To mostly the new people who are rooting a boatload of cuttings, I strongly encourage you to graft. For so many reasons:
1. Save space. Having a fewer number of pots is much easier to move, store, protect/heat. If you are shuffling and keeping them in a reasonably protected space you don't have to worry about them freezing. I think most potted trees dying during winter is simply because there are so many of them, the owners could not take care of them well. A large tarp over a a huge pile of pots outside is far different than an insulated/heated structure. It’s also hard to water trees in a giant mound of pots in the winter.
2. Accelerate trialing and culling. Unless you are collecting for collecting sake, you are like most in that you are trying all these different varieties to see how they do in your area, will they ripen, do you like the taste. A graft on mature rootstock will accelerate your evaluation process. You don't have to wait 3-5 years to see how that fig will be for you. You can find out within a year or 2. If you really like it, air layer it or root a cutting. Hate it, graft over with a new variety in the spring.
3. Maximize your expensive cuttings. I like to root 3 nodes. 1 above, 2 under. If I receive a cutting with more nodes I will whip/tongue, chip bud, cleft, etc the rest of the material. That also means I will wait to root cuttings until late winter or if you headstart your trees wait until they are starting to bud out before using them as donors.
4. Boost growth and fruiting potential of slow growing varieties (I’m looking at you, BM!) I am impatient. I want results for my time, effort, money and you should too.
Problems people run into.
1. This is their first year doing figs of any kind so no donor trees. Take this year to root out a bunch of strong rootstock. For example, Desert King, or brown turkey, etc. You can literally get those for free. See if any family members, friends, or neighbors will let you graft onto their existing trees as well.
2. Scared of cutting themselves with a grafting knife. There are grafting tools that uou can use to avoid cutting yourself. You will be limited to pretty much a cleft graft but that is still better than nothing. @MJFIGS has a video on his channel where he uses a tool. @figologist I did happen to notice the blood on your chip bud graft video. I also cut myself the first time I did that one, lol.
3. Don’t know how to get started. On Youtube there is a channel by JSacadura. To date, the best filmed and explained plant propagation channel I have see. He also has a video on the fig wasp with amazing footage. In addition, he is very calming like Bob Ross but with plants.
I am not trying to sound like a grafting master. In fact, I’m far from it, but still experience a lot of success grafting. Once I got the hang of it, my success rate far surpassed my rooting success. There are a bunch of times when a cutting failed but a graft from the cutting took. It saved me a whole bunch of money and a whole years time. Who wants to wait until a whole year to try and buy a cutting again? Anyways, here’s to hoping people will try grafting this year.
1. Save space. Having a fewer number of pots is much easier to move, store, protect/heat. If you are shuffling and keeping them in a reasonably protected space you don't have to worry about them freezing. I think most potted trees dying during winter is simply because there are so many of them, the owners could not take care of them well. A large tarp over a a huge pile of pots outside is far different than an insulated/heated structure. It’s also hard to water trees in a giant mound of pots in the winter.
2. Accelerate trialing and culling. Unless you are collecting for collecting sake, you are like most in that you are trying all these different varieties to see how they do in your area, will they ripen, do you like the taste. A graft on mature rootstock will accelerate your evaluation process. You don't have to wait 3-5 years to see how that fig will be for you. You can find out within a year or 2. If you really like it, air layer it or root a cutting. Hate it, graft over with a new variety in the spring.
3. Maximize your expensive cuttings. I like to root 3 nodes. 1 above, 2 under. If I receive a cutting with more nodes I will whip/tongue, chip bud, cleft, etc the rest of the material. That also means I will wait to root cuttings until late winter or if you headstart your trees wait until they are starting to bud out before using them as donors.
4. Boost growth and fruiting potential of slow growing varieties (I’m looking at you, BM!) I am impatient. I want results for my time, effort, money and you should too.
Problems people run into.
1. This is their first year doing figs of any kind so no donor trees. Take this year to root out a bunch of strong rootstock. For example, Desert King, or brown turkey, etc. You can literally get those for free. See if any family members, friends, or neighbors will let you graft onto their existing trees as well.
2. Scared of cutting themselves with a grafting knife. There are grafting tools that uou can use to avoid cutting yourself. You will be limited to pretty much a cleft graft but that is still better than nothing. @MJFIGS has a video on his channel where he uses a tool. @figologist I did happen to notice the blood on your chip bud graft video. I also cut myself the first time I did that one, lol.
3. Don’t know how to get started. On Youtube there is a channel by JSacadura. To date, the best filmed and explained plant propagation channel I have see. He also has a video on the fig wasp with amazing footage. In addition, he is very calming like Bob Ross but with plants.
I am not trying to sound like a grafting master. In fact, I’m far from it, but still experience a lot of success grafting. Once I got the hang of it, my success rate far surpassed my rooting success. There are a bunch of times when a cutting failed but a graft from the cutting took. It saved me a whole bunch of money and a whole years time. Who wants to wait until a whole year to try and buy a cutting again? Anyways, here’s to hoping people will try grafting this year.
