I’m still very much in the learning stage of tree grafting, and this is the first clear success. At least I think it is, because I suppose it could still fail.
This is a Filippa apple sent to me by Søren. I posted earlier about this.
While the graft took, I did what’s called a Splice Graft, and I think that was a mistake. Something more secure like a saddle graft would have been better. I am still a little concerned a strong wind might come along and break the graft.
I also think I did the graft a little high. I didn’t measure it at the time, but I think I did the graft only a few centimeters from the roots, but the root stock has since grown and now the graft is a good 30cm off the ground, adding to the precarious nature of the graft. Next time I will try to do the graft even closer to the roots.
I made two apple tree grafts, both with parafilm tape, and this one I completely covered with the tape. The other graft didn’t take, and I think the tape helped this one a lot. In the future I will wrap my grafts completely in parafilm when possible. On the advice of Christina, I will leave the tape in place until is comes off on it’s own.
Congratulations!
I’m sure it has taken by now. Have you secured it to the bamboo stick with an 8-loop? This should prevent the risk from strong winds.
The Splice Graft is standard for apple trees up here in Denmark, and we do have lots of windy days year round. I think you made a good choice with this method of grafting.
WOOHOO! Hooray for a growing graft! That is fantastic!
Congrats on the successful apple graft, how is it holding up for you? I grafted three new trees this spring and they all eventually leafed out but two suddenly began browning and later died leaving the Pomme Gris as the only survivor out of the three. Good luck with your grafting!
Hi Kenny,
Yes, it’s still doing well. Bugs have been attacking my other apple trees, and I’m not holding out much hope for a good harvest this year, but this tree is untouched so far. I’m not sure why.
I’ve just been reading through some of your old grafting posts, and I realize you’ve been doing this for a few years now. Both of us have limited space, and so can’t have many trees, but it still might be nice to trade and I’d love to hear about interesting varieties you discover.
I don’t know how easy it is to get scion wood through international customs, but we can always try…