Branch grafting

[AndrewM]

Hi folks
Today I thought I would have ago at grafting branches to a Japanese Black pine. This is the first time I have tried this so fingers crossed that they take.
I took the branches from a Japanese black pine that I trimmed today and some of the branches that came of looked suitable for the graft. The branches were cut at a 45 degree angle and place into a clone solution while I prepared the trunk. I cut a T into the area that I wanted the new branches to grow and pealed the cut back to take the new branch. Placed the branch into the cut and brought the bark back to wrap around the new branch then wrap the join with grafting tape tightly to hold it all tight. The sealant in the fork of the branch is just a secondary precaution to keep water out.
Sorry about the photography
This pic is 3 months ago when I purchased the pine

Before the graft.JPG

After the graft.JPG

Bottom branch.JPG

Both branches.JPG

Like I said I have never done this before so any comments or advise is more than welcome

Cheers

[Mitchell]

Nice work mate! Only advice I have is practice makes perfect and razor sharp/sterile tools are a must.
There are no half cuts then adjusts to complete. All cuts must be made with one confident movement, no hesitation at all or it will fail. Hesitation of the hand causes shake/tremors which in turn create abnormalities to the surface.

Not to put you off, I truly hope these take. After about 200 odd grafts I have attempted, I now have a success rate of about 3 out of every 5. It does not sound good, but I was recently discussing it with someone whom has practiced for over 30 years, he has a success rate of 4 out of 5.


I have learned grafting takes a long time to master, but sometimes we get lucky, I hope this is one such occasion. Good Luck mate!!

[AndrewM]

Thanks Mitchell
The cuts were made with one movement and clean tool. If it takes then great I will gain something but if it fails then I will have had a go and will try again

[Mitchell]

That's it mate! Just keep at it till they take!

A few months ago I was able to get a hold of citrus cuttings from 10 different varieties, orange, navel, mandarin etc.
I prepped them all and a lemon tree I was intending to graft too (garden tree 4m high). Did everything right as far as I knew.

I tried 2 grafts of each type, 20 total....

Guess how many took? 1. So don't feel bad if your first two don't.

[shibui]

One of the biggest problems with grafting evergreen plants is the leaves of the grafted scion continue to transpire moisture but the stem cannot take up more water from the new graft - result is the scion dehydrates and dies. To improve success the scion must be kept hydrated until it joins to the stock. Regular misting will help but I use plastic bags over the scion to keep humidity high and reduce the scion need for water. Ziplock bags are easiest to use - just wet the inside of the bag, pop it over the scion and close the seal either side of the stem.
Japanese articles on grafting pines and juniper advocate tying spagnum moss around the graft union. It may just keep the union moist and to help healing or may provide a water reservoir for the scion until it heals. Plastic bags give better results for me when grafting citrus and pines.

[Jamie]

gday andrew

good work mate

as it has been said preactice makes perfect, the other thing i was thinking if you watched the recent world of bonsai lindsay shows some graft on pine, which will help, any ideas are a good idea

i would try and use smaller graft donors, shorter stem length and a bit thinner, i am pretty sure the younger donor will take a little better than an older longer one

grafting is a skill that can be difficult to aquire, especially heel/free grafts like this, another option would be to use a thread/approach graft, using one of the branches from down low and placed in a channel of where you want the new branch

jamie

[AndrewM]

Shibui
I will keep this in mind but with all the wet weather we are having this month up here humidity might not be a problem at least for the short term.
Thanks for the advice

[AndrewM]

Jamie
In this case practice might not make perfect but a success would be nice. I had a look at Episode 10 of bonsai farm and I knew I got the info from some were I just couldn't remember were but I would say that I got the inspiration from Lindsay as I have followed the same process that he explains in the show. With all the information I try to take in some times I would like to be able to remember were it comes from

Thanks for the comments mate

[Jamie]

gday mate

how much rain you had today? it is bucketing down here! doesnt look like it wont stop either. have had to raise all my pots to help the water exit.

look forward in seeing them take matey

[63pmp]

I would suggest that you make your scions shorter, one great advantage of grafting is the ability to bring ramification in close to the trunk.

Good luck with it. Practice makes perfect.

Paul