An experiment this spring. Like the wedge grafts I tried, (see separate post) this would have worked much better in April (in paradise - later in less desirable climates) rather than February.

Again, I used caprifigs for rootstocks and Black Madeira for scion.

Looks good. Maybe you could try it using Ischia Black as the scion onto a vigorous rootstock. Maybe it could help with Ischia Blacks growth problems? Might be worth a try as an experiment.

Very Nice Jon, Jon did you use the parafilm tape? and if so do you cover the bud with the tape or leave it exposed.

Thanks

Jon, looks fun. Is it just for fun (F4F) or is it for a reason/purpose like better growth.
Sometimes when I think of doing such graft for a potted plant then I say to myself why not start with three plants in the same one pot, one black fruited one purple and one white just like what they call '3 plants in one hole'. It will be like a bush form with three branches and sharing resources will make them grow like dwarf. It is just my thinking.

This one was wrapped with the green nursery tape, with just the bud exposed.

This one was "for fun" and experience. But the point was to turn a caprifig into something edible.useful, since I already had the caprifigs established.

Good job Jon. I've done chip budding successfully, and looked just like yours. However, after it grow the wind broke it right off. It will need support at least for the first year when that bud grows into a branch.

Jon, i know nothing about this process but i like to ask you a few questions please.

The black maderia is the green shoot i see  ?

If so once that shoot grows will that new growth still be the exact same as a true black maderia or will the rootstock its attached to mix in to its dna and change it somehow.

Thanks in advance.

Dieseler, it will be the exact same thing. Most all fruit trees in nurseries are grafted. For most types of fruit trees it is usually done to get production quicker (instead of raising seedlings) and to be able to exactly replicate trees that make high quality fruit. I would think the only advantages to grafting figs (unless you are limited for space and want to multigraft a tree) would be to graft a tree of a weak growing cultivar to a vigorous rootstock in hopes of better growth or if you have a tree that produces poor quality figs you could top work the tree into a better tasting variety while still keeping the benifits of the big established root system of the rootstock tree.

Bass, Yes the actual graft connection is only as thick as the green cambium layer under the bark, so it will need support for a season or two until there are more growth to thicken up the connection. The same thing is true with most grafting techniques, which is why I am not taking the green nursery tape off of the wedge graft fora year or so. (see other thread).

Martin, the green portion is the Black Madeira. Grafting is a type of "cloning" and works very much like a kidney transplant in people. The person stays who they are, and the kidney continues to have the genetic makeup of the donor. That difference is why you need anti-rejection drugs in order to keep your body from fighting against the donated kidney. Here the rootstock is the person, and the small chip of material (a bud and some surrounding wood) is the equivalent of the kidney. It is installed in the recipient rootstock and allowed to heal together and function.

There is the possibility of rejection, which is why in citrus or stone fruits (especially) there are trials done to make sure that there is long term compatibility. It is a real bummer if you graft and plant 10,000 trees in an orchard, and 5 or 10 years later an incompatibility causes top of the tree to fall off at the graft union. That is not really an issue, here, but can happen.

The rootstock retains it's DNA and characteristics, as does the grafted portion. Now, if you are somewhere where your tree freezes to the ground, when it grows back, it will once again be a rootstock and will need to be regrafted.

Thanks for the information as thats what i needed to know.

Since seeing this i had thought about one day (next season) grafting a ischia black onto something such as my ronde or dark port 2 fast grower and then 1 day propagate that shoot when time would be right by airlayer.
 But according to what i read here it would retain the same habits the ischia shoot would be stunted just like on the mother plant most likely ?

hmmn, tempting enough to try it on my Osborne Prolific/Latarrula using Desert King.

Martin,

The rootstock DOES affect the scion that is grafted onto it. That is generally how dwarf fruit trees are made - by using a rootstock that "controls" what is grafted to it, essentially restricting growth. In Mangoes, if you have a rootstock that was from a "super seed", the entire plant will have much more vigor throughout its lifetime. 

So, a vigorous rootstock might help overcome the issues with Black Ischia by imparting more vigor.

tmc2009

Rootstocks, in general (think citrus, stone fruits, nut trees, etc) are chosen for a variety of reasons - often for the soil conditions into which they will be planted. Sandy soils, heavy clay soils, etc, need different rootstocks.

When looking for a rootstock for figs, soils would be a factor, vigor would be an issue, RKN and other disease resistance would be a factor, etc.

Jon, like Martin I am very interested in grafting.  But Jon help me out here, is chip-bud grafting the same as T-budding?  Have you tried Whip-and-Tongue grafting?  Like Martin, I want to try grafting a Black Ischia on a very vigorous growing tree like LSU Purple or LSU Gold.  I have a book that gives complete instructions on how to graft including different techniques.  Dennis

Dennis, chip budding and t-budding are NOT the same. In chip budding, you out out a piece of bark, and some wood. In T-budding you insert a small piece of bark, with a bud, in-behind or underneath the bark after making a T shaped cut which generates two flaps.

I will upload some pix in a little while. A gardening friend of mine was doing a presentation on grafting, so he whittled, and I took pix and put the PowerPoint together for him. So I have the pix, but need to size them and upload to my server.
 

These were done with mulberry twigs, but the technique is the same. It can only be done, realistically when the bark is "slipping", which means that you can separate it from the cambium layer underneath with ease, which is usually the case when the plant being grafted TO is ACTIVELY growing.

T-budding - the T-shaped cut in the bark.



Peeling back the bark.



T-cut and bug ready for inserting.



Back side of bud. A little more wood than normal, but this was tough wood.



Begin inserting under the two flaps.



Inserted further.



Using the grafting knife to push the bud further in.



Almost done.



All the way in. The bud must drop in below the top of the T-cut in order to make good contact between the cambium layer of the rootstock and the bud.



Wrapping.



Finished.

Chip-budding.

Cutting the chip out of the rootstock. Note the undercut, which allows the chip to be "locked in" to the correct position, esp. during wrapping.





Finished cut.





Scion piece cut to match the chip which was removed.



Inserting the "chip".



Inserted.





Wrapping.

This is a saddle graft, where the "pointy" piece is the rootstock, and the split piece is the scion. The scion drapes over the rootstock, sort of like a saddle on a horse.

Wedge grafting is exactly the same, except upside down from these pictures, with the "pointy" piece being the scion. More like driving a wedge into a piece of fire wood, to split it.

Well i want to thank you Jon and members for this information.

Its worth a shot from reading Jons post #13


I have several younger plants in mind to try to T-Bud a ischia bud to .
I like the idea of useing a bud and not a shoot if i can catch a bud emerging on my ischia plant which is small and only has 2 shoots . If not i wait till next spring when they emerge, as scion is too difficult for me to come by.
It broke dormancy a while back but i'm going to check it tomorrow to see if any other buds might be coming .
If i can patiently carve tobacco pipes and ole fashion shaving brush handles i can do this as i think im good with my hands .

Italian cheek kisses to "Jon" for takeing the time to post those pictures which i now understand the cutting that needs to be done.
When i do this in near future or next spring i will post the pictures.

I should add that a good, sharp grafting knife is worth the investment!!  I have done some grafting with a fresh, sharp blade in my exacto knife, but it only has the stiffness for small wood and soft woods, such as apple.

Make sure you know where the knife will go when it slips, or you will lose some skin AND flesh. If they are sharp enough for cutting the wood, they are sharp enough to do amputations and fillets.

Very interesting. Thanks for the pic's. Jon,  I suppose hosting wood should be at least a year old. Thanks.

Great picture tutorial jon.
I see you chose dormant chip budding using a Pakistan mulberry. Have you also tried this with green chip budding?
Jon is right about using the right knife. My first attempt at grafting was an Avocado using some sharp kitchen knife... I ended up slicing a piece of my finger.
Here's another type of grafting that is useful on fruit trees during the dormant season http://www.treesofjoy.com/grafting.htm

The point of the pictures was to show technique - so when my friend did the grafts, the material we used was not relevant - just that it was available, and in this case, "slipping". I have not tried greenwood.

My friend also did whip, whip and tongue, bark inlay and bark grafting examples as well.

I use whip and tongue wherever possible because of the nice way it locks the to pieces together and increases the surface area of cambium contact. It is great for prunus and cherimoyas. It is one of the easiest to do. This time around, I went with the wedge graft because it seemed more suitable to the fig wood I had.

Ditto to what Martin said!  Jon your powerpoint pics are so detailed better than my book.  I will be printing these out and saving the file for future use.  Five gold stars and hat off to Jon!  Dennis

Jon-
I have been grafting for 2 yrs now but never grafted figs.
I did a lot of research before doing my first grafts (mostly citrus) and I have to comment that I never saw better photos.  These are exceptional!
I have wondered about fig grafting- does the latex ooze out and cause any problems?

Kyle