I am going to try grafting figs this coming season. When should I start grafting? What is the optimal temperature for success of fig grafts? Can you graft figs that are kept indoors all winter? If anyone could answer these questions I would appreciate the information.

Zone 5a

In general you want the grafts done just before the buds start to swell in the Spring.  You can graft at other times but it's harder to keep the scion alive.

Hi
I would say that you can graft your figs even if kept indoors during winter.
In more temperate areas and warmer places we graft figs early spring ... even a bit earlier.
To graft or bud figs, I am guided by the season, temperature being not of utmost importance.
The following clip guides you along the three types of graft which are usually followed on figs at least in my district. The fellow in the video is grafting apples but the technique and method for figs  is exactly similar.

side graft
cleft graft and
whip & tongue.

Thanks Francisco, this is something that I would really like to try with my wild persimmon tree. It has about an eight diameter trunk and the tree is worthless unless I graft some Japanese varieties to it and this looks like a good method. Thanks for posting.

I do a little with lawn fertilizer applications. I wait for the Forsythia to bloom as my signal that it's time to make the first application. Are there any signals like this for the right time to graft figs. Different areas of the country will have different weather so saying April 15th really means nothing. Should we wait until the Azaleas bloom?

Hey Swizzle.

This is my kind of thread. I really enjoy grafting.

I found when grafting figs, you can begin doing so anytime after the last forecasted frost of spring for your area. This is just a good rule of thumb because you don't want any new growth being exposed to late frosts. I usually keep a close eye on the 7-10 day forecast to help me determine when would be best for me to start my first grafts.

I prefer not to start any grafts until spring (as apposed to indoors). Just because it's so much easier to let nature do the work for you. 

I've done cleft, saddle, and bark/rind grafts right up into the early part of June. As long as you're seeing good growth in the rootstock you may be able to graft figs just about anytime up through June.

The main thing you have to worry about as summer approaches is the tender scion & new growth getting scorched by the sun. I've had this happen. For this reason I usually plant grafted trees in pots & then place them under a shade tree for a few weeks. Once they've hardened off a bit, then you can move into a sunny location if you want.

There are many great videos on youtube demonstrating a variety of graft types and procedures. I recommend you take the time to watch as many as you have patience for ;-) .

Hope this helps.

~Bill. 

Thank you all for your input. I have three fig plants I keep indoors year round. Two of them are cuttings from this year and the other is an airlayer from this year. My other fig trees are being wintered in the garage. It is one of the figs in the garage that I want to graft onto. I can pull it into the house and graft onto if it's not too early. I might do it just to experiment. It is one of my original unknown cuttings from 3 years ago so if it does not work I know it will regrow. I guess I will wait until after the holidays to decide.

Thanks a lot Kelby, it will save me some time and probably some headaches. Topic is grafting.

Waynea,  I'd stockpile dormant wood for the persimmon graft, I've read summer wood can be used also-yet with chip budding, the dormant buds have a way higher take than summer buds for me. (may be different with grafting though?- not sure)

Thanks florida, good information.

Swizzle.

Be sure to let us know how it works out. Taking and sharing some pictures of the grafts you would be nice to see too ;) .
 

In the video, beeswax is used as a sealant. Is there an advantage to using beeswax over paraffin wax? I used Gulf Wax brand paraffin to seal the ends of some fig cuttings and in one or two cases the wax just fell off after awhile. I believe this may have occurred because the paraffin was not hot enough when applied, and left a big ugly "clump" on the end of the cutting.

TIA,
John

I tried two last year and failed, gonna give it another go in the spring so will be watching!!

@John.
I've never used the beeswax but I think it may be a better choice because it seems to be more "sticky" and that stickiness seems to make it more pliable. Paraffin wax does solidify to a more brittle state on the other hand.

I've used toilet bowl wax to seal grafts though with good success. It's is also a softer, more pliable wax that doesn't set up as hard as paraffin. I've also used clay from the ground with good success. Main drawback with clay is the rain will wash it away and you'll need to re-apply it.

I've always thought that something like Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty would work great but I haven't tried it yet. Just might do so this year. I think you can still get it at Lowes or similar.

@Gloria.
Once you get a few to take you'll be hooked. There's just something very fulfilling and satisfying about grafting ;) .

Thanks for this topic.  The video was great and looks very simple.