How do I know my graft has taken?

[AndyJ]

Hello folks.

I‘ve done a five Prunus Mume grafts onto Prunus Maleb rootstock. These were done back in February - attached with grafting tape, wound sealer to waterproof the union, the five pots put in a big clear bag to maintain humidity and kept in my shed.. Wind the clock on to today, and all five grafts are growing. I remove the bag every few days to change the air and to avoid, hopefully, and rotting or damping off.

How long should I keep these grafts in the bag to keep humidity high? Is it ok to remove it now I’ve got shoots growing? Or should I leave them bagged all season? Should I leave it in the shed?

Any thoughts from any other grafters?

Many thanks,

Andy

 

[0soyoung]

Unless it lived in the shed before, do not leave it in the shed now.

The whole deal with poking/cutting holes in the bag is to test whether the scion has enough of a xylem connection to keep up with transpiration. If the leaves start to droop like they do when the plant needs to be watered = not yet --> maybe some tape or something to reseal the bag to a degree for a little while. If they don't droop, cut away more of the bag. If that's good, the bag isn't needed any more.

 

[AndyJ]

Brilliant, thanks Oso. I'll make some holes in the bag tomorrow and I'll leave them in the shed as they have been in there from the start.