Thanks tony

If everything falls into place Ill get my hands on some parafilm. Ill just wrap the whole scion.

Good to have a back up plan though. I may end up having to use a rubber band and asfalt tree seal.

I'm confused. The graft union should be sealed airtight definitely water tight.

Murky,

some people just use electrical tape and no sealer or parafilm then the plastic bag cover works just fine. Parafilm and the sealer should be airtight like you mentioned. I used IV tegaderm instead of parafilm and it sealed real well without using any sealer.

Tony

Rain never hurt my grafts- all I use is electric tape where the wood joins. Why would rain be a problem? It's drying out I worry about.

HM.

I did have some graft failure just using electrical tape. At one time, it's rain hard for one week after grafting, a third of my grafts got water logged and died. I used tagadern at the union and also wrap the whole scion with it. If I run out of tagaderm then I use strectch tite food wrap.

Tony

The only problem with rainy weather is it is often colder weather and that means the trees are pushing less sap to the grafts. Tony that may have been your problem. I tend to graft less in the rain but its more due to the bad timing with coolness.

This spring we have had three warm sunny periods, the third one starting today. I will finish any leftover grafts in this one. I am curious how my peaches are going to work out, one of the sunny warm periods was only two days and I usually like four days.

Scott

I put off grafting by a week this year because the trees just didn't seem very eager. I like to feel that they're getting ready to push. It's been a late, cool spring. Looks like I'll be able to go ahead in a few more days as it is warming nicely now. We've been getting a fair amount of water to the trees too, hoping they'll be nice and juicy when I start.

Well I cant find any parafilm or like product here at all. Looks like im going to have to use something else...

I thought people dont like electrical tape because it doesnt deteriorate and can choke grafts?

Well, with some species and conditions you can practically throw the scion at the tree and it will take. For those, I suppose using electrical tape (and cutting it free before it girdles) may be fine.

If you are somebody who is concerned about your technique, or who wants to optimize your chances (presumably why you are posting this question) then why not give the graft its best shot, which includes keeping the graft union from drying out.

If not parafilm or the like, you can cover your grafting rubber or tape or grafting strip with Doc Farwell's Heal and Seal, melted wax, or something of that nature.

Murky, electric tape and parafilm are in no way mutually exclusive. You can use the electric tape to pull the scion to the established wood- I use watersprouts when I can, or small wood the same diameter as the scion so the electric tape allows you to pull the pieces together to perfectly merge the cambium if they are the same diameter- otherwise to match it on one side.

Then you can wrap he scion with parafilm to your hearts content- I certainly recommend it with stuff that tends to dry out before healing, like stone fruit and paw paws. I use parafilm for everything.

Cutting to prevent girdling also creates scar tissue that strengthens the graft. Longitudinal scoring is said to do this.

I find electric tape works the best. It holds it so good that most times it's strong enough for birds to land on it. depending on what type of graft. I guess it comes down to how well you can stretch the tape around to hold the graft perfectly. I don't know how any water gets past unless the tape isn't applied so it is flat and tight. It's not hard to make a relief cut on the tap latter either. Now That's with apple. If your grafting something like peach you need to wrap the whole scion with parafilm so it doesn't dry out. don't use anything tar it will kill it. I learned that my first time grafting. If your talking grafting sealant like Treekote that's not tar. I use that sometimes over the tape if the wrap doesn't look good and on the open cut ends. Bees wax works great. The toilet seal is an easy way to get it too.

Harvestman,

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I was saying that since canadianplant doesn't have parafilm to wrap over whatever is holding the graft together, canadianplant can use one of those other things.

I didn't mean to imply that one couldn't/shouldn't wrap parafilm on top of tape. Quite the opposite.

When is the time to slice the electrical type to avoid girdling? My grafts are leafing out nicely and don't want to cut the tape to early.

Chris,

I leave the tape on my grafts until late July for a strong union before I take it off. I have many scions broke off by the wind or a bird land on it.

Tony

thanks guys. I'm grafting pear. more specifically Flemish beauty onto john golden spice and a bosc seedling.

Better wet then dry.
Here it can be desert dry, that's why it helps sealing in moisture
on buds with parafilm. Electrical tape can stretch, I'll take it off
the following season.

Here is a link that might be useful: Konrad's modified bark grafting

I take most of mine off the following spring. I unwrap any overlapped tape, and then make a couple cuts and let the weather take the rest off. Because the tape has a sticky side it helps when grafting to get a good seal. If your doing a lot of grafting it also helps make it go faster. If you use whip and tonged or cleft the graft will be really strong when taped. Cleft grafts I put wax on the end of the bigger branch and down the crack. All the exposed wood first then tape. The pears I did were as easy as apples and all took except a couple I put onto apple trees. I do have five healthy ones on apple and one that grew eight inch branches. I like experimenting.

Girdling from vinyl electric tape doesn't become a problem for me until the second season- I only cut the strongest growing grafts the first.

If you don't want to worry about it you can use the more expensive rubber electric tape which stretches to accommodate growth. You can't pull it as tight but it works about as well.