Alan, I wonder if the extent of the vinyl tape girdling have something to do with the effective number of layers of vinyl tape on a certain spot. I did see some badly girdled branches that had 3,4 layers of vinyl tape on them, however those slightly overlapped single layer wrapped union seemed fine after a growing season.
It occurs to me that multiple layers of vinyl tape strength each other too much while single layer of tape by its own stretch quite well.
Our season starts early and I can start removing tape by mid June. If a few aren’t ready I wait another month. Sometimes I unwrap the scion and re-tape if needed. If your not sure waiting longer is better in my opinion.
More like your experience than your opinion. That’s what we have to go on- what works for us.
As I continued to unravel tape yesterday of peach grafts the dreaded pealing started to occur- I assume because the bark is becoming more tender as the peach buds are fully swollen and apples are showing first green. Some are still coming off cleanly, but when it starts to peel I use a utility knife to make a single slit to free the graft from the tape. No big deal either way- I’ve never actually killed a graft that I’ve peeled a bit. Seems to be young bark that is removed and not cambium.
I put my tape on with the sticky side out so I don’t get any or very little bark peeling when it is removed. Although I put on a lot of grafts I have the time available to carefully remove the tape which is a luxury many people don’t have.
I will try doing that, but my first thought is that it will slow the process down and make it harder to pull the tape firmly against the wood for a nice snug fit. I may even do some grafting today if I manage to get all my trees in the ground. If I do, I will report back on my opinion of this method.
What I do is I use flagging tape and wrap once or twice with that just snub. Then I take black tape and wrap real tight. Then you don’t have to worry about sticking.
I do the same thing but with parafilm. I’ve had good success so far with that method.
Exactly… on smaller limbs whatever I grab works… on the larger limbs I use the flagging tape as it is cheaper and easier for me to get locally. You nailed it …
The trick is getting it to stay in the first place. Try making a stick tab for yourself by folding a messy triangle in the top of the tape. That gives you a little stub of sticky tape to hold to the back and a little smooth place for you to hold it with your fingers for the very first wrap.
I hate grafting, find it very tedious after the first hour or so. Most of these ideas about how to avoid sticking add a step, making a process I don’t enjoy nor can afford, more time consuming than a single slice with a razor once graft is established in the few occasions it is actually necessary. Simpler, better. If you don’t want to bother slicing, the price of rubber electric tape is not prohibitive if you do less than 100 splice grafts a year… You need never even remove it- the only reason I don’t use it is because I like to be able to pull grafts tight with a less stretchy material.
I put one thin/stretched cover of parafilm around the incision to hold it in place and then wrap very tight with electrical tape. The only difficult part is the first backwards lap of the tape. Once you go around once or twice the tape can be pulled as tight as the breaking strength of the tape being used.
Does anyone else use ‘Poly Budding Tape’ from AM Leonard i.e. http://www.amleo.com/poly-budding-tape/p/VP-34/? If so do you know how long it lasts in the sun before breaking down?
It is non-adhesive, narrower, and substantially stretchier than electrical tape, but much stronger than parafilm tape. I have used parafilm for my benchgrafts in the past, but I used the more robust vinyl tape this year to make up the W&T grafts on the interstems I grafted, figuring that they will need some more time to knit together robustly. I am hopeful that it lasts all summer but starts to crack up before next year.
I haven’t used amleo’s brand but have used somebody else’s. It should be cut if not deteriorated by the following spring, and I don’t think it will be. It does allow for more tension on the graft than parafilm, and seals well, but needs help staying in place.
For my part I’m happy with Temflex and parafilm, or grafting rubbers and parafilm, but I wouldn’t hesitate to use poly or almost anything else. I think “Press 'n Seal” might be fun to play with. Curiously, I found masking tape to be workable but it stays ugly for a long time! I do really prefer prewrapping the scions before grafting and I think parafilm is tops for that.
Honestly, I think you could take scraps of cloth and Johnny Wax and do just fine (and maybe somebody will try it and let us know!)
I also just wrap the whole graft with parafilm, then tightly wrap with electrical tape. Very simple to do and works well for me. I don’t do alot of grafting so a little extra step is no big deal. I do get nearly 100 percent of my grafts to take doing it this way. The only types of grafting I have ever done are bench grafts to new rootstocks, and bark grafts on bigger wood
Very simple and works. Your method is similar to what I do. Simple and works for me also.
Being a retired electrician you learn long a go to leave a “flap or tag end” on the tape to help unwind the tape when needed. I normally use Scotch 33 which is a vinyl tape. You also can use Scotch 105C which is a rubber tape. It sticks to itself pretty good but an be unwound if needed. I use Parafilm when needing to seal up the whole scion but feel it is better to put some beeswax over the entire graft once it’s complete to keep it from drying out. They all have their place but electricians tape can’t be beat in my opinion
That makes sense, but Alan, I’m not sure how cost could be an issue. I think I get more than 100 grafts out of a roll of rubber tape. At $3/roll, that’s only 3 cents per graft. However, I typically graft only trees 1/2" in dia. or less. Larger trees with cleft grafts take a lot of tape.
I figured out Temflex is the best rubber tape. A few weeks ago I was in Home Depot and they didn’t have any Temflex, but had a substitute I ended up buying. I don’t like it nearly as well as the Temflex.
IRRC Olpea, you slice the tape lengthwise and pull it quite tight, overlapping each layer as you go. Is that right?
Thanks!
I’ve heard of people slicing it lengthwise but I never do. I use it right off the roll. You can apply an awful lot of force with it by pulling it tight.
Here is what I do with the electrical tape. First I fold about 2 inches of the tape onto itself, the sticky part together, and wrap the union about 5 to 6 times around. It is so easy to remove the tape in the fall because the first layer or so of the tape was non sticking part.
Tony