sooo .. you are hoping for a grafting for dummies video.. lol ...

how about i take a stab at your specific questions.. using CAPS to set my answers off from your ??? .. rather than shouting ... and if i am corrected .. i learn too

why we need to graft in Jan - Feb, BECAUSE WE SAY SO.. LOL ... NOT GOOD ENOUGH??... SO THE SCION IS DORMANT .... SO THAT THE GRAFT CAN HEAL/CALLUS.. BEFORE ACTIVE GROWTH ON THE SCION BEGINS .. OTHERWISE IT FALLS OFF DUE TO GRAVITY ... [imagine a bud opening.. and extending 6 inches ... and the graft hasnt healed ... and all that holding it there is a rotting rubber band ... timber ...]

why the scion needs to be cut on a warmer day ( like 32oF) .. BECAUSE FROZEN TISSUE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ROT WHEN BROUGHT INTO WARMER TEMPS??? .. DAMAGED TISSUE IS NOT CONDUCIVE TO HEALING ....

and the roots of the understock need to be kept dry .. BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT TREES IN POTS WANT ... NOT ARID.. JUST NOT SWAMPY ... AFTER ALL.. THEY ARE BARELY OUT OF DORMANCY

roots activly growing .. MOVEMENT OF PRECIOUS VITAL FLUIDS IS IMPERATIVE IN THE CALLUSING PROCESS ...

why the grafts need to be kept in a humid tent .. WE DONT WANT THE SCION TO DRY OUT AND DESICCATE.. BEFORE THE CALLUS IS HEALED.. AND THE ADOPTIVE TISSUE CAN PROCESS VITAL FLUIDS ...

What happens when the cambium layers match up .. TRANSFER OF PRECIOUS BODILY FLUIDS FROM UNDERSTOCK TO SCION .. THINK OF THE CAMBIAN LAYER AS A SORT OF VASCULAR SYSTEM TO MOVE FLUIDS AROUND IN A TREE ... WATER UP .. ENERGY DOWN [PHOTOSYNTHESIS THRU THE LEAVES] .. THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GO ROUND AND ROUND ....

etc. .. HMMM.. CANT READ YOUR MIND ON THIS ONE ... ASK MORE DIRECT ???'S GET DIRECT ANSWERS ...

=====

i dont know about a video ... dont even know if the words above are scientifically correct.. but its my laymans way of conceptualizing it all..

what i dont understand.. is why i have an urge to watch dr strangelove ... hmmm

ken

Ooh ooh, I'm quite interested too. I would gladly pay or give a donation if anyone was inclined to make a how to video with these details. =^)

Thanks Ken, I wrote my above post just before you posted, so I missed your answers at first. Thanks.

You guys should check this out.

Alex

Here is a link that might be useful: Grafting DVD info

Our buddy Dax made some nice grafting videos.
He did a very good job by doing this.
Thank again Dax!

Here is a link that might be useful: Dax video 1

He also made a second one...

Here is a link that might be useful: Dax video 2

I have to echo Alex's call out of Bob Fincham's DVD. I bought it a couple of years ago and watched it several times before getting one-on-one lessons with the master himself, namely Bob.

His DVD is pretty comprehensive -- all the steps: understock selection, knife sharpening, cutting scions, various grafting techniques and probably the most critical phase, the aftercare of the fresh grafts.

I'm now well into my second season of grafting. While I still have a lot to learn, I feel I'm close to being able to solo with this stuff.

~Dave

Someone has to pick up the slack around here Edwin... :>)

Dax

Mike-

There's a New England ACS grafting day at Vermuelen Nursery...you'd be learning from one of the pros...Nancy Vermuelen, here are the details I received in an email:

GRAFTING SEMINAR

in

NEW JERSEY

When: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2013

10:00 am until 2:00 pm

Where: John Vermuelens & Son

188 Woodfern Road Neshanic Station, NJ 08853

Nancy Vermuelen, excellent grafter and great teacher will hold a grafting seminar this year. Register by contacting Nancy at 1-908-369-5211.

Understock and scion wood provided.

Also coffee and doughniuts.

Bring a grafting knife and your lunch

Cost $45.00

Snow date is Feb 23

2nd Contact Walt Cullerton at Oxfordwalt@aol.com use "GRAFTING" on subject line. We will send directions and answer any questions you may have.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another option...if you ever find yourself in Oregon, we're happy to give you a tutorial.

-Brent

Ken ,
once again you have provided a wealth of information -
I appeciate your replies. This is just what I was looking for.
I have been to a few of Nancys classes. (GREAT class!!) Also got some early pointers from a great conifer ledgend - George Oken. Unfortunalty I cant make it this year.
I have been kinda sucessful with Grafting, I can watch watch and repeat what you show me - but just wanted to know "why".
Dax has some great videos, but I could not find them, thnks for the links.
Brent - I been to Oregon a few times and --- it is a great place , home to make it back - I will come look you up.

Ken -- LOL --- have a great day!

plantsman56:

"why, ie why we need to graft in Jan - Feb"
not only because the rootstock can be brought out of dormancy artificially, but because temps in a greenhouse can be kept lower artificially. It's very easy at other times of the year to overheat a greenhouse. Furthermore, we are able to attach "dormant" wood. Furthermore... the roots are pumping sap at the correct rate that allows for quick bonding to the scion. Really 7-10 days is all it takes for a graft to bond.

"why the scion needs to be cut on a warmer day ( like 32oF)"
when temps are below freezing, water freezes in the cells and tissue...contrarily when temps are above freezing the moisture in the wood doesn't dry out and the wood is more flexible. There is a loss of water in frozen wood.

"and (why) the roots of the understock need to be kept dry"
too much water and the roots become over-active pumping the water and sap at a rate that is higher causing the matched cambium/"cortex" of the scion and seedling to not join. Basically not enough time is allowed for callousing. When the understocks are brought in to break them from dormancy they should be watered and after 2-3 weeks has passed the moisture level in the pot has dropped leaving the pot semi-moist or ideal.

"roots activly growing"
need sap pumping to join the union.

"why the grafts need to be kept in a humid tent"
so the scion cannot dry out. It's that simple. The humidity in the air will be absorbed by the scion.

"What happends when the cambium layers match up"
They have to match up (technically it's the "cortex") but
it's referred to as ("cambium"). Doesn't matter...
That "matching up" creates a corky situation that later will become wood or shall I say, turn into wood. The 'cork' is the beginning phase of liquids, i.e. "soft tissue" hardening together for a bond. Sort of like glue in a liquid phase that later becomes a solid.

Dax

see!!!!! .. dax seems to agree... but with all his fancy science words ... i can never remember it all .. lol ...

so i reduce it to 'grafting for dummies' level ... minds you .. i am the dummy .... so take no offense ...

though he did ignore the 'because we said so' comment ... lol

ken

Thanks Plantman56 for asking this question! it brings out the great teachers that are on this forum! thanks guys! You are making it very clear to me on what I need to prepare for future seasons!Now I have to score me Bob Fincham's DVD,which I planed on anyway! It seems like every time I whach Dax's vids I learn somthing new also! Ken, you make learning so much fun,I gotta feeling if you were a HS teacher the kids would be in a hurry to get to your class!
Rob

Another thanks to everyone. Looks like Bob will have a burst of DVD orders soon.

Dax, you da man.

Ken, always great entertainment and info.

Thanks!

Ok -
Another question.
After the graft is made, you securely bind together with a grafting rubber ( not sure what it is really called)
Some suggest wax, ( heated to a temp of ______)
however some have used the stretchy parafilm grafting tape.
I have read here that it depends on spruce, pine, ?
Is this choice a preference or does one really work better. and why?
Too bad GW doesnt have a conifer FAQ section

Thanks Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: tape

Wax is for deciduous. It could be used for conifers. The correct temp is 160F.

I did overload on parafilm tape last winter. It's not needed on anything, however if you have something extremely special that is a hard pine or a fir, you should probably use parafilm tape. I doubt it increases the odds very much, but it may.

Wax:
Deciduous scions and the understock are dipped in was so they don't need a humidity chamber. The wax keeps the scion from drying out. You can graft all deciduous material, cut the understock to a few 3-5 buds so it's as tall or shorter than the scion, then dip everything from the working area (bud strip where you did your work) and everything above in wax..... put it on a shelf in the greenhouse with bottom heat.... and wait. When the deciduous scions have full leaves, cut off the remaining understock so the scion is the only thing left.

Dax

We talked about parafilm tape yesterday. HLG uses warm callousing tubes to help speed their grafts along, and when comparing their high success rates with spruces to somebody out east's low success rate, the person out east mentioned they "couldn't use callousing tubes, as the graft unions dry out too much." They compared everything they were doing, and the only difference was that HLG always uses parafilm tape with rubber bands, while the guy out east was only using rubber bands. Take it for what you will!

as to the wax ...

when i was at gee's..

gary had one crock pot with lunch ...

and one dedicated to wax.. lol ... it was a wide mouthed type ..

nothing magical about it .... just a setting low enough to melt wax ... w/o cooking it ...

ken

I use the parafilm on everything. I have trouble managing the rubber bands and find the mechanics with the film much simpler.

Keith

Maybe more than you want to know, but it is very interesting

Thanks --- Everyone

Here is a link that might be useful: Found this presentation

I'm also a fan of Parafilm. I started using it 35 years ago before it was specifically formulated for grafting. The original Parafilm laboratory film had different stretch properties and broke more easily.
Grafting/budding Parafilm does a nice job of keeping the graft union from drying and holds the tissues tightly together. It is a bit tricky when it is used during cooler temps as it tends to break rather than stretch. Such was the case when I grafted some ginkgos (in situ) in January, 2013.
Some grafters think that it is hard to get sufficient force applied to hold the cambia in tight proximity using Parafilm alone. I usually add a grafting rubber over the Parafilm.

Here's a pic of a splice graft of Tilia cordata 'Pendula Nana' using pencil lead size scion wood.