Thread Grafting Advice

[Webos]

Hey guys,
I have a trident that I cut too tall last year before spring and it has grown long shoots from the top. I'm planning on thread grafting those shoots down lower on the tree in the good old 1,2,3 left, right, back format. I'm just wondering how people usually secure their thread grafted branches so that they dont move around in the hole too much. Do people usually seal off the cruxes at which the graft enters and exits the trunk?

[Ash Barns]

Webos I am going to try this with a Trident I have, pretty soon. I have been advised to seal with cut paste and not make the hole(s) too large.

Ash

[Bretts]

A bigger fear than making the hole too large is not making it big enough and the thread is damaged too much on the way through. You can use a tiny wedge of wood to secure the thread against the edge of the hole if need be. Grafting or cut paste is recommended. Early spring before the buds swell but just as growth is about to start is the easiest.

[Webos]

Do you have any photos of results from thread grafts you have done in the past Bretts?

[Bretts]

Only the recent ones from late last Summer when I got annoyed branches were not coming where I wanted. I am still holding my breath to see if they make it through the Winter as they where not easy to get through at that time and there was little growth after.
I can get a couple of pictures of them later if you like but it is cold outside, camera has no batteries. I do have one with a small wedge so maybe that will help to see what I mean
Thread graft is pretty fool proof. Get the branch through the hole alive and don't cut it off before it has taken are about the two main concerns. All the rest is inevitable that given time they will fuse.

[Bretts]

Here is a couple I have going at the moment.
The Swamp Cypress.

graft.jpg

You can see a failed one further up the trunk. I damaged the branch too much on it's way through and it died some time later. If I had done this early Spring it would be practically fused by now.

The hornbeam with a wedge evident.

graft1.jpg

Again done late in the growing season which I do not advise. Just stripping the branch of leaves retards it's growth alot this time of year let alone shoving it though a hole trying not to break buds off or strip the cambium. If that bud close to the trunk survives Winter it should be a ripper though.
In Spring before there is any growth on the branch it is much much simpler.
I have never been a fan of the grafting paste it makes a big mess. But does a good job! In spring with Fast growth you can definitely get away with using nothing.

[Rod]

G`day all . When I do thread grafts I use a different technique for a thick trunk than I do for a thin trunk. With a thin trunk I drill the same size hole all the way through. Because the graft branch is tapered, on a thick trunk I drill a hole that will be the size of the exit hole all the way through. I then drill a larger hole from the graft entry side half way through the trunk. By doing it this way you can get a neat fit on the entry and exit sides of the graft . The holes have to large enough that the branch can slide through without damaging any of its buds. I Push the graft branch as far as it can go through the hole, I then remove a strip of bark from the grafting branch on the entry and exit side. On the opposite side of the strip that have I removed, I insert a wedge which pushes the graft branch to one side of the hole. This guarantees the cambium makes contact on one side of the hole, I then cover with cut paste, if you use cut paste before you have wedged it the cut paste could get into the graft. You don`t want cut paste between the cambium layers! The other thing that can stop it working is movement so secure it well and ( dont touch it ! ) let it grow. I hope this helps guys, most of the grafts I have done work doing it this way. Cheers Rod.......

[Matthew]

I drill the hole around the size i want most the branch to go through untill i have a pair of nodes just outside the other end so once i cut the branch back after the thread has taken and the branch grown thick enough i get branch forking close to the trunk. I secure the graft with grafting tape and also wire for added security and movement in the future branch. I have been doing multiple branches this way with tridents. If the branch used for the graft is long enough i can do multiple grafts off the same branch