Mango and Citrus grafting day

[wslau]

Well,  I spent the better half of today with my friend ML grafting 20 mango scions and a couple citrus scions.
We did mostly cleft and offset cleft (if there is such a term) grafts, but had a few veneer grafts.
We used 1/2 inch tree tie tape to secure/wrap tight all the scions and 1/2 inch Parafilm grafting tape to seal the grafting union joints. All the cut/refrigerated  scions were previously sealed with Parafilm-M the night before.  For the veneer grafts, we also used pruning sealer at the top of the joint.


On the in-ground Glenn tree, I grafted 11 Hawaiian (at least grown in Hawaii) varieties ; white tags not all in view): 
White Pirie, Gouveia, Exel, Golden Glow, Mapulehu (Joe Welch), Ah-Ping, Rapoza, Pope, Momi-K, Kurashige, and Fukuda (...I am only missing Harders and Smith now)



On the 2nd cocktail tree (25 gallon potted), I grafted another White Pirie and Gouveia, and added a Harumanis.   This tree previously had  Brenner (Ah-Ping seedling), VP, Glenn, and Alphonso.



The third tree, which I call my Indian mango cocktail tree (15 gallon potted Kent seedling) was grafted with a Neelam and Amrapali.  There is plenty more room for other Indian varieties...once I find them (interested in Jehangir, Langra Banarsi, Kesar, Banganpalli, Chaunsa, & Alampur Baneshan... to name a few).



I also grafted 2 additional White Pirie, 1 Gouveia, and 1 Glenn scion onto LaVerne Manila rootstocks.



On my dwarf Cara Cara orange tree, I grafted a Gold Nugget mandarin, Meyer lemon, and Tahiti Seadless lime.



A special thanks to Oscar (fruitlovers) and my friend ML who supplied the scions for today's adventure!
I can't wait for the grafts to take!  That was a long day, but hopefully well worth it.

All this work being done today is in preparation for a Southern California Mango Scion Exchange Project that I am currently working on.   More details will come out another day....but for now, I will say:
[Edit]  I am currently working on the mango scion exchange list, which identifies about 160 mango varieties that SoCal'ers can purchase trees/scions for from California, Hawaii, and certified Florida nurseries.
The list also contains information on fruiting season, flavor/texture, fiber level, exterior color, fruit size, disease resistance, tree size/growth habit, production, embryo type, parentage/origin, and creator/importer of each variety.  There is a lot of work left to complete.  It is difficult to gather information because some of the characteristics exhibited in FL are not applicable to CA... and taste, for example, is subjective.  The list also identifies what each interested SoCal member wants and what varieties each SoCal member has.  The goal is to create a match-maker list that will match a person's mango wish list with a local mango scion donor.  One day, we may do a scion exchange like the CRFG does, but for mangos only.
But for now, my first goal is to complete the Mainland west coast (CA) trials of the performance of Hawaiian mango varieties.

Warren

[LivingParadise]

Thank you for this! I don't know anything about grafting yet but I want to learn soon, so this is really helpful to see photos of how it works, what size plants you can do it on, etc.

I'm totally ignorant about this - I didn't know you could graft multiple plants onto the same rootstock! So for the beginners here like myself, why should one do this? Is it for space requirements - say someone trying to grow in pot culture to have multiple plants in one? Does it affect the kind of fruit that come out? Or is it because growing certain plants in some areas is difficult or impossible solely because of the soil, or perhaps flooding concerns, etc.?

Also, if there is an easy answer that won't take too much of your time explaining, why do you do different types of grafts? I assume the type refers to the kinds of cuts (maybe that's a wrong assumption), so is it just based on the size or shape of the limbs or trunk you are working with? Or how complicated the work you are doing is, if there are multiples?

Thanks for any answers to what are I know very basic questions. The only pages I have found thus far when looking up grafting info are very advanced and technical, which I'm not read for yet, or don't actually explain anything and just talk about the result. And they're usually about cold climate trees. I just want to know why this is done in the first place, so I can know if I want to learn more about it!

The only thing I do know about grafting I saw on 'The Fruit Hunters,' which showed that grafting seemed like a good way to grow something that is really hard to grow from seed, or that you can't necessarily preserve the roots or leaves of (like in transporting a plant half a world away to try to grow it in a lab). And that did get me very interested in this process.

So I guess then, one could graft a mangosteen onto an orange tree rootstock (in theory), to make it easier and faster to grow (and ship) for a lot more people? And I know from buying that supposedly many fruiting plants can be made to fruit a few years faster if grafted, but not all. If this is basically true, then I would definitely want to learn to graft so I could grow hard-to-grow plants, and get seeds for myself from them (faster and with more certainty) so I could grow more of that species and not have to worry about the one plant that I have dying! If all that's true, then the next thing I'll want to research is how you choose the rootstock for the scion - like, could someone up North grow a mango on the top of their apple tree? I don't know if that's remotely possible, but it seems like this topic has the potential to be really fascinating... and I know it's been talked about, but I don't know how to get into it as a beginner. Until earlier this week, I didn't even know what "scion" and "rootstock" were! [Now at least I get that - for my fellow beginners, they are 'the top,' and 'the bottom' to put it in most simple of terms! It's like transplanting a head onto a body, like grafting a cat's head onto my dog's body and seeing if it takes, lol! I guess in the multiple sense, I could then graft a mouse ear onto one of his ears, too!   ]

Thanks to anyone who tolerates my ignorance about grafting enough to answer any of my questions! I am just really curious...

[LivingParadise]

Ohhh...! I just learned this from the article cited on the "artist" thread:

"I've been told by people that have [a multiple-grafted tree] at their home that it provides the perfect amount and perfect variety of fruit. So rather than having one variety that produces more than you know what to do with, it provides good amounts of each of the 40 varieties. Since all of these fruit ripen at different times, from July through October, you also aren't inundated."

That part doesn't apply to me, I don't think I could ever have too much fruit! I will always have something to do with it - eat it, freeze it, cook it, give it away, sell it... Hence me buying as many fruit plants as I can possibly fit on my property...

[mangokothiyan]

Wow! That is very impressive. I hope all your grafts take. Seeing what you did inspires me to try my hand at grafting as well.

What knife do you use? and where did you get your grafting stuff from? Where can I buy them from? online?

[simon_grow]

That is awesome Warren! I hope a lot of your grafts take. The Southern California scion exchange project is super cool and I should soon be able to contribute some scions. It is so cool the information you have compiled already. Those cocktail trees are going to be a great genetic repository for us here in SoCal.

I wonder if Manilla or Kent makes a better rootstock here in SoCal? I believe MangoProfessor said that Kent seedlings may have better cold tolerance but others said Manillas adapt well to our soils. I'm confused because I thought that someone said that Manillas also have good cold tolerance? Which one actually makes the better rootstock?
Simon

[wslau]

Wow! That is very impressive. I hope all your grafts take. Seeing what you did inspires me to try my hand at grafting as well.

What knife do you use? and where did you get your grafting stuff from? Where can I buy them from? online?

mangokothiyan,
I used 2 knives:   
My friend's retractable razor blade "surgeon" knife for cutting wedge/veneer shapes in the scion (yields flatter/straighter cuts)...I don't know where he got this....but usually you can find everything on Ebay.
1-sided bevelled edge rosewood handle with bark lifter grafting knife (can get on Ebay for $15) used for veneer cuts and slits in the rootstock.
Standard Home Depot Corona brand pruning sheers for cleft graft preparation. 

Supplies:
Parafilm-M 4" roll x 10 ft (buy on Ebay) for scion preservation,
Parafilm grafting tape 1/2" roll x ~100ft (buy on Ebay) for graft union sealing,
Optional:  1" Aglis Buddy tape that you can buy from TFF member behlgarden...buddy tape is great, but I didn't use this today because I am doing a special trial test with Parafilm grafting tape.
Clear 1/2" nursery tie tape that my friend ML supplied for tight securing of the scion to the rootstock...I suppose you can get this on Ebay too.
[Edit] Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle for tool sterilization between every cut.
Pruning sealer (in a spray can at Home Depot)...The material is the same as roofing tar....used for additional sealing of a veneer graft at the top of the graft union.

Hope this helps!

[mangokothiyan]

Wow! That is very impressive. I hope all your grafts take. Seeing what you did inspires me to try my hand at grafting as well.

What knife do you use? and where did you get your grafting stuff from? Where can I buy them from? online?

mangokothiyan,
I used 2 knives:   
My friend's retractable razor blade "surgeon" knife for cutting wedge/veneer shapes in the scion (yields flatter/sraighter cuts)...I don't know where he got this....but usually you can find everyhitng on Ebay.
1-sided bevelled edge rosewood handle with bark lifter grafting knife (can get on Ebay for $15) used for veneer cuts and slits in the rootstock.
Standard Home Depot Corona brand pruning sheers for cleft graft preparation. 

Supplies:
Parafilm-M 4" roll x 10 ft (buy on Ebay) for scion preservation,
Parafilm grafting tape 1/2" roll x ~100ft (buy on Ebay) for graft union sealing,
Optional:  1" Aglis Buddy tape that you can buy from TFF member behlgarden...buddy tape is great, but I didn't use this today because I am doing a special trial test with Parafilm grafting tape.
Clear 1/2" nursery tie tape that my friend ML supplied for tight securing of the scion to the rootstock...I suppose you can get this on Ebay too.

Hope this helps.

Thanks you very much.  I hope I have some luck with my grafts.

[nch]

Congrats, Warren, for the accomplishment. Please keep us updated with your grafts.

[MangoFang]

...talk about diving in!  Good luck Warren.  Hope your "batting average" is
better than mine!!!!

Gary

[wslau]

Thank you for this! I don't know anything about grafting yet but I want to learn soon, so this is really helpful to see photos of how it works, what size plants you can do it on, etc.

I'm totally ignorant about this - I didn't know you could graft multiple plants onto the same rootstock! So for the beginners here like myself, why should one do this? Is it for space requirements - say someone trying to grow in pot culture to have multiple plants in one? Does it affect the kind of fruit that come out? Or is it because growing certain plants in some areas is difficult or impossible solely because of the soil, or perhaps flooding concerns, etc.?

Also, if there is an easy answer that won't take too much of your time explaining, why do you do different types of grafts? I assume the type refers to the kinds of cuts (maybe that's a wrong assumption), so is it just based on the size or shape of the limbs or trunk you are working with? Or how complicated the work you are doing is, if there are multiples?

Thanks for any answers to what are I know very basic questions. The only pages I have found thus far when looking up grafting info are very advanced and technical, which I'm not read for yet, or don't actually explain anything and just talk about the result. And they're usually about cold climate trees. I just want to know why this is done in the first place, so I can know if I want to learn more about it!

The only thing I do know about grafting I saw on 'The Fruit Hunters,' which showed that grafting seemed like a good way to grow something that is really hard to grow from seed, or that you can't necessarily preserve the roots or leaves of (like in transporting a plant half a world away to try to grow it in a lab). And that did get me very interested in this process.

So I guess then, one could graft a mangosteen onto an orange tree rootstock (in theory), to make it easier and faster to grow (and ship) for a lot more people? And I know from buying that supposedly many fruiting plants can be made to fruit a few years faster if grafted, but not all. If this is basically true, then I would definitely want to learn to graft so I could grow hard-to-grow plants, and get seeds for myself from them (faster and with more certainty) so I could grow more of that species and not have to worry about the one plant that I have dying! If all that's true, then the next thing I'll want to research is how you choose the rootstock for the scion - like, could someone up North grow a mango on the top of their apple tree? I don't know if that's remotely possible, but it seems like this topic has the potential to be really fascinating... and I know it's been talked about, but I don't know how to get into it as a beginner. Until earlier this week, I didn't even know what "scion" and "rootstock" were! [Now at least I get that - for my fellow beginners, they are 'the top,' and 'the bottom' to put it in most simple of terms! It's like transplanting a head onto a body, like grafting a cat's head onto my dog's body and seeing if it takes, lol! I guess in the multiple sense, I could then graft a mouse ear onto one of his ears, too!   ]

Thanks to anyone who tolerates my ignorance about grafting enough to answer any of my questions! I am just really curious...

LivingParadise,
1. Yes, we multi-graft onto one tree because of space limitation and to enjoy different mango variety "flavors/taste".  For some of us, grafting just becomes a hobby.
2. Yes, we perform different types of grafts (whip, cleft, offset cleft (my own term), veneer) depending on the size (diameter) of the rootstock/branch and the size (diameter) of the scion.  We try to match the maximum 4 possible cambium layer surfaces, but we need at least 2 to guarantee success.
3. [edit]: To my knowledge, mango varieties are grafted only onto other mango varieties. Manila rootstock is generally used in California and Turpentine rootstock in Florida.  I have seen a lot of conflicting information as to what rootstock is better for each area....I don't know if there is any detailed research, especially in CA.  I have both types of rootstock and both seem to do fine in CA.  I'm even experimenting with Kent rootstock myself.

Hope this helps answers some  of your questions.

[wslau]

...talk about diving in!  Good luck Warren.  Hope your "batting average" is
better than mine!!!!

Gary

Thanks Gary and everyone!
This time, I hope to be successful, as I have incorporated the techniques from my friend ML, who some met at the LaVerne Nursery tour.
We'll see how it goes with this good weather!  Crossing my fingers.

[LivingParadise]

Thank you, Warren, that's very helpful!

I didn't even think of grafting multiple mangoes onto one plant - I can see how that would be a big plus, because then you can try a little bit of everything! That would have been good for me, because I had such a rough time deciding among all the different cultivars which to buy. They always had one thing or another I wanted, and something else that I didn't or didn't really matter to me... And I assume buying (or trading) scions is cheaper than buying a whole mango tree? If so, it would be great to be able to try many varieties without having to pay $80 or so for each one!

I can see I have a ton more to learn, but maybe I'll try it one day. For now, I still like the idea of having multiple pets grafted onto just one pet body... extra cuteness and fun for only a fraction of the work!

[wslau]

I've posted some pictures of my recent mango grafting day(s) in the first reply of
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=10311.0