55 days have passed after planting. The present conditions are as follows. Leaves grew thick.

Cucumber
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13522338223/in/set-72157643180941354

Seabrook Banana
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13522254745/in/set-72157643180941354

Gino
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13522258835/in/set-72157643180941354

Pawpaw's Turkey
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13522263415/in/set-72157643180941354

Narragansett
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13522359313/in/set-72157643180941354

Smith
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13522272625/in/set-72157643180941354


cultivar: ( success / live / dead : on March 17th)  ->  ( success / live / dead : on March 31th) 
1. Cucumber                0 / 4 / 0  ->  1 / 3 / 0
2. Seabrook Banana     1 / 3 / 0  ->  1 / 3 / 0
3. Gino                        3 / 1 / 0  ->  3 / 1 / 0
4. Pawpaw's Turkey      2 / 2 / 0  ->  2 / 2 / 0
5. Narragansett            0 / 4 / 0  ->  2 / 2 / 0
6. Smith                      0 / 4 / 0  ->  1 / 3 / 0

Even though all the leaves have fallen, when a scion survives, it seems that a terminal bud sprouts again every 3 or 4 weeks. Thus, as far as a scion survives, it is recommended to wait for sprouting. ( for example: Smith )

Although transplantation is necessary, outside temperature is still low (Today's minimum temperature is 47 degs in F). But it seems that transplantation is possible in next week. I wish them to endure transplant shock.

I am editing the failure examples of graft cutting. Please wait.

In the following, failures so far are listed.

i) budding from rootstock
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13531654564/in/set-72157643196680015

To prevent this from happening, cut all the buds of rootstock off before planting.


ii) unhealthy scion
I grafted scion of which the color of a part of the cambium layer is brown not green on a trial basis. As a result, mold grew and both scion and rootstock dead.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13531660214/in/set-72157643196680015

Healthy scion and rootstock should be used. And before grafting, cleaning with antibacterial liquid soap and sterilization with 10% bleach solution are recommended to prevent germs from invading from the cut ends.


iii) transplant shock
I planted 8 scions in one container.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13531663834/in/set-72157643196680015

I should have planted one cutting in one pot.

mizuyari,

Thank you very much for sharing with us all your observations and to make the necessary recommendations
This is very instructive and a valuable contribution to the forum's Fig Graft discussions.

I am learning a lot ! thank you

Francisco

Hitoshi-San,

May I ask what is in your growing mix. It looks very ideal and would like to learn more about the ingredients. Thank you!

Hi Francisco,

Thank you.

I am a beginner and I know only one grafting method. I am also learning from your comments and videos. Thank you for teaching us genuine methods.

==========
By the way, your comment on the following thread is very instructive.

"Hot water Rescue"
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/hot-water-rescue-6816776
#8
"Apparently, thermal therapy can also be administered to figs to control FMV."

The thermotherapy is usually used to inactivate the function of virus. However, from your comment and the following thread, it seems possible to kill virus by bathing scions in hot water (around 122 degs in F, or, 50 degs in C).
"Here We Go FMV... Sorry..."
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/here-we-go-fmv-sorry-6275320

Have you ever tried this method? Or, may I try this method? By observing the physical appearances of leafs, it is possible to check whether the tree is infected with a virus.

Hiroshi

Mizuyari,
Thanks for posting the updates.
The plants seem to be growing well.

Ryan-san, nice to meet you.

Soil recipe is (Coconut Coir : Bora soil (ボラ土) =1:1).  Please read #38 and  #41 on this thread. At the beginning, this soil was fluffy and contains much air. As time passes, this soil has been compressed.

Too much water makes the bottom part of container too wet (as shown in i)). This too wet makes scion rot. In our case, the depth of the container is about 6 inchs, and the length of a scion is about 8 inchs. Thus, I use spray to avoid watering too much. In the case of deep container, this problem is evaded

i)
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/easy-simple-and-practical-tricks-to-increase-potted-fig-cutting-survival-rates-6719728?pid=1281407982#post1281407982

Hiroshi

Hi ascpete,

Thank you.

Your hydroponic fig cultivation is interesting. Especially in the case of #5, figs can lengthen their roots freely in the water than in the soil. Because there is less stress, figs will grow well.

Hiroshi

@Horoshi, this thread was very informative , thank you so much for sharing your experiences and the updates with grafting. This is a very valuable sours of information to "how to"... we can use grafting on varieties that are very hard to root by nature. that way we don't lose them.

Hello Hiroshi,

I have no experience at all with any thermotherapy practices. From talks with friends and some agronomists I got the information that it can be done.
Around here,  FMV is not as serious as it looks like to be in some other places. I also feel that good cultivation practices and a full exposure to the sun does help to keep your trees happy and healthy.

Had two Black Smyrna trees (grounded) which year after year display nice yields and never seen a single shade of FMV on their leaves. A friend growing mainly Beb-Branca assures me that on all pollinated figs he sees practically no FMV. Apparently it boosts the resistance of the plant to a number of diseases..

Francisco

Hi Aaron,

Nice to meet you.

Thank you for your new idea.

To tell you the truth, I do not know the characteristics of the variety which I used as scions. So, I looked into that a little bit. "Smith" is said to be a hard rooter.
http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/rooting-smith-cuttings-6781095

Hiroshi

Hi Francisco,

Thank you for detailed answers. I understand that FMV does not matter under good cultivation conditions. But the climate of Japan gives stress to figs to a small extent. In some cases, small fig trees of some cultivars (in pot) stop growth due to FMV.

It is difficult to perform meristem tissue-culture in a kitchen, but your poroposed method is capable of putting into practice. I'll give it a try. Proteins are denatured at around 60 degrees. So I will soak cuttings (Celeste and Archipel) in hot water of around 122 degs in F, or, 50 degs in C. I wish them to survive.

Thank you again for your idea.

Hiroshi

Today's seedling (69th day)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13834507034/in/set-72157643920380173

I wanted to transplant seedlings into the pots today. But it rained all day. I gave it up.

Outside of my house
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13834180823/in/set-72157643920380173
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13834161255/in/set-72157643920380173
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13834188583/in/set-72157643920380173

Capacity of the containers is about 10 gallons (40 liters). The recent minimum and maximum temperature is 50 (10) and 68 (20) degs in F (degs in C), respectively. 3-4 leaves came out. Due to root knot nematoda I can not plant them in ground.

Sorry for being few contents of this post. When I finish transplantation, I will report it.

Hiroshi

Very impressive experiment and results.

It tried doing one bud graft last summer. It was my first and it failed miserably. Perhaps it was late in the season too.
My most successful figs are in self watering containers.
How much water do you give your figs in these containers?

Also, Did you ever try to graft two fig varieties on one?

Thank You

Hello Sas,

Nice to meet you. Thank you.

I'm sorry for the delay in responding.

It has been 4 years since I started fig cultivation. As shown in the pictures, fig trees are two or three years old. The first generation of figs were abandoned because they were infected with root‐knot nematode.

I am also a biginner of grafting. I tried grafting for the first time last year. I am checking the grafting method and time for figs. For a dormant scion and rootstock, I will choose the method which I used in this topic. On the other hand, for a green scion and rootstock, I will try many grafting method, including bud grafting.

>Did you ever try to graft two fig varieties on one?

No, I did not. I want to try it to save space, but I do not know how to align the vigor of each branch.

>How much water do you give your figs in these containers?

As for watering, I water them with a sprinkling can. I will give 1-2 gallons per one container per day in August and September. It will be a hard work. With self watering container, I can save labor and can reduce the stress for the fig. I'll consider it. Thank you for your good advice.

Hiroshi

Hello Hirochi,

Congratulations .. That's an excellent performance. and you do it by the book.
You brought a different rooting concept to this forum and demonstrated that it works.

For my part I shall be trying on next season.

I shouldn't say this, but after all these years I have been quite successfully rooting on water, specially for the bigger sticks  (3/4"  ++) - 19mm ++,   and/or ..

wrapping the smaller ones in a piece of newspaper, 2  water ' mouth sprays' and then inside an used plastic bag from the supermarket, slightly squeezing the air from the bag....knotting the bag wings..

instead of cups and small plastic pots... I have a dozen or so plastic bags hanging inside the laundry room.
Between 2 and 4 weeks all those sticks have lots of healthy, strong roots and in most cases go straight to their final pot....
A very primitive system, but my climate allows  and it works.

Francisco

Hello lampo,

Thank you. I am sorry for the late reply again.

I agree with you on rooting on water. As shown in the following pictures, lenticels appear within 7 days for a bigger stick.

Again, I envy your climate. Here in Japan, mold occurs within about 4 days in a sealed container, even after washing cuttings with liquid antibacterial dish soap and bleach.


==========

To tell you the truth, I have a difficulty in identifying a cambium layer of a thick fig scion ( More precisely, I do not know where a cambium layer is.).

I soaked a sliced thick fig cutting (diameter is about 3/4 inches (2 cm) ) in water for about a week.

pic. 1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888394394/in/set-72157644034867164

As shown in pic. 1, since there is a slight elevation probably due to a cell division in the neighborhood of the bark, the dark brown part is probably a cambium (ca) layer.


I rotate it from the cross section to the sliced plane (pic. 2-5).
URL
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888076203/in/set-72157644034867164
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888007935/in/set-72157644034867164
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888077873/in/set-72157644034867164
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888411744/in/set-72157644034867164

The dark brown part also appears on the sliced plane.

As shown in pic. 4-5, cambium layer is not straight on the sliced plane, probably because the sliced plane is not flat and because the scion is not straight.


Next, I measured the width of the cambium layer.

Top View (pic. 6):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888010305/in/set-72157644034867164
The width of the cambium layer is about 0.3 mm (1/100 inch).

Side View (pic. 7):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888413324/in/set-72157644034867164
The width of the cambium layer is about 0.1 mm (1/300 inch).

Thus cambium layer is very very thin ( I do not know how many cells are there in the thickness of the cambium layer.). It seems very difficult to put together cambium layers of a scion and a rootstock.


Finally, I sliced it again (pic. 8-11). (Sorry for dirty hand).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888414484/in/set-72157644034867164
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888081873/in/set-72157644034867164
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888082563/in/set-72157644034867164
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/13888416514/in/set-72157644034867164

As shown in pic. 11, I thoght A was the cambium layer so far, but it was wrong.

==========

Farmer's success rate of grafting of fig is more than 80％. I have to try it hard.
http://www.pref.shimane.lg.jp/nogyogijutsu/gijutsu/genti-jirei/fukyu-jyouhou/2007/07032izu010.html
(Japanese, sorry)

According to the above site, success rate depends on the grafting method.

By the following grafting method ( I do not know how to call this method in English.), success rate is more than 95%.

Kiwi:
http://fruitgrowing.blog24.fc2.com/blog-entry-303.html
http://weo08.at.webry.info/201101/article_15.html
Maple:
http://www.e-momiji.com/~e-momiji/Kanri/tsugiki/tsugiki.htm
http://www.e-momiji.com/~e-momiji/Kanri/tsugiki/kiritsugi.htm

side grafting: 0%

cleft grafting: 0%

An amateur tried omega grafitng. The success rate is 100%.
http://blog.livedoor.jp/greentea180cc/archives/6266117.html
http://blog.livedoor.jp/greentea180cc/archives/cat_200507.html

Hiroshi

Hello Hiroshi,

Thanks you for lettings us know all those detailed observations and results of your work.

As you say the cambium layer is extremely thin and some times its thickness is just one cell.
However it's the most important part on any plant grafting experience.
It sits just under the bark or cork and sandwiched between the phloem and xylem the plant veins conveying water and nutrients to all plant tissues. The 'secret' is to adjust the cutting operation to warrant firm and true contact between the cambiums of both scion and rootstock --those live green layers on both sides

The graft system you have shown us could, in my opinion, be also called a variation or improvement  of the cleft graft, just like this operator demonstrates in this clip. It's meant for big trunks where the typical cleft grafting is not practical. Instances are, where all preparations are similar but, the thick scions are nailed to the root stock and then sealed with dirt.

Hello Francisco,

Thank you for your thoughtful comments.

I googled 'cambium', and found the following site.

"The Vital Cambium"
http://www.appleman.ca/korchard/grfting3.htm

This site also says, "The cambium is a very thin layer of tissue, sometimes only one cell thick".  From now on, I will graft more carefully.

­­­­­­­­­­==========
I checked grafting methods.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/grafting.html
http://www.appleman.ca/korchard/clfgraft.htm
http://www.appleman.ca/korchard/bkgraft.htm

According to the above sites, our method looks like 'cleft graft' because we cleft a rootstock, and like 'bark graft' because we cleft near the bark. And we can graft anywhere we want to.

­­­­­­­­­­==========
Although the grafter succeeded in graft, I have comments.

1m00s-1m05s
He makes the face flat by a chisel, but I am afraid that he also shave off a cambium layer, since cambium layer is very thin.

1m06s-1m15s and 1m47s-2m03s
I do not know why he changed the method to shape a scion. In the latter method, I am afraid that he is crushing the cambium cells.

3m26-3m45s
The pressure joining a scion and a rootstock together seems a little bit weak, since a firm contact between them is necessary.

4m30s-5m20s
Acclimatization to air seems to be too rapid. I am afraid that leafs will wilt.

­­­­­­­­­­==========
Your comment,
'The great advantages of these systems is that you have 3 areas of cambium contact which do certainly boost the effectiveness and the chances of success.'
gets to the point. I myself did the graft, but I did not notice it. I am stupid.

­­­­­­­­­­==========
I understand that it is necessary to match a diameter with in omega grafting. There are limitations in omega grafting.

­­­­­­­­­­==========
Europe has a long tradition of grafting. I am learning from them.

Hiroshi

It's a long time since I post last time. I am sorry. There was a serious problem on this experiment. There was a possibility that variety names of figs were wrong.

I obtained these scions by the barter with the Chinese whom I got to know through this forum last year. After searched on the Net, I knew that his group is infamous for mixing-up and renaming of variety names.

Actually, I harvested several 'Smith' figs, but they were not 'Smith'. So, in the following, please pay attention to a propagation method, not to fruiting characteristics.

We will describe our results in the following order.
i) transplant
ii) Results of graft-cutting
iii) fruits
iv) Conclusion

reference:
http://farc.pref.fukuoka.jp/farc/kenpo/kenpo-32/32-17.pdf

i) Transplant
On May 6, transplant was performed.

Before transplant:
At this pont, all plants are alive.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/sets/72157648215062856/

During transplant:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/sets/72157647864768698/

After transplant:
We transplanted the biggist plant in each variety to a 3-gallons pot, and the other to a half gallon pot. Soil mix for 3-gallons pot is ( Coco Coir : Perlite = 1 : 1 ). Liquid fertilizer will be applied. Some plants are wilting dut to transplant shock.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/sets/72157648261623162/

ii) Results of graft-cutting

The following pictures were taken on August 13 and 14.

Cucumber (The tallest one is about 130 centimeters tall.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/sets/72157648261796942/

Gino (The tallest one is 100 centimeters tall.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/sets/72157648280674765/

Narragansett (The tallest one is 140 centimeters tall.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/sets/72157648215399196/

Pawpaw's Turkey (The tallest one is 40 centimeters tall.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/sets/72157647865026498/

Seabrook banana (The tallest one is 120 centimeters tall.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/sets/72157647857555467/

Smith (The tallest one is 100 centimeters tall.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/sets/72157647858910419/


success rate:
cultivar / success - failure / success rate
Cucmber / 4 - 0 / 100%
Gino / 3 - 1 / 75%
Narragansett / 4 - 0 / 100%
Pawpaw's turkey / 3 - 1 / 75%
Seabrook banana / 2 - 2 / 50%
Smith / 4 - 0 / 100%

Total: 20/24 = 83%

iii) fruits
So far, 'Seabrook Banana' and 'Smith' were harvested.

Cultivar: Seabrook Banana
Date: August 18 2014
Weight: 72 grams
Brix: 18%
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/15230260439/in/set-72157647859274410

==========

Cultivar: Smith
Date: August 13 2014
Weight: 59 grams
Brix : 12.8 %
https://www.flickr.com/photos/118875434@N04/15230466547/in/set-72157647859274410/

iV) Conclusion

This method has plus and minus points.

plus:
By dividing a scion into pieces, we can increase success rate. If we assume that success rate of rooting cutting is 80% and that success rate of grafting is 100% and that a scion has 4 nodes, the success rate is
(1-0.2*0.2*0.2*0.2) * 100 = 99.84%.
Thus we can increase success rate from 80% to 99.84%.

In case a scion is thin and short, because we can utilize stored energy in rootstock, we can make the growth of the tree better.

It seems that rooting graft-cutting is easier than rooting single-node cutting.


minus:
We need a long dormant wood of 20-25 cm as a rootstock.

It is more reliable to graft on rooted rootstocks than on twigs.


notes:
Buds of rootstock should be sliced off before planting. Nipping shoots of rootstock is a troublesome job.

I kept the following three points in mind when growing them.
   Not to overwater.
   Exposure to light(sunlight) after buds begin to open.
   Applying weakened liquid fertilizer after roots appear.

In Japan、'Ceratocystis canker' is serious problem. Once fig tree is infected with 'Ceratocystis canker', the tree dies. There is no curing method at present. It is estimated that about 10% of land is contaminated by 'Ceratocystis canker' in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. 'Kibaru' and 'Black Ischia' are resistant to 'Ceratocystis canker'.


Thank you for reading.

Beautifully done!  Keep up the good work.