I decided to graft onto this Large Air-Layer. It looks ugly because a lot of the leaves fell off. I cut this off about 2 weeks ago.  Its recovering from all the shock...LOL.  A week later, I decided to add some grafts for practice. Yeah I used the wrong tape, I ordered grafting tape, so it should be here soon. Grafts: Raspberry Latte, Long Yellow, Strawberry Verte, Col de Dame Blanc, Panache and Violette de Bordeaux. Note: this is indoors, we have a heatwave here. 

Armando - what rootstock did you use? What type of graft did you use.  Please keep us posted on progress.  I have a grafting project planned for next Spring, just before bud break.

Rootstock was a Black Mission, I will be grafting now, and will experiment with a few when tree is dormant and a lot in the spring. 

Great job Armando
good luck.

Good job, Armando! I hope you will have a better luck than the last time.

I was thinking about doing the same but using my local Unk. as a rootstock.
Competition ? :)

Greenfig, you better not become a grafting expert...LOL    How about using a caprifig as a rootstock..???  You may want to look at buying a small tree at a swapmeet.   I learned from you that I don't need to us a big scion, that helped a lot.

Armando,

My local Unk. is a tree, about 1 inch caliper (that how much it has grown in 1 year). It has only 3 branches but it is enough for a start!

I only left for myself 2 nice caprifigs. I read somewhere that a capri should be kept at a distance from the common trees to prevent the overpollination. Basically, if I graft a common onto a capri, they will be splitting up badly :( 

I am planning to use 2-inch long scions at most (1-2 buds). It is easier to keep them alive and protected.

My 2 previous grafts all have the figs now! I hope this one will take too.

Armando, as I was reading I was thinking Capri also, I have a variety that rooted in 4 days (4 DAYS, LOL) and roots are very thick and fast going. Also the cambium or the soft skin on the branches is very thick so it would provide plenty and ample supply of nutrients.

look at this, notice the date was planted...

   

Aaron that looks Espactular.......... Greenfig, I don't know about over pollinating creates splitting....????    I got to go do errands, I will check back with all of you guys.......Thanks Andreas and Steve, I am excited about Spring 2015.

Yes, the figs do not handle overpollination very well.
That is why they hang 6-7 capri figs on a string only.
You can watch the Greek/Turkish videos from the fig orchards

Hi Greenfig,
Just be factual : If you cut all the branches of the caprifig no pollination nor over-pollination will occur.
If you leave 10 figs on the caprifig - no big problem.
Of course if you've got one stem of a female fig tree surrounded by 20 stems of the caprifig ... It's gonna split bad :) .
So, you can graft caprifigs and just thin the "male" figs - easy on a tree under control ... Just forget about that for ladder sized trees ...

@aroon4usa : if you put them in bigger pots from the start you'll even get wilder results .
See here after. The bottom row was started around 24th July in water and potted around 1st of August.
Look at the green growth.
The top row left is a root-sucker of ufti, the others are some rooted green cuttings from my "Dalmatie" .

So the bottom one with the long green stem has pushed 8 leaves since 1st of August .
Notice the sister cutting in the same spot still showing no leaves .
 

Good luck Armando, looks good!

Nice work Armando. I grafted citrus yesterday. You have got me wanting to graft figs so I will try when I get home.

You are Brave. I hope they all make it. Wouldn't that be fun?  

Finally got back home, A lot of great comments. I love learning from my mistakes, and I made plenty of them. Overall my plan is to keep the grafts cool 70 to 80 degrees max and the low 60 in my home.  Still to dang hot over here, so will be waiting some time to graft outdoors.

Armando,

Usually people graft closer to Spring, when the plants are starting to grow and the healing is quick.
What made you to graft in the Fall when the growing is slowing down and the figs are about to shed their leaves?

Armando, you can do it. Grass has a few threads with slot of pics and info. Might give you some ideals.

I never tried grafting figs. I would like to learn to do them tissue culture.

I am about to receive some green (first year wood) RdB and MvsB cuttings in the mail. Do you, Armando, or anyone else, know if I could use my green cuttings to graft the same way you did? I have a backup in-ground tree that I'd lie to graft other varieties onto. Also, just wondering if grafting generally produces higher or lower success rate compared to rooting cuttings in bags/cups/etc. If grafting gives a higher success rate, I wouldn't mind grafting all my cuttings onto other trees and then separating them as air layers later on if needed.

Greenfig, We are still in the upper 90's and so if winter comes like last year, it will get very cold in December. I am doing a lot of my grafts indoors because I can contro the temps.  Also I have nothing to lose, I am getting a small branch from my other trees. I also want to duplicate my varieties, due to some heavy losses.
Dave: Thanks, try grafting its fun.  Paul: I had more success with grafting than rooting, what killed my grafts were RKN messing up the roots, some unexpected heatwave in early March. Also hey we are on the same page, I want to be able to remove it as an air-layer, that would be an icing on the cake. On the thickness of a scion, not sure which is better, the thinner ones are easier to cut up.

Paul,

Just my 2 cents..
More than everything else, the grafting success depends on your skill. That includes your technique, how well you graft, timing of the graft (during the day and the year), how well you protect it from the sun and moisture, quality of the scions and rootstock.
If you master the grafting, I would say that would give you a higher success rate, but for a person who has never done it before, I would say the rooting is preferable.
On the other hand, if you have a lot of cuttings, grafting them all may not be possible.
Also, do not exclude the beginners luck :)

I am a beginer with the zillion of varieties and could not resist the 'grafting' bug.   Many of my rootinf fail do to gnats, bad weather, overwater, underwater...
Most of my graft took and looked beautiful for a while.  However, all it takes is a sparrow siting on it, and puff- gone!  I had some with 3-4 leaves that just perished for no apearant reason. Others, the root stock failed and did not survived the winter, others are beautiful.  I did not count, but my percentage of survival is the same for rooting or grafting.    I am very happy with my surviving plants and now heading to their 2nd winter... shall see what happens.

I like Igor's idea. Save some in the refrigerator to graft in early spring. that is your best time for grafting.  Oh that California sun... we are under a heavy thick cloud now.

Luckily I don't have any hair or I'd be pulling it out because of my up and down luck with trying to root cuttings... If I tried grafting now I'd probably pull my ears off, haha...

Awesome topic everyone, good info. I know eventually I will get around to trying grafting.

Armando,

I wish you good luck.
You seem to like this method.

Grasa, saw this clip some time ago and thought you would be interested to have a look

Thanks Francisco....yea I do this all the time, digging and chiseling....LOL    Now Being Serious: It was interesting, they even buried the graft in loose soil and had success.  Thanks Again my Friend.

Here is the next clip its only about a minute, I believe it says 5 month later "Success"....

Hi Armando.

Thanks for showing the additional clip

Believe the two fellows decided on a root graft (cleft method)  for greater chances of success and if lucky the new tree would grow faster and stronger as it looks. . Not a very common system.
Grasa may have some comments on this..

In the old days long twigs were to be planted in March, the terminal bud cut just before burying everything with loose manured dirt, the full branch  remaining buried under 10 or 15 inches of the same loose soil .

Francisco