Ken,

Thank you for the full set of photos and detailed description of the process.

You talk about Joe Real describing the technique you are using as a technique for persimmons. I am only aware of the tutorials he has posted on the Citrus Growers Forum. I had the good fortune to see the seminar he gave on 4/14/07 in San Jose. See:

http://citrus.forumup.org/viewtopic.php?t=1762&mforum=citrus

and also this earlier one on grafting deciduous trees

http://citrus.forumup.org/viewtopic.php?t=500&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15&mforum=citrus

I think you need to register to see the images, but it is worth the bother.

I've used the technique for the last 6 years for many citrus grafts. I see one key difference that may help with the 'wind damage' problem mentioned in the thread. Joe recommended a scion with 2-3 buds; I think yours are longer. I think the shorter scion helps prevent drying out and it should help with wind damage. I often make the slanting cut behind a bud. Such buds often open.

See also this forum entry on tools:

http://citrus.forumup.org/viewtopic.php?t=7114&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=baumgrenze&start=15&mforum=citrus

There I posted photos of my tools, including a hooked knife I made from a broken drill bit. I believe that flattening the accepting branch between the two bark flaps helps the scion to sit more snugly and leads to a stronger graft.

In citrus, the technique can only be used during periods of active new growth. At other times, the bark on the accepting branch will not 'slip' or lift up. Can any readers comment on the length of the season when fig bark will lift readily, allowing this technique.

Perhaps it is too late this year for me to try this. If so, I'll give it a go next spring. Since I have confidence in it, it seems more straightforward to me than the chip bud technique in Axier's tutorial.

Thanks for any insights from others.

baumgrenze

Baumgrenze, thanks very much for the links.

Axier,  I found that the success rate of my more recent grafts has not been quite as good. A Panachee graft from last year hung on without doing much until this spring, when it finally took off. However, the union didn't look very strong. My intent from the start was to air layer it, which I did, and I'll soon remove it--but for some reason the roots don't look as robust as I'd like. One graft never "took" at all, and another is growing slowly. I had a couple of Persimmon failures, although most did great.

On the other hand, two grafts from Cecil's neighbor's Celeste are doing very well and are about ready to air layer. By contrast, three cuttings from the same tree that I rooted directly in the ground at the same time all started okay, but one died and the others are nowhere near as far along as the grafts.

That said, I'll probably stick with the rooted Celeste cuttings because I know the tree I grafted onto has heavy FMV; maybe the cuttings won't get it. (I planted them at the base of a struggling UCD Celeste, which I will remove once either of the new ones is thriving.) In truth, I'm now less enthralled with the whole notion of grafting figs, and will probably stick to air layering or rooting cuttings in the future.

Here are some photos:
  Panachee graft, air layered and soon to be removed.

 Panachee roots

  Cecil's neighbor's Celeste, graft

   Cecil's neighbor's Celeste, rooted cuttings