It is usually advisable, although not necessary, to shade new grafts.  To do this, cover them with light-colored or white paper sacks.  Never use glassine alone for it causes the grafts to overheat and so destroys them.  Whatever tying material is used, either to fasten on these bags or to support the grafts, it should be inspected at intervals during the summer, as it may constrict the graft or stock and injure or cut off the cambium.

After a scion begins to grow, it must be firmly braced against the force of the wind, for a heavy gale can rip out grafts made years before.  Laths make good braces for growing shoots.  They may be attached to the main branch by stout waterproof twine such as binder twine, and the growing graft tied with soft muslin strips to the lath.  As the graft grows more muslin strips should be used to keep the excessive growth anchored to the lath.  Grafts will often make three or more feet in growth in one season.

It is important to remember that sprouts or buds which start from the stock must be rubbed off.  If they are allowed to flourish, they may prevent the scion from growing.  When working over a tree several inches in diameter, it becomes an art to keep the tree stock satisfied, yet to encourage the growth of the scions.  In large trees, a few sprouts must grow to nourish the root system, but this is not necessary if the stock is one inch, or less, in diameter.

Chapter 17

GRAFTING TAPE VERSUS RAFFIA

It is necessary that a person who is grafting trees and developing hybrids experiment not only with the plants he is interested in, but also with the equipment and materials he uses.  For more than twelve years, I used raffia to tie the grafts I made, becoming more annoyed and irritated with its limitations each year.  Finally, I began trying other materials, until I found one which I think is very satisfactory.  This is a rubberized grafting tape.

At my nursery, we make our own tape.  We buy pure rubber gum, known as Lotol NC-356, from the Naugatuck Chemical Company, at a cost of $7.50 for five gallons, F.O.B. their factory.  With this, we use unbleached muslin of an 80 x 80 mesh, or finer.  As the muslin is usually a yard wide, we fold it and take it to a printing firm, where, for a small charge, it is cut into both one-half and three-quarter inch strips by being fed through a paper-cutting machine.  We use the wider strips for heavy work on large trees which have three to five-inch stubs; the narrower strips we use in the nursery, grafting young seedlings.

First, pour about a gallon of the rubber compound into a twelve or sixteen-quart pail having a smooth, rolled edge.  Next, separate a dozen or so of the strips of muslin.  Then, set out a pair of rails on which to dry the tape after it has been dipped.  I make these rails by using two 1” x 2” boards about twelve feet in length, nailed together at the ends with boards two feet long.  This frame, resting on carpenter’s horses or benches, makes a good drying rack.