year but all is good now! ;)
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what time of year is best for grafting avocados? (I'm in North FL)
I tried several in early June and only one took (out of 6 or so). I'm wondering if it was poor timing. i did cleft and side grafting.
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Question I started grafting mango trees seems like they're going to be growing will but wanted to know if avocados any more difficult than those
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Wow! Nice work Brad. That's some awesome growth.
All my Jan Boyce top working took, 2 on a Sharwil and one on a GEM. Grasshoppers are epidemic here totally stripping all material. I tied Clemson fruit bags to protect the new shoots. These things are awesome.
(https://i.postimg.cc/0MC7qBd2/Jan-Boyce-Graft-July23-Bagged.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/0MC7qBd2)
Avocados and mangos both are easy to graft Nyuu if you know what you're doing, have the right stuff, good timing, decent temps.
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I'm relatively new to avocado grafting so have a couple of basic questions. I'm growing a few seedlings in pots (for grafting onto in the spring) and one other which I recently attempted a cleft graft on. Should I be feeding them at this stage?
A few months back I tried a bud graft. The bud didn't flush but the scion wood is still green and looks healthy. Is there any chance a new bud will grow from where the original one was?
Stephan
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I have Hass seedlings that I want to use as rootstock. How thick should the stems be before I graft onto them?