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paully22

Article On Multiple Grafting & Green Cuttings

paully22
16 years ago

Found this article bookmark under my favourites & manage to translate it into english but do not know how to post. I used Yahoo "Babel Fish" to translate and the website is in french & it is www.Greffer.net

I have also used Babel fish to translate german to english for another interesting site "Frameset-Beispiel". The same applies to another french website by Baud nursery under

"Pepinieres Baud.Une specialite"

Hope someone could undertake the translation & post for the benefits of other fellow fig enthusiat.

Paul

Comments (12)

  • gene_washdc
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Are you talking about this article?
    Changer par greffage la varié dÂun figuier adulte

    That was written by Axier who posts here from time to time. Fignut also has written a similar article in English that might help if your French is a bit rusty: Chip Budding the Fig

  • paully22
    Original Author
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Gene -- Yes.

    Just hope someone could translate & post for others. I used Babel Fish for translation to english but do not know how to post it. The German & French site pertains to varieties with a short description -- Interesting information.

    Paul

  • axier - Z10, Basque Country (Spain)
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Gene.
    Paul, yes, I am the author of this article. The original article is here, it is in Spanish and it was translated to French by the greffer.net site moderator (Patrice). I have reflected several times to translate it to English (my limited English), but when anybody has posted anything regarding grafting in this forum it seemed to be of little interest, at least it is my perception.

    Unlike other fruit trees, figs grow well on own roots and they don't need grafting. I have grafted my adult fig trees due to limited place to plant more figs, with grafting I have an excellent opportunity to try different varieties in the same tree.

    I have actually 20 varieties grafted on two adult fig trees. Maybe in the future I will remove the less interesting varieties and will keep only a few good varieties.

  • paully22
    Original Author
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Axier

    Your writings on your findings is extremely useful & would only make the interest more exciting. Probaly no one in North America has done anything like what U have done & that is to graft 20 varities on 2 trees successful. Perhaps U can update all of us in your own time how the varieties are doing & what U would not do. By the way what would be the " must have varieties of figs " one must have in spain given all things equal.
    So, the more inputs all of us have the better the ideas can be bounced around. So please keep on coming to this wonderful forum with whatever U have to share, ask etc..

    Thanks --- Paul

  • Scott F Smith
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would also be interested. All I know about fig grafting is I tried some grafts last summer and they all failed..

    Scott

  • axier - Z10, Basque Country (Spain)
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am going to summarize the most important things about grafting figs (according to my experience after several dozens of grafts).

    The first thing, you can't expect a near 100% success with figs (unlike apples or pears), a 70 % is a good rate. Figs aren't difficult to graft but they are "capricious", for example, sometimes an apparently successful graft never sprouts. I have a two years old graft of "Dauphine" and I don't achieve to sprout it. I suspect that it depends on the variety too to get success, for example, the past summer I did three grafts of "Sucrette" and all of them quickly thrived , on the contrary, I had to do several grafts of "Sultane" to get a successful one.

    I always use the chip budding method for grafting figs. In my climate (oceanic with mild winters and summers), the best months for grafting are May and June.

    You can graft in summer too but the graft don't always sprout before winter. I think that June is the best month for climates with long winters.

    I use a chip of the year (green wood) with a well developed bud and I remove the leaf and peduncle (sometimes it is recommended to keep the leaf peduncle but I haven't found any advantage in it), anything similar to this:

    (Click here) Mundani

    I cover all the chip except the bud with plastic tape. My graft would be like this:


    (this picture is not a real graft, it is only an example)

    you can use chips from past year cuttings stored in the refrigerator too.

    After this, I cover it with aluminum foil, in this manner I prevent sun burnt and I create a mini "greenhouse" to keep high humidity around the graft. One of the most critical factors for the first days of a graft is the dehydration, I keep the aluminum one week or so.



    I do a belly with the aluminum over the bud to leave place for air and for an eventual bud sprouting.

    After several weeks, you have to be prudent to remove the plastic tape, you mustn't be in a hurry, I have seen chips with good aspect die in few days after removing the tape. The graft union wasn't hardened enough to withstand the drying effect of the air. I wait a minimum of 5 or 6 weeks before removing the tape. In any case, after 2 or 3 weeks (it depends of temperatures) you can carefully check the graft estate, if you see abundant callus along the graft union, later you will can remove definitively the tape with more guarantees, but don't remove before 5 weeks. I have gotten success with fig grafts in only 3 weeks, but a lot of fails too.

    Another important thing is to keep at least one bud above the graft until the sprouting of the graft. Figs are prone to withdraw the sap from grafts if the bud doesn't sprout soon. Keeping at least one bud above the graft you force to the sap to go through the graft, once the graft sprouts vigorously you can cut above it.

  • axier - Z10, Basque Country (Spain)
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here some photos of one of the grafted fig trees. All the branches that you see from the main framework are different grafted varieties.

    You can observe different sizes, it is mainly due to they were grafted in different times.

    Here it just pruned in February-2006:

    Here at the present:

  • loslunasfarms
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Axier, that is amazing! Wow! Be sure to send us pics this summer with figs... Wow! Congrats on the great success.

  • gorgi
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    OH, very good,
    Have 2-3 mature 2" thick base (Brunswicks) that I was
    planing to destroy (not good here in moist NE), will
    experiment fig grafting for my first time (just for fun).
    I will probably try at least 4 different fig varieties
    on the main stem. However, me being here in the COLD NE
    they will 'only' be as secondary since as one
    very sever winter can KILL all.
    George (NJ).

  • paully22
    Original Author
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very good Axier. Well, I am going to learn something new by trying, it would be fun. Also, theres less need to discard as my collection grows.

  • axier - Z10, Basque Country (Spain)
    16 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It is easier than it seems if you follow all my advices, don't skip anyone.

    Like an example of a graft progress you can view the evolution of the "Dalmatie" (AKA "San Pietro") graft, it was the first of all grafts, on account of this it is the biggest. It was done in June 2006 and it developed with big vigor. Practically, a lot of the tree sap was for it!

    In this picture the graft three months later, September 2006:

    Here (the other side) in January 2007 ("soudure"=graft union):

    and here at the present, it sizes actually more than 2" in diameter:

  • scion
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Do any of the grafters on this site have any experience or advice on adding other varieties onto a mature fig tree by the method of PATCH BUDDING.

    The patches are intended to be placed onto the main limbs which are about 3 fingerwidths in diameter.

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