How to Graft Fruit Trees - Bark Inlay Grafting

Here's a beginner video we put together on bark inlay grafting. Hope it's useful!



www.atitlanorganics.com

Nice video!  Great idea of using teflon tape.  I was looking for something stretchy I already had around the house and electrical tape seemed a bit too strong.

One question...  When Brock wraps the scion, does he leave that on for three weeks also?  I would've thought that it would be pushing new growth and that the tape could interfere with that.

Hi Mike! Yes, Brock leaves the teflon tape on the whole thing for three weeks. We've found that it's a good amount of time, and protects the plant while tender new growth is happening. By three weeks, if the graft has taken, it should be strong enough to continue on its own.

Is there a particular time of year to do this? Or not to do this? I can't wait to try this.

Krista

Hey Krista,
Ideally you'd do it in the spring, around April-May. Where we are, it's best in rainy season as opposed to dry season. I hope this helps!

Yes it does! Thank you very much.

Great stuff
Couple of questions
What is teflon tape ?  It this plumbers tape as I would call it ?
I have used this technique also called Rind grafting or Crown grafting with great effect with Medlars and to a lesser effect with plums . But not used this tape . What are your views thoughts on using the method outside of tropical climes  :-) I am thinking plum root stock and apricots

David

Hi David,
Sorry for the delayed response! I believe teflon tape probably is what you're talking about -- here's what I found on wikipedia when I did a search for "teflon tape" :

Thread seal tape is wrapped around the threads, lubricating the connection and allowing the two pieces to be screwed deeper together.
Thread seal tape (also known as PTFE tape or plumber's tape) is a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film for use in sealing pipe threads. The tape is sold cut to specific widths and wound on a spool, making it easy to wind around pipe threads. It is also known by the genericized trademark Teflon tape; while Teflon is in fact identical to PTFE, Chemours (the trade-mark holders) consider this usage incorrect, especially as they no longer manufacture Teflon in tape form.[1] Thread seal tape lubricates allowing for a deeper seating of the threads, and it helps prevent the threads from seizing when being unscrewed.[2] The tape also works as a deformable filler and thread lubricant, helping to seal the joint without hardening or making it more difficult to tighten,[3] and instead making it easier to tighten. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_seal_tape)

I think this would certainly work outside of tropical regions, and that you'd just have to do it during the appropriate season wherever you are. For temperate zones I'd recommend springtime (April and May). Best of luck! Colleen

Clarification: You want to do this type of grafting when the bark is slipping. This will not be the same time of year in Guatemala, Minnesota, Oregon and Tennessee. It will be different for all of these places. You want to do it when the bark is slipping. If you try to peel the bark and it holds on tight, wait a bit later. It is usually earlier in the Eastern United States and the Southern United States than the Northern and Western United States. Here, we usually start at the beginning of August.  check with local grafters if you don't know, or ask on your regional section of permies.
John S
PDX OR

This graft is a great way to propagate the tree altho basic electrical tape sticks to itself works well. Wrapping the scions is good as it keeps them from drying out before the graft "takes". I like to use heavy rubber bands around the tree trunk to squeeze the the scions then tape it up. I also use melted Pine sap and bees wax or Elmer's wood glue to cover the open cut and any place where rain water might get thru to interfere with the Cambian matchup.


Al Brown
All The Best

Hej!
One thing I couldn't tell from the video was; when you insert the scion wood, is the flat place you trimmed facing in or out? I'm guessing that you're lifting the bark away from the cambium, and the flat goes in?
Thanks
Dan Schneider

Daniel Schneider wrote:Hej!
One thing I couldn't tell from the video was; when you insert the scion wood, is the flat place you trimmed facing in or out? I'm guessing that you're lifting the bark away from the cambium, and the flat goes in?
Thanks
Dan Schneider

Yes right, the flat part is inward, but the video is not showing it well, unless you compare the upper part of the scion! And yes, the part with more bark is on the outside. I had to look twice at the 2 parts of the video, to compare....

We have so much to look for that I would appreciate that more videos have less "poetry" and go directly to the core.

Thanks, Xisca! That was what I had thought, but my eyes aren't what they once were, so I couldn't really tell with any confidence.

Hi David,
Sorry for the confusion in the video. Xisca's right--you want contact between the woody parts (not the bark), so the trimmed scion faces inward when you slip in into the stock.