Follow uo video 16 days post graft: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7frOWnJqdE

GraftingFruitZ. This is an interesting method. How well do you think this method would work on apples, and does it require dormant buds to be used?

Progress after another week:

Here is another avocado using g the same grafting method that's about one week older than the one in the video:

@2010ChampsBCS:
I have never tried grafting apples. The method I'm using for avocados works because the seedling is thick enough to to match up with the scion. The seedling is young and vigorous. I'd imagine that apple seedlings aren't very thick when they are this young. But I would try when the seedling will match up to the scion and the apple is ready to push buds. When I'm grafting avocados or mangoes, the scion buds are ready to push leaves within a few days. Vigorous seedling + vigorous scion = a graft that's leafing out in a few days. The bags covering the plant are a huge help. Grafts will still take usually but can take a month or so. Not what I'm after. I want the union to heal asap. My grafts are healed in a month using the bags as a greenhouse. These plants will be ready for sale after about two months growth. That's what I'm looking for.

Thanks for the followup. Bill

Another week's growth:

Here's the other tree in this thread. It's only a week ahead of the one in the video. It already has branching of at least two internodes.

So the graft itself is just a normal cleft graft, right? the difference is age of the rootstock?

funny, I do exactly the same thing on my avocados...with small differences. I use a cut rubber band for pressure....rather than the green tape. Consider the rubber band. I like your idea about the bag as a "greenhouse" effect. Do you have a preferred time of year for grafting avos? thanks

@cckw: correct...simple cleft graft. I was having problems with other grafting techniques and or the age of the stock. I'm having great success with this method. My guess is 90%. Plus I'm kind of impatient. This method is working g great for me and I wanted to share the results.

So to expand this out a bit to other fruit. Probably not a good idea for apples given most of us want some dwarfing on rootstock, But for peaches where random seed is a more acceptable rootstock it might be a fun project.

What is the key to knowing the rootstock is at the right age?

Fruitz,

I used your method on some peaches and plums a few weeks ago and had some takes, although I call it a wedge graft.

The thing I like about it is that it's easier to do than a whip and tongue, but still holds the scion fairly well when wrapping.

Here's a pic of some of the peach grafts. I had a low percentage of takes (probably about 50%) but I was in a hurry and did some pretty sloppy grafts and wrapping. The scionwood also wasn't in the best of shape.

This post was edited by olpea on Thu, Jun 26, 14 at 9:56

Here's some Euro plum grafts on peach roots. I think I did 4 plum grafts a couple weeks ago and 3 took. If you look careful, you can see the different looking plum leaves (in the upper right and lower left of the pic).

This last pic is not a wedge graft, but I included it because I am pleased it finally took. It's a pecan I've been trying to graft for 4 years.

Pecans are a lot harder to graft than peach (at least for me). Every year I've been mainly trying to bud this pecan. This year I read on Bill Reid's blog (extension pecan specialist) that pecans have to have really good quality scionwood to take (and I've been mostly trying to bud them-they won't bud).

This graft took a long time to get going, but I swear, it's growing 1/2" per day. I've never seen anything like it. It's a foot tall now. At this rate, it will be 6' tall by the end of summer. I hope I can keep it from blowing out. It was a bark graft.

Keep trying olpea. You'll figure out when the best time to graft your peaches is. Learn what might have gone wrong by examining your graft up close. Make sure the parafilm tape is nice and tight. In a month or so, when you take the tape off, examine the graft and compare it side by side with the failed grafts. Take a lot of pictures for reference. Also make sure the plastic bag stays on until it appears to be damaging the new leaves. Keep us posted with your results.

Here my friend demonstrates a green bud wood graft of a pecan (Northwest IL: Mercer County):
Grafting Pecan: June Greenwood

Dax

I use a cut rubber band for pressure....rather than the green tape. Consider the rubber band.

I actually was intrigued by using the tape. Maybe my rubber bands loose their elasticity too quickly in the hot sun of Colorado. I plan on trying the green tape now that I see how tightly it can be applied (although knotting it can be tough).

Olpea, I'm glad you posted your results. I have been wanting to try this method but was unsure about the type of graft. I've heard that bud grafting is best with peaches but I have had zero success. Now I understand that green stock is better than older growth. I will try this method with the a rootstock you sent me and see how it goes.

mile: why not use electrical tape? that's all my friend ever uses; doesn't matter when: bench grafting, spring field grafting, or summer field grafting.

Dax

Black plastic electrician's tape certainly does the job, and makes things much easier on simple whip grafts. But it requires aftercare and can be kind of ugly if that's a factor for you. With budding rubbers and parafilm the wrap disintegrates in a few weeks. I like that part.

I was excited to see the pecan video. That was a neat graft- and if a plastic baggie "greenhouse" is helpful in the Carolina heat I'll definitely be trying it on apricots here in Montana. Makes me excited to get started and in about three weeks I'll be able to.

" I've heard that bud grafting is best with peaches but I have had zero success."

Milehigh,

I can't remember if I told you in an email, I had dismal results budding peaches this spring. The wood was to close to breaking bud, so that even though the bud grafts callused in, the buds themselves were dead by the time the grafts callused in. I think I had three peach takes from the budding I did this spring.

As an afterthought I decided to scion graft some peaches late this spring. The scion provides a little more energy to the buds, so that they can start growing immediately, rather than die. The take percentage was still low (about 50%) but much better than the budding.

I've had good luck budding peaches in the fall, and plan to continue to do that.

BTW, the Wisconsin Balmer graft on the roostock is still growing. The three Balmer grafts on top of the Bounty are also growing like gangbusters, so I may actually get some fruit from them next year.

I tried t-budding a peach tree and it just oozed clear jelly sap out. I think it smothered my buds.

Quick question. I grew avacado trees from seed (store bought hass) directly in the pot, which was supposed to be for my mother when she moved to Florida. She bought a condo with no land and didn't want to care for live plants, I have two trees in containers with unknown rootstock and I would like to graft at least one of them so that I get a good edible avocado. It seems getting budwood or scionwood is not that readily easy. Can you give advice as to how I would go about getting some? If my trees were young I would definitely try your technique, but the trees are 3/4 yrs old now. I will also be trying to graft a lemon branch (growing the seeds right now) to a meyers lemon tree. The same with a keylime branch to a regular lyme tree. Fingers crossed I will have success!