Late Chip-bud grafts are waking up

[Jsacadura]

Thanks to a dear friend i received a few cuttings of 4 new Portuguese varieties in the beginning of October.



Although it was quite late in the season i decided to graft them using the chip technique that had good results last year. I generally use it during spring through August and even September. I never did it in October.

Despite the dropping temperatures at night the days were still warm enough and i thought that it would take about 15 days to 3 weeks for the chips to fuse with the grafted branches in these conditions. Afterwards, they should be dormant during the winter. With luck they should awake this spring.

Here's some photos of how they were 15 days after grafting. When these green cuttings have pecíoles i tend to leave them and cover the whole thing with parafilm and protect the graft with aluminum foil.
When checking after 15 days, if the pecíole falls when touched the chip has taken. Then, I remove the pecíole and cover the bud with parafilm again.







I was hoping that, if don't get fungus in the winter (sometimes they do when there is too much moisture inside the parafilm) the buds should stay dormant and break this spring.

In the 3 varieties that were not that green, i didn't use all the cutting, only the bottom buds of each. I buried the remaining of each cutting just in case they might root.

The photo album for these grafts is here:

http://s1024.photobucket.com/user/bassbbtjs/library/Enxertos%20tardios%20Figueiras%20-%208%20Outubro%202016?sort=9&page=1

[Jsacadura]

Now, after several months, it's a wonderful sight, seeing the grafts that i have done in late October waking up in spring.

They went dormant in November but had time to fuse and resisted well the unusual cold winter we had (it reached -7ºC and killed some citrus trees).

Some chips are still dormant, others are waking up showing green buds and some are showing it's first leafs. So far not one is giving me a bad feeling of not waking up.
We will see in a couple of weeks if some failed.

Even than, if the chip fused alright, there is still hope. I had a couple of chips waking up one year (and one even 2 years) after the graft being made (it's rare but it can happen).










Now, it's a matter of waiting a few months and some may even surprise me with some figs in this first year of growth. It's not very common with chip-budding though (it happens much more with whip and tongue which develop much faster).

This was the champion grower of last season (amazing growth in 6 months).

[Jsacadura]

I have been busy in the last 3 weekends rooting and grafting the new arrivals for this year. I have to say i went a bit over my head and more than 90 varieties joined the existent collection.

Of those i grafted at least 50 to be on the safe side in case something went wrong with rooting (with more desirable varieties i grafted more than one chip using all the buds in one cutting)






















With the sap flowing strongly in the spring, it's very important to make a few shallow cuts below the graft, so the excess sap doesn't drown the graft.






Also, i remove the apical growth, in most cases, leaving a few leaves until the chip fuses. Afterward, according to the bud development i decide if i remove all the top growth, but usually i reduce it gradually.




The existent buds below the graft are all removed




In the first month and until there is signs of bud break, i will leave the graft protected from direct sun using aluminium foil




A few of the grafts that i made a few weeks ago are starting to break buds






All the photos from this second album are here: http://s1024.photobucket.com/user/ba...?sort=9&page=1

[Zuny]

Wow, your grafts look great. I really like all the pictures you took and the step by step instructions. I am gonna give it a try.

[Jsacadura]

Hi, Zuny.

That was my intention. To show how easy it is.
Some recommendations:

Choose straight cuttings and scions to start with. We can do it with not ideal cuttings and scion branches (sometimes we have too like with the 4th cutting in my first picture at the beginning of this thread - not so easy to remove chip-buds from that one - but try to avoid them when starting)

Start with the chip and make the low angled cut first. Then, carefully, start cutting above the bud, slowly, until you reach the lower cut and the chip comes out by it's own. The tricky part is passing the bud as there is more resistance there and, if you force it, the knife usually tend to skip to the surface and make a narrower cut than we want too. It takes some practice. A rocking motion with the knife helps to cut more accurately, in that section.

Leave the chip in place, so it doesn't dry out, and cut the scion. I pick a one year branch (not too thin, not too wide), the same age as the cutting and usually graft it near the base.
Make the lower cut first and then the longer one. Use a shallow approach so this cut is not too wide. We can cut another time to make it wider and longer, if needed. Use the chip as a measure to see how long it needs to be.

I need to make a small video. It's much simpler than trying to describe it.

Good luck.

[fruitnut]

Very nice..!! You are skilled at cutting those grafts. It's not easy getting such a good fit.

[Jsacadura]

Thanks, fruitnut.

Let me post some pictures of some of my first chip bud grafts then :-)

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/...psqei1cahg.jpg


http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/...pseh7cgvpw.jpg
But that's the beauty of this type of graft. It doesn't need to fit that well.

In my first grafts the chips were usually wider than the cut in the rootstock, specially around the bud area (almost inevitable) and it doesn't make much difference regarding their success. If the cambiums cross at some point, they will begin to fuse. Sure, i prefer if they match, it's much more aesthetic visually, but not necessarily better in terms of cambium crossing.

[cjccmc]

Nice to see such good photography on one of my favorite subjects. Thanks for posting Jaime.

I did about five grafts (bark and cleft) a month ago and just starting to see a tiny amount of bud swelling on some. Not sure if the grafts are taking or just the scion waking up without a connection to the rootstock. Time will tell but the waiting is painful.

[Jsacadura]

Hi Conrad,

If really depends on the amount of wood you used in the graft. With chip-bud, there is no chance of bud development if the union is not established with the scion.

Even with other graft types, like whip and tongue, that i also use a lot, if i see tiny leaves breaking, that is usually a very good sign, although, as you pointed out, they can be using the scion energy reserves.

The whip and tongue i did in the beginning of March are starting to show some leaves (less than 3 weeks from grafting). I will try to take some picture later this week.
In my experience, this is one of the quickest grafts in terms of development. It even tends to produce some figs with some varieties if done in early March.

Good luck with yours and patience. I know the wait is not easy.

[cis4elk]

Jamie, really nice pictures and such good work. Thank you for sharing this.

[Jsacadura]

Thanks, Calvin. It's a pleasure to share my experiences with other fig enthusiasts.

[Fygmalion]

Super pictures and supporting narrative! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us!

[Jsacadura]

Thanks, Tony. I also like photography very much. Unfortunately, with the limited time i have to care for my plants, i simply take a few pictures to register grafting locations and varieties.
This time i did take the time to register what i was doing so i could share it with the community. Haven't got to video, though, and i think that some things need it to be fully understood.

[Fygmalion]

Jaime... I do hope you have time and opportunity to produce some video's as you have a real knack with pictures and the information you are sharing just flows superbly from the images and supporting text and if that translates well to video then they will be real winners!

[Taverna78]

And tis is exactly why tis forum is the best. Great teaching and learning. Wonderful job !

[Jsacadura]

A few years ago, my first attempts at grafting figs were a disaster (i used the same techniques that worked for apples and pears and didn't protect the grafts enough).
Luckily, i saw some successful attempts from other fig enthusiasts online, learn from them and didn't give up, so it's a pleasure to be able to give something back.

[Jsacadura]

REPOST of the first message with the photos that photobucket doesn't allow to view directly on the message.

Thanks to a dear friend i received a few cuttings of 4 new Portuguese varieties in the beginning of October.



Although it's quite late in the season i decided to graft them using the chip technique that has had good results last year. I generally use it during August and September. I never did in October.

Despite the dropping temperatures at night the days are still warm enough and i thought that it would take about 15 days to 3 weeks for the chips to fuse with the grafted branches in these conditions. Afterwards they should be dormant during the winter. With luck they should awake in the spring.

Here's some photos of how they are 15 days after grafting. When these green cuttings have pecíoles i tend to leave them and cover the whole thing with parafilm and protect the graft with aluminum foil.




When checking after 15 days, if the pecíole falls when touched the chip has taken.



I remove the pecíole and cover the bud with parafilm again.



If all is well and they don't get fungus in the winter (sometimes they do when there is too much moisture inside the parafilm) the buds should stay dormant and break in the spring.

In the 2 varieties that were not all green (with some older wood), i didn't use all the cutting, only the TOP green buds of each (from that year growth).
I buried the remaining of each cutting just in case they might root.

The photo album is here:

http://s1024.photobucket.com/user/bassbbtjs/library/Enxertos%20tardios%20Figueiras%20-%208%20Outubro%202016?sort=9&page=1

UPDATE:
Most of the chips broke bud this spring and are growing well.






Those that were not green and didn't have visible buds (like the second cutting in the first photo), although the chip has fused very well, still have not brake bud (i had some situations where some of these, only broke bud after 1/2 years)

[Jsacadura]

Repost of the #3 message with the photos that were missing and a new link to the photo Album in Flickr (since i will not be using Photobucket any more)

Repost - message #5 with the missing photographs

I have been busy in the last 3 weekends rooting and grafting the new arrivals for this year. I have to say i went a bit over my head and more than 90 varieties joined the existent collection.

Of those i grafted at least 50 to be on the safe side in case something went wrong with rooting (with more desirable varieties i grafted more than one chip using all the buds in one cutting)










With the sap flowing strongly in the spring, it's very important to make a few shallow cuts below the graft, so the excess sap doesn't drown the graft.




Also, i remove the apical growth, in most cases, leaving a few leaves until the chip fuses. Afterwards, according to the bud development i decide if i remove all the top growth, but usually i reduce it gradually (otherwise, the sap can be removed from the grafted branch and the graft will dry out)




The existent buds below the graft are all removed




In the first month or until there is signs of bud break, i will leave the graft protected from direct sun using aluminium foil (this will be removed gradually, i use it to provide some shade after bud break, in some cases)




A few of the grafts that i made a few weeks ago are starting to break buds (they free themselves from the parafilm, as i only make one pass and stretch the parafilm when passing over the bud to make it thinner)




All the photos in this Chip-Bud grafting Album