Inyan Posted August 29, 2018 Author Share Posted August 29, 2018 Another day another hopeful light yellow hybrid gets grafted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted August 30, 2018 Author Share Posted August 30, 2018 Soaking dirty little girls and boys today before the grafts were to begin when I noticed this alien munching on the thigh of one of my little ones. All that trouble to keep them clean so they can be grafted and this darn little one is eating them up just as fast as I can graft them. Apparently he doesn't like the stock as he just goes after the scions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted August 31, 2018 Author Share Posted August 31, 2018 More grafts done today... now, I won't bore you with the usual step by step pictures. Instead... I'll hit you up with a few pictures of how I roll on the other minutia of grafting... those steps many don't talk about. Without further ado. First, its nice to have a tray of stock ready. Now, I fertilize my stock regularly, but when transposing I prefer to soak them in a little something stronger. Sometimes I'll soak my seed in fertilizer to clean some of the dirt from them as well. . I've also been known to simply use water for that my seedling soaks. Whichever you choose... I try to do at least two baths with the last being water or if I'm concerned I might add in a bit of h202. Next, I often lay out a few stock plants and wrap them with a little parafilm. This keeps fuzz and what not from getting into my grafts later and also helps the next top l layer of parafilm stick a bit better. Note, in the previous picture, some have also been grafted already. Another perk of parafilm... you can lay your grafted work on its side or upside down after you are done. Bump into your grafts... no worries. Before long, you should have a nice stack of grafted babies ready to go. Just be sure to have some light or your babies might look like this mess when your done. Suffice it to say, I was grafting in the dark again! Not a smart move, but I can't stand not to graft each and every seedling I have plucked for the days grafts.. Lastly, you will want to feed those fresh grafts as this will help settle in the soil you worked around your stock to keep them snug. I make this a wee bit stronger using both chemical fertilizers such as miracle grow, fish emulsion, etc. You may wish to skip the organic fertilizers if you can't keep your trays away from the wild life though as organic fertilizers have been known to attract foxes, dogs, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted September 13, 2018 Author Share Posted September 13, 2018 Grafts of the day in a hurricane... Like most days, I'm grafting today, but today is special as I'm leaving these grafts outside to greet Hurricane Florence. Lets hope we all survive and yes... lets hope these grafts survive the hurricane as well. These seedling grafts will be left out without any protection to be pounded on, rained on, and generally abused by Florence. Hopefully, I will be back with an update for you guys and gals. I'm fairly confident that if we make it out alive, so too will these grafts. With that being said... let the Hurricane begin. Size of seedlings being used todayAnd this is how we do it.. Stay tuned for updates on grafts able to withstand a hurricane or not? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humboldt Posted September 14, 2018 Share Posted September 14, 2018 Stay safe @Inyan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inyan Posted September 15, 2018 Author Share Posted September 15, 2018 @Humbolt thanks for your concern. I did learn a good bit already from my hurricane grafts though. Grafting with extremely well watered Pereskiopsis, as happens with Hurricane soaked stock requires you to dry off the Pereskiopsis with a cloth right after you cut it. You have to be expedient in placing your cut scion onto the graft as well as sealing it tight with Parafilm. Otherwise, the grafted seedling will float off right at the start. Some of my stock I put under car port which effectively blocked some of the wind. In addition, those under the carport had even more light blocked than those exposed to the clouds and thus my grafted plants and stock have grown quite light green in a very short period of time anywhere there is new growth. Suffice it to say, all of my grafts have weathered the Hurricane very nicely so far with no graft failures. A win for Parafilm grafting! That said, I did have one grafted Pereskiopsis that was a few feet tall fall over in the wind and even that newly grafted specimen has stayed perfectly in tact. So, far it has been a rewarding experience watching the scions hang on for life with the help of the parafilm... it is no contest. Hurricane Florence Zero... Grafts 100% okay! I'll try to get some pictures uploaded later. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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