Today I grafted three branches of an excelent unknown variety to an in groung fig tree.
It's my first time grafting figs, in the past I succesfully grafted Desert Rose branches of different colors with no problems.
I added aluminium foil to protect the graft from the sun, let me know if that's right.

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Good tight wrap. Using a tool i see too. I use the same one. Its very important to do a tight wrap and alignment is also key. Tin foil is a good idea. Gping to try that on future grafs. Thanks for the pics. Show us it when it grows.
Richie

Thanks Richie!!
And yes, I'm using the tool, LOL

Nice Italian made tool.... I like the 3 styles of cutting edges it comes with. 

The graft looks good. The biggest problem you may have is dehydration of the scion before it has a chance to form the callus.

I usually wrap it in parafilm to preserve internal moisture and protect all the scion (not just the graft zone) with the aluminium foil for 2-3 weeks, until it begins to break bud and show some small leaves.

Using a grating tool you have to be very careful that the scion and rootstock are the same diameter. If the scion is a bit smaller and you center it in the rootstock chances are that the cambium layers do not touch and the graft would fail.
In that case it's better to place the scion to the left or to the right a bit, so the cambium layers touch in one side.

Looks beautiful, my girlfriend sent away for one of those for me... like two weeks ago, I'm waiting so impatiently for it, feels like it's taking forever to get here.
How long did it take for yours to arrive?
That graft look great, makes me think I need to order some parafilm for when my grafting tool shows up.
If you have some parafilm, I would wrap that cutting all the way to the tip.
The top half will die off first and or could cause complications, so keep the moisture in or spray it often.

If you wrap the scion with parafilm and the temperatures are high it's a must to protect it from direct sunlight with the aluminum foil. Otherwise, the parafilm can produce a greenhouse effect and the sun can cook the scion.

Also, stretch the parafilm so it's easy for the buds to break through. It takes a bit of practice to do it with the graft in place without pressuring or breaking the union zone but there is always the option of stretching it before applying to the scion.

Please identify the grafting tool, price and source for ordering. Many thanks!

The Italian grafting tool is available for the best price I have seen at:

http://www.garrettwade.com/professional-italian-grafting-tools-gp.html

By the way, a plain grafting knife works just as well or in many cases better than the tool, especially for W & T, Cleft, Chip grafts. The z-graft which seems particularly strong and gives a lot of scion to root stock contact points can really only be done with a good single blade grafting knife...

I like to use a grafting knife as I may do any number of grafts or budding. I don't put foil over it either. Parafilm is white which reflects heat and light.
I never had a problem. I also use rubber not vinyl electrical tape to secure graft. I feel parafilm is too weak. In some cases to conserve the tape for my stone fruit, I use orange garden tape. I will have to remove it to prevent girdling eventually.

Drew,

It really depends on your climate. If i do any grafts in my zone (9b) after March and i don't protect them from direct sun exposure they start to cook and die.
The parafilm can't solve that problem and even seems to make things worse (the condensation inside the parafilm and the high temperatures literally melt the buds).



Don't forget that i graft them on rootstocks that are in the ground and, in some places, this time of year, temperatures can exceed 90 ºF easily (probably more inside the parafilm).
It's different when grafting a rootstock in a container that i can place in a more shaded environment.

In some grafts i use only parafilm to do the wrapping (folded to be stronger) except for whip and tongue. This graft really needs a stronger tie and i use natural raffia that i wet prior to using.
I found out that wet, this material is stronger than tape and much more versatile (rubber is better and can work for most situations but, for me, sometimes doesn't provide enough tension).
Raffia is also thinner than tape which also allows me to go over the lower scion buds and leave them uncovered so they can start to grow without problems, like in the following graft.



As i said, it also allows a stronger tension, which is most important when using large diameter scions.
When done correctly the tie allows the perfect adjustment of rootstock and scion and contributes to graft success. Even strong winds or birds landing on the graft can't take it down.

The only drawback is that you can't forget to cut it after 2 months (sometimes less with fast growing varieties) or it will start to strangle the graft before it breaks.

An example with a large diameter scion and rootstock. The end flaps stick out (almost inevitable with large diameter scions and this type of graft) so the raffia helps to keep them tight and joined until they fuse together.
Afterwards, i cover the graft with parafilm to keep the moisture inside and keep the rain water out.









In May-7:


Regarding the use of the grafting knife, i entirely agree with you.
A few years ago, i used a grafting tool but, with experience, the grafting knife is much more versatile (i also do chip bud grafts with the same scion using the lower bud that would be discarded in the whip and tongue).
The grafting knife works in any grafting situation, even those where the grafting tool will not work. But, for those that do not want to invest the required time in the learning process of using a grafting knife, and don't plan on doing much grafting, the grafting tool (a good quality one) can be a good solution.


Sorry for the long rant on your thread, Mahdi.

Excellent info, Jaime! I also followed your advice and started to use the lower bud from Whip and Tongue scionwood to do chip grafts with... nothing wasted and opportunities for additional successful grafts increased... excellent strategy!  Thank you!

Your welcome, Tony. Be sure to post some pictures of your grafts in a few weeks.

Excelent information Jaime!!
And no problem at all, you are contributing to this thread. I will follow your advise regarding the use of foil because my climate is very hot.

Actually here are a couple of whip and tongue grafts that I did about 8 weeks ago with these pictures taken 4-23 now being about 2 weeks old; I will take updated pics of both and post them later. These are Ischia Black UCD grafted onto Brown Turkey stock...

 

Here are the same 2 whip and tongue grafts as pictured above taken today. As noted the above pictures were from 4/23...

   

Also worth noting that the leaves here show little to no evidence of FMV... a portion of one of the same cutting pieces used for these W & T was direct rooted and has managed to take and throw out a number of leaves. The leaves of the IB growing on its own roots shows significant evidence of FMV. I will leave others to interpret these observations....