Something I noticed when grafting atemoyas this year...

[elriba]

Hi,
I purchased some scions, but I was away when they arrived  ....  In total, I think it was a about two weeks (maybe a bit more) from the time they were cut to the moment I worked with them.  I thought to myself, "none of these grafts will take...".

The first atemoya variety scions, I just went ahead and grafted them as they were.  But then, as I was finishing with that variety, I thought to myself, "these have been out for a long time.... maybe hydrating them in water would help...".  So, I did that for the second variety.  I left those over 10 minutes on plain tap water. 

The grafts for those that I didn't hydrate, the first variety, none of them took!  Out of 4 grafts of the second variety, the one that I did hydrate, 3 grafts have taken....

Don't know if this is significant or just casual... but I am hydrating ANY SCION that comes into my hands 

Hope this helps someone.

[spaugh]

You should always dip the cut scionnin water before grafting.  Even sticking in your mouth andnusing spit works fine.

[CarolinaZone]

You should always dip the cut scionnin water before grafting.  Even sticking in your mouth andnusing spit works fine.
[/quote
I have never heard of that and haven't seen that in any grafting video. Tell me more abut this and how it works. I had some expensive scions fail on me so I am curious. Thanks

[elriba]

You should always dip the cut scionnin water before grafting.  Even sticking in your mouth andnusing spit works fine.

Hi.   I didn't know beforehand, but apparently it does make a world of difference! 

[spaugh]

You should always dip the cut scionnin water before grafting.  Even sticking in your mouth andnusing spit works fine.
[/quote
I have never heard of that and haven't seen that in any grafting video. Tell me more abut this and how it works. I had some expensive scions fail on me so I am curious. Thanks

It just works.  Dry plant cells are dead plant cells.

[roblack]

You should always dip the cut scionnin water before grafting.  Even sticking in your mouth andnusing spit works fine.

lol, imaging Brad spitting on scions Eastwood style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B85MvaKKHRE

Stick mine in me armpits

[Jack, Nipomo]

Had an early CRFG friend (John Moore) who put a 4 in rubber or plastic tubing over the top of the scion.  The tubing was then filled with water providing continous hydration.

[John B]

Thank you for the important reminder. Brad did mention getting them wet on one of his avocado topworking videos. I couldn't help but to comment on it 😀.
https://youtu.be/j6plo20ELdY

[spaugh]

Yeah Im talking about soaking the cut end of the scion after you make the cuts for the graft.  You dont just stick it in there dry do you?  Do you?

[CarolinaZone]

Yeah Im talking about soaking the cut end of the scion after you make the cuts for the graft.  You dont just stick it in there dry do you?  Do you?

Ok. Wait...what are we talkin' bout here? Right, just to clarify how long do we soak so that there is sufficient lubrication for success? Dip it in and pull it out or leave it there while? The applies only the scion, right?

[Seanny]

Researchers slice scions under water when doing micro grafting.
This prevent air lock in the scion.

[brian]

I would have never thought to dip cut scion in water, thanks for the info. 

I recall somebody posted about success using a "nurse leaf" where they left a single full leaf on the cut scion and rigged it up so that the leaf was immersed in a small container of water, with the thinking being that the leaf was pulling water in (which doesn't match my understanding of leaf biology, but who knows) and that this made large improvement in their success rate.  I have been meaning to try it but the last few things I grafted the scion had no leaves.

[spaugh]

Yeah Im talking about soaking the cut end of the scion after you make the cuts for the graft.  You dont just stick it in there dry do you?  Do you?

Ok. Wait...what are we talkin' bout here? Right, just to clarify how long do we soak so that there is sufficient lubrication for success? Dip it in and pull it out or leave it there while? The applies only the scion, right?

Quick dip or leave it in while you cut the rootstock, doesnt matter.  Just dont let the cut part of the scion get all dry.

[mcoambassador]

I recently learned an old world tradition for rooting and grafting fig scions was to soak in warm/hot (110-114F) water for an hour.

[roblack]

I saw a video recently in which fresh cut scions of desert rose were wiped across freshly cut banana slices. Evidently, the moisture from the fruit (and perhaps other properties) serves the same purpose, and increases chances of the graft taking well.