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« on: June 04, 2020, 04:08:01 PM »
I know this subject came up before but I don't think there was any consensus on this topic at the time. I'm a newbie to grafting, just started my first mango grafts yesterday. One Lemon Meringue scion onto rootstock, one Lemon Meringue scion onto a Sweet Tart tree, and one Pickering onto the same Sweet Tart. These were all cleft grafts. Though I did my best to ensure that there were no air gaps between the scion and the host, I wanted to be extra sure everything was tight. First I used a cable tie to hold everything together nice and tight while I buddy wrapped everything from below the host cut to the top of the scion. Then I cut the cable tie off and added some buddy tape where it was. Finally, I wrapped electrical tape nice and snug where everything came together in the notch. I was sure to wrap the electrical tape over the buddy tape so there was no direct contact on the bark which might cause difficulties in taking it off later. I know a lot of people use cut rubber bands, it just seemed easier and more snug using electrical tape. Other than one Youtube video from a guy in India I haven't really seen this technique used. For what it's worth I did get white electrical tape so as not to conduct as much heat in this hot Florida sun. Anybody see any issues with this?