No…i find that pretty cool. Interstems are like magic.
Yes, I did do that, and they all healed up and lived. It was pretty much just to see if it could be done and so see if that might be a viable method of making a multigrafted tree in one season. some of the varieties didn’t want to grow out and I don’t think it probably is a good method for that purpose. Not sure why, maybe competition between more vigorous and less vigorous varieties? Maybe with the right compatible varieties of similar vigor. Anyway, it’s possible for what it’s worth 
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For me, a graft taking is magic!
have become a lazy, spoiled-rotten grafter after all these years, especially now that grafting shears with omega blades are sold for cheap. Tying these together ensures the lock everyone wants, be it a cleft-approach or a saddle. One could even cleave two equal-caliper scions lengthwise and in the middle, wrap them to make one scion wood then use this to carve the base
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My brother gave me a pair for Christmas. I haven’t used them yet, as I’ve been a bit nervous about getting cambium match-up. Do you run into any issues with them when the scion and rootstock aren’t exactly the same width?
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it shouldn’t matter much, if at all, since they are carved identically.
as long as one side of the cambium matches, then it works just like a regular cleft graft where the calipers are not identical.
while, cambium approximation is important when grafting, i actually think sapwood approximation is at least as important. When grafting, scions are virtually nothing more than girdled stems, where the scionwood is a ‘parasite’ on the rootstock(especially during spring, since the net flow of carbs and proteins are reversed–flowing from roots to stems via sapwood). A girdled stem/budwood in spring will last a long time even with cambium totally damaged/have poor contact, and will grow back, whereas a stem/graft where a great deal of sapwood is destroyed/have poor contact, the stem/graft wouldn’t live long, because scionwood’s access to moisture is 100% via sapwood…
btw, if you decide to try using your shears, the only thing which may cause blips with using it brand-new, is that the lube oil they use often bleeds into the blade, which could result in an oily interface of the graft.
i had to use several alcohol wipes and tipped the shears many times over just to make sure there aren’t any drippings
Maybe that is the source of my worry- I won’t usually do a cleft if I can’t match the width (double clefts, where the effective width of the scion can be adjusted are my fallback). I spend a fair amount of effort in choosing the right spot on the branch, then, once I cut the branch, I shave the scion into the wedge. After that, I hold the wedge up to the branch end and rotate until I find just the right angle (since most branches aren’t perfect circles), then make the cleft cut. So, there are several points in the process where adjustments can be made. The tool seems to take that away, leaving me uneasy. But, I’ll still give it a try, but maybe just on backup grafts.
Good tip- I’ll definitely check it out. Thanks.
do give it a try, your qualms will be quelled i swear! And you really don’t need much fallback because you’re already assured of maximum sapwood contact-- all you need do next is approximate to one side of the cambium if calipers are not the same.Of course it is best to practice on dummy stems, just to get a feel of the mechanical movement. You’d feel awkward initially, but once you master centering into the practice stems, it will work like a charm. If you have kids, this is also a way of introducing them to the wonders of grafting with a high rate of success, since achieving success is the most effective incentive, boosting their interest and sense of accomplishment
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The inexpensive tools are for people to get their feet wet who are intimidated by grafting with a knife. If you’re already having success, I don’t see the point in trying to teach yourself to be comfortable with an omega grafter.
They make it harder to really screw up, but also limit what you can do.
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Scott,
I like the idea but would modify it a little for my own purposes. Once I was making a saddle graft with a 3" piece of wood and split the saddle a bit in the middle almost to the end and it still took I just wrapped it tight. Why not make a saddle graft and intentionally split the 3" of wood using your idea half and half of two different varieties. Then you only have one stick of wood but two varieties? You could even whip graft that idea of yours because as long as cambium of one lined up on the rootstock and cambium lined up with the other half the scion it would take. You have a fantastic idea there.
i agree, as it is one more modern ‘app’ which could taint the art of grafting as we’ve been doing for thousands of years. Thus said, i see to it that newbies get exposed to conventional grafting methods too.
Clark, I was thinking of the same thing I think - split scions in half lengthwise and tightly bind. This is almost the same as the approach graft variation mentioned above.
There are also two variations on this split-scion graft: either do a cleft graft with it or a saddle graft. For the saddle its like my picture above but with half-scions bound together. The cleft graft version is the “alternative way” I mentioned above but with the approach graft feature added. I think the cleft graft version might be easier because you could bind the two scion halves together first as an independent step, and then carve the wedge in them for the cleft graft.
I have some random seedling peaches and may try these split scion grafts out for fun. I think they are the best approach (pun intended) to this problem overall. Peaches are hard to get takes on, so if it works on those it should work on anything 
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Scott,
Here is another concept with approach grafting you could try using a cleft first then you are grafting live wood to live wood. The concept is used when grafting watermelon to pumpkin so as when they meet you splice them together and then bind them. That was not my purpose in this photo I will remove one or the other.
I’m not seeing something Clark, that looks like a standard cleft with one scion in each side - ?
By the way, the putting of the two scions together probably should not be called an approach graft, both tops need to be on roots to qualify as an approach graft. They are bound together in parallel like an approach graft so the upper part is the same.
It is a standard cleft but that’s not exactly the concept. I’m saying if these two were on different rootstocks or the same when they grow close enough together eventually you graft them together side by side and bind those two pieces of wood together to be one which would give you a tree of half one variety and half another. See how the two ends are approaching one another. I know technically in this case it’s not an approach but it could be and would be the same concept. This purpose it just for visualization
Ok I get it now I think…
BTW in the process of looking up grafting terminology I found a great book chapter on grafting available online.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/faculty/davies/ph%20final.html
Its chapter 12 of a whole book on plant propagation. Also chapter 11 is on grafting principles, all the science behind it – very cool! And chapter 13 is budding.
Here is a very cool picture from chapter 11 on how the connection is made at the cell level:
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Downloaded the PDF and looking through it. Great ideas Scott and lots of good information!
I’ve got to agree here. The omega tool makes two identical cuts on the scion and rootstock. You get a perfect match every time. People can poo-poo it all they want but the bottom line is you get a perfect match every time. I’ve used mine a lot and I’m impressed by them. I still do a lot of cleft grafts when I’m grafting smaller wood or when scion and understock vary in thickness. These omega grafters need wood that’s pencil sized or greater and relatively similar in size.
I like whip and tongue grafts a lot too but I only like to do them in easy access areas or on bench grafts. If you are grafting onto an awkward branch it can be hard to make the more complicated cuts related to whip and tongue. That’s where the omega shines.
when grafting by the hundreds, it is just so much faster. Quite sure many grafting ‘purists’ are giving this post the death stare 
but then again, there aren’t many purists who graft thorny and dense juju scionwood by the hundreds(excuses, excuses)
i use the V for smaller than pencil thickness, say, half a pencil thick. For even smaller calipers, i simply just do bark grafts or basic whip and tongue.
Oh! I had found one chapter of that book, but what a nice present to know that the whole thing is online in some sort of half sanctioned version. Thanks!