I confess I am a grafting addict - need 12 step program

[Orkine]

This is on the lighter side - Happy holidays (whatever you celebrate)

SO is there a grafters anonymous?
I belong there.

The event that made this clear to me happened yesterday.
I had grafted some mango late (last days or October and some took and some did not.
Some of the ones that did not take off turned brown and have been discarded.
A couple remained green and I continue to hold out hope.
One however was green after 3 weeks plus but the root stock it was on was dying.
So I took it off, cut the scion smaller and grafted it onto another branch.

I know its almost December, has no hope of pushing having likely used all the energy in the wood but I couldn't help it.  I had to try Zill's "bark graft" I had read about int he past week or so and couldn't wait till spring.

So I know I need help and since I am sure many on this forum do too I am safe saying

I am Orkine, and I am a grafterholic 


Enjoy this holiday season.

[FamilyJ]

this was first year i started i just like doing it to see if i have the green thumb to take. I have done a lot with mango's, avocado, passion fruit, dragon fruit, Aloe Vera, and jasmines, just a great hobby tried on my Mulberry but haven't been lucky yet but still trying

[Orkine]

My first successful graft was a few years ago with avocado and I never was any good with Mango.  Last year something changed and I started getting some success with Mango and I got hooked.

There are experts on this forum who get very high percentage takes on their grafts, I don't think I have ever cleared 50% but I am working on finding my preferred graft technique.

This year I did veneer, cleft even an approach to add second root system to a small tree.

Loving it all.  The anticipation and the joy when it takes.  Priceless.

Looking forward to spring to try some new plants.

[561MangoFanatic]

I’m also in my first year of grafting & now have about 50% of mine take lately. Focusing on my cuts instead of where to cut & graft has really helped increase my success. Also whenever I Tip my trees, I usually end up saving all the branches I can so I can utilize as much of the budwood as possible whether I try grafting on my trees or the ones at my parents house. I have yet to try grafting avocados, hopefully at the proper time in 2018!!

[9B in Brazil]

I just started grafting 1.5 years ago, starting with citrus.  About 50% took, but later after some of the grafts were over a foot long, the grafts failed, turning brown and died.  Perhaps it is a rootstock/scion incapability, pomelo on tangerine.  In the Spring I want to try avocados and mangoes. 

[Orkine]

So closing the loop.
The late grafts I made last year thought me something.
The ones that took took immediately and have done well.  One or two flushes, the initial push plus one more, I count as two flushes.  This gives me a jump start this spring.

Interestingly several stayed green through the dormant period, even two really cold spells in Florida.  As things have started to warm up and trees push flush or flower, I have observed a very interesting development.  Those green budwood are going brown (from the bottom up).
I took all of them off today and a couple were still green and juicy at the top but were clearly dying after 3 plus months of staying green.
One I shouldn't have removed, it looked brown but that was the wrapping, the wood under was green and a bud was swollen and likely would have pushed but the others were clearly dead or dying.

Can someone explain this?

[Orkine]

By the way, I am looking forward to grafting during more normal grafting period this year.  I have a Lancentilla I cut back last year that has given me several sites to graft on to, I decided to top work and change the variety because other than its fruit size I was not liking the Lancentilla much.

Now the winter Olympics are over, the the games begin!!!

[mangomongo]

It is pretty addictive but also very practical and is fun. I'm just getting started grafting myself and have had some success with cleft grafting but feel like that is not really the best way to top work a tree. Now that it is spring time I plan to try some veneer grafting to some over grown mango seedlings.

[561MangoFanatic]

By the way, I am looking forward to grafting during more normal grafting period this year.  I have a Lancentilla I cut back last year that has given me several sites to graft on to, I decided to top work and change the variety because other than its fruit size I was not liking the Lancentilla much.

Now the winter Olympics are over, the the games begin!!!

Let me know when 😁

[greenman62]

my grafting skills are not that good, and i dont have much experience.
being the curious type, i thought i would practice and experiemnt at the same time.

since fig and mulberry are fairly closely related
i took a few scions from my figs
and grafted them to mulberry... and vice-versa.

it seems none of them have taken, at least so far.
the experiement hasnt helped much as far as training either
since i dont know if any would have taken even if they were the same species.

i think im going to try citrus next.
i have a blood orange that i put in the ground last spring that is growing quite well.
i want to add a couple of other citrus to it.

i also have a finger-lime i grew from seed... its only a foot tall or so,
but it took the 20F we had, even as a seedling
i am thinking it might be a good root-stock ?
i probably cant graft to it for another year since its so small though.

[PrincessTigerLily]

It is very addictive! I started grafting last month. Practicing on every thing! I grafted lime, kumquat, grapefruit, orange onto a lemon tree, grapefruit on lime tree, Wax apple onto rose apple seedling, atemoya and honeyheart onto Vietnamese cherymoya, Atemoya onto honeyheart cherymoya, red guava onto white guava, dragon fruit onto dragon fruit and a dozen or so Atemoya onto cherymoya seedling. Crossing my fingers andlooking forward to the next few month!

[behlgarden]

This is on the lighter side - Happy holidays (whatever you celebrate)

SO is there a grafters anonymous?
I belong there.

The event that made this clear to me happened yesterday.
I had grafted some mango late (last days or October and some took and some did not.
Some of the ones that did not take off turned brown and have been discarded.
A couple remained green and I continue to hold out hope.
One however was green after 3 weeks plus but the root stock it was on was dying.
So I took it off, cut the scion smaller and grafted it onto another branch.

I know its almost December, has no hope of pushing having likely used all the energy in the wood but I couldn't help it.  I had to try Zill's "bark graft" I had read about int he past week or so and couldn't wait till spring.

So I know I need help and since I am sure many on this forum do too I am safe saying

I am Orkine, and I am a grafterholic 


Enjoy this holiday season.

On several occasions I have moved a mango graft as it was taking forever to take OR rootstock dieback, have gotten a lot of success this way, on dying rootstock key is to move it the day you see signs of rootstock dying. This can only happen if you tour your garden daily to check pulse on all your trees regularly. You can tell rightaway when something is not right.

[Th3_BrazilianShark]

I am in the same boat. I grafted my cherimoya with so many different scions past week and I want more! So far I have:
Anona Rosada
Genova Red
Cumbe
Pierce
El Bumpo
La Habra Gold
Randhir
Jumbo AP
Giant Atis
Arka Sahan

[spaugh]

I am in the same boat. I grafted my cherimoya with so many different scions past week and I want more! So far I have:
Anona Rosada
Genova Red
Cumbe
Pierce
El Bumpo
La Habra Gold
Randhir
Jumbo AP
Giant Atis
Arka Sahan

Wow thats a lot of grafting.  Please keep an update of how it goes.

[Th3_BrazilianShark]

I am in the same boat. I grafted my cherimoya with so many different scions past week and I want more! So far I have:
Anona Rosada
Genova Red
Cumbe
Pierce
El Bumpo
La Habra Gold
Randhir
Jumbo AP
Giant Atis
Arka Sahan

Wow thats a lot of grafting.  Please keep an update of how it goes.

Yeah I agree, but I couldn't control myself 
My goal is to have them growing on that tree and later on take some scions to graft on the seedlings I have growing in the greenhouse. I just emailed Adam wondering if I could add 4 more of his Annonas varieties lol.
This video inspired me to do that. Have you watched it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDDN0JodL8U&t=28s

[Orkine]

I fell off the waggon!
Truth is I never got on in the first instance.

It is the last day of December and it has been unseasonably ward in my part of Florida so I went out this morning and threw on a couple of grafts.

In my defense, these were throwaway grafts of unknown seedlings onto some recent growth on a tree I am topworking (not the problem one but one I am taking down in thirds.)  Some new growth on a section of the tree I intend to cut off next year gave an opportunity for me to do some grafting and since I had no scions of any named varieties, I took some off some seedlings I started for next spring or summer grafting.

I have low/no expectations but I did the grafts all the same an labelled them unknown experiment 1, 2 and 3.  Who knows, perhaps you will all be hearing about a UE1 mango .

Couldn't help myself. 

Anyone has some grafting compulsion story to share?

Happy New Year!!!

 

[noochka1]

I have to confess that I went on a bender this past summer and grafted 25 additional varieties to my existing mango trees. My trees aren't even fruiting size yet.  Why am I doing this?  Simple truth:  I just couldn't stop. 

I clearly need a program :-) 

I feel much better now that I've admitted that I have an addiction to grafting and have the support of other grafting addicts. 

Happy New Year everyone! 

Scott

[hawkfish007]

Do you seal the wound of rootstock/mature tree from failed graph? Or, leave it to self heal. I tried grafting first time early November and all failed. I just removed the parafilm and dead scions, and found the tree bark wet and dark.

[noochka1]

Do you seal the wound of rootstock/mature tree from failed graph? Or, leave it to self heal. I tried grafting first time early November and all failed. I just removed the parafilm and dead scions, and found the tree bark wet and dark.

I cut the branch back below the grafting point to the next leaf node to encourage budding.  I'm always nervous about fungal or bacterial infection in the cleft left by the failed graft and, like you, I usually see a lot of damp, dark wood there.

Hope this helps,

Scott

[Seanny]

I grafted today.
There are a few hours left for this year.