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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Post Pics of Your GRAFTS, and Troubleshoot HERE!
« on: February 01, 2012, 08:39:55 PM »
Jeff, If you don't mind I'd like to start this new thread here with an old post of yours on GW. I found your post to be very informative & helpful. Hope it helps other members here as well.
Other members with extensive grafting experience and superior skills, please feel free to share your grafting expertise & techniques with the rest of us noobs
If you can graft then you can just topwork the trees you don't like. The basic technique is simple:
Step 0) Hack the tree back to about 3 or 4 feet tall. For the mango, you want to do this around May.
Step 1) Wait until new sprouts come out. When they are about pencil thickness, select the 2 or 3 shoots that you want to graft. I try to find ones that are evenly spaced out.
Step 2) Side veneer graft the shoots and cover with parafilm.
Step 3) The scions should break through the parafilm in 3 to 4 weeks. Once they harden off, cut off the top of the 'rootstock', leaving just the scion (as you would a traditional potted side veneer graft).
Step 4) Gradually start eliminating the ungrafted sprouts, forcing all of the tree's energy into the newly grafted sciones.
Step 5) Tip the new growth on the scions for each growth spurt (cut like a 1/2 inch below the tip). Tipping helps to calm the new growth down and will allow your newly topworked tree to come back into production quicker. Growth spurts will come fast and furious, so you'll have to be tipping every 3 weeks or so.
Most people freak when you do this sort of thing, but the mango tree has no problem with it. Also, since the tree has an established root system and a thick trunk with good carbohydrate reserves, it will grow extremely rapidly.
Other members with extensive grafting experience and superior skills, please feel free to share your grafting expertise & techniques with the rest of us noobs
If you can graft then you can just topwork the trees you don't like. The basic technique is simple:
Step 0) Hack the tree back to about 3 or 4 feet tall. For the mango, you want to do this around May.
Step 1) Wait until new sprouts come out. When they are about pencil thickness, select the 2 or 3 shoots that you want to graft. I try to find ones that are evenly spaced out.
Step 2) Side veneer graft the shoots and cover with parafilm.
Step 3) The scions should break through the parafilm in 3 to 4 weeks. Once they harden off, cut off the top of the 'rootstock', leaving just the scion (as you would a traditional potted side veneer graft).
Step 4) Gradually start eliminating the ungrafted sprouts, forcing all of the tree's energy into the newly grafted sciones.
Step 5) Tip the new growth on the scions for each growth spurt (cut like a 1/2 inch below the tip). Tipping helps to calm the new growth down and will allow your newly topworked tree to come back into production quicker. Growth spurts will come fast and furious, so you'll have to be tipping every 3 weeks or so.
Most people freak when you do this sort of thing, but the mango tree has no problem with it. Also, since the tree has an established root system and a thick trunk with good carbohydrate reserves, it will grow extremely rapidly.