After a couple of dismal failures, I finally was successful at grafting a couple of plumies! It is easy, and I encourage everyone to try. They aren't the prettiest things to look at right now, but they will soon grow together and heal.
My First Successful Grafts!
wow, Clare, I'm impressed.
Thanks, Nery!
Clare.. good for you.. Now, why did you want to graft two of them together?? To get a specific trait? Just to see if you could do it?
CONGRATULATIONS CLARE!!
I have recently attempted 7 more.
Looks like 3 are taking.
Good job!
The uglyness will grow out in time.
You could also plant it up to just above the graft and itll root there too.
Then you can cut it free once they develop well enough.
You wont get multitraits from grafts.
That happens from cross pollination.
The point of grafting is to give the scion a strong energy supply.
A grafted cut will grow stronger if its on a suitable host rather than by its own roots.
It is also desirable for the difficult to keep ones Like DPS who loves to rot.
On a suitable host root rot isnt likely.
Once again... CONGRATULATIONS CLARE!!
I know how long youve been trying.
Perseverence always pays off in the end.
Ill mail my next batch to you instead of Luc.. LOL J/k hes the king of it... ;^)
Well done Buddy!!
Clare,
I'm so in awe...I can't even tell you. That is so way beyond cool!!!
OH BTW!!
Resist the temptation to 'flex' or test the joint lol!!
I am such a dodder...
I always give a lil poke and have broken 3 of my unions in the past.... duuuuhhhhh..... :^P
Thanks, Guys! LOL, Michael, there will be no pulling or poking here! You are right that Luc is a terrific grafter, but I have to give the "King" title to Kukiat! Kukiat was able to graft several pieces of Dwarf Richard Criley Rainbow from one small cutting; Luc was given two large cuttings to graft of DRCR, and they both rotted on him. Even Luc admits that Thailand is at the forefront of grafting and hybridizing. Kukiat has been my mentor and has instructed me on grafting more than a few times, and I owe my success to his instruction, support, and encouragement. He is a great friend as well.
Trish, Michael is right on about grafting. One is a 'Almost Black' cutting which arrived in the mail looking terrible, and so I cut off all the wood that was turning brown and was left with only a couple of inches. The other is a Blue Velvet cutting which started to rot while it was being rooted this past winter. Both were perfect candidates for being grafted. It is an alternative way to propagate plumerias to rooting cuttings, and the scion remains a genetic duplicate of the original cultivar; it does not take on any of the characteristics of the rooting stock. For more information on grafting, check this link here: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/599185/
I want to know more about this 'bud grafting' Kukiat mentioned earlier in the year.
I believe he took a branching leaf scar and cut a square in the side of another plumie and inserted it.
Have you any recollection of this?
Aye---I cringe with the thought of attempting to graft expensive plumies! I killed a couple of Blue Velvets and some other less expensive ones. I am so underconfident with grafting plumies----adeniums-no problem. Plumies are just intimidating to me. I do have a great success ROOTING difficult varieties though. LOL
I rooted 2 Moragne Rainbows I got from Maui PG. They don't normally sell this variety because it seems doomed to rot. I just found out I am the only person outside of Hawaii they sold this one to to actually get it to root. LOL It seems the tree from whence these particular cuttings originate is not of a constitution as to produce branches that travel wll when cut. They always seemed to rot in a short period of time. Out of 3---2 rooted nicely for me.
Recently I also rooted a Moragne #78--AKA 'Kelly Moragne' (PSA registration name).
I have a ton of Thai stuff that I am stubbornly trying to root, including some cuttings I got from Bogor, Indonesia. I did send a few to FCN to get grafted of the Lavender and only one made it out of two, and, out of a couple of Blue Velvet, only one made it. I can only imagine with horror what would have happened had I grafted them myself.
Anyway, Clare, you are a lady of many talents, as made evident by your gorgeous garden pictures (and great advice). Maybe one day I will get the courage to follow your example and navigate the treacherous waters of grafting these expensive ones.
Hi Michael, yes, I remember about bud grafting. I'll post the pictures here. There are 12 of them. Someone else just inquired about those pictures and information by dmail so I'll post them here for everyone to see.
Brad, I'm in the same underconfident boat, but because my Blue Velvet was rotting, I had to graft it even though I had not been successful at grafting before. Luc and Carol were leaving for Thailand soon, and I didn't want to stress the cutting even more by shipping it to Florida. I relied heavily on Kukiat's instructions and encouragement.
Thank you, Brad, for the kind words and compliments. I just persevered and got lucky. I feel that you can do this too and encourage you to try with cheap ones at first. I am so sorry about the losses that you had while they were at Florida Colors being grafted. You do have some awesome rooting talents, but I think you will find that grafting is easier once you get the hang of it. It is faster too than rooting. I'd love to see pictures of those Moragne Rainbows of yours when they bloom. Congrats on getting them to root!
Here is Picture No. 1 of Kukiat's:
Picture No. 2:
Picture No. 3:
Picture No. 4:
Picture No. 5:
Picture No. 6:
Picture No. 7:
Picture No. 8:
Picture No. 9:
Picture No. 10:
Picture No. 11:
Here's the last one. The root stock is a seedling, which has a tremendously strong root system. When the growing tip is removed, new branches emerge, and those are then grafted.
Just unbelievable!!
I am hoping to become good at this
I magine a multi tree of Bud Grafts.
Like a tower light lol!!
1 main stem with 4 or 5 varieties growing out of it.
Did Kukiat say wether or not he used a form to make the bud cuts?
It must be painstaking to get the cut in1 the host trunk the same shape as the piece being grafted on.
I like that tape he uses too, pretty neat!!
Kukiat where are you?!!!!!!
Give us some instruction here bro!!
Amazing is right, Michael. You will be good at it, I'm sure. Kukiat didn't say, but I think he just uses a knife, but you are right that it would be tough to make them the exact same size and shape. I just posted some of his comments on grafting over at the FAQ's thread. You can find it at the very bottom. That is nylon rope that he uses, which I understand is plentiful and cheap in Thailand. Kukiat says it allows good airflow from the union.
Airflow is an issue?
I always read to keep it water tight..
Ack* I guess it could also matter where you are.
Its wicked hot and humid over there,
maybe rot sets in fast when it gets steamy under the tape
Hi Michael, my grafts were wrapped in electric tape where that part of the tissue had no air flow. I think it is important to keep the scion moist but not let water into the union. Kukiat is able to avoid moisture getting into the union by keeping the two pieces tightly together with the nylon rope, which also allows the surrounding tissue to breathe. You can probably leave this rope on for a much longer time than the tape or ribbon. When using tape or ribbon, it probably should come off in Week 4 so that the union can get some airflow. I'm just guessing here. I also think that grafts take very quickly where Kukiat is because of the heat and humidity. Unless one has a greenhouse with high heat and humidity, grafts will take much longer unless one is having a hot and humid summer where they are. Jack pointed out over at Pals that his grafts need at least 50% humidity and constant temps over 80 degrees F. to be successful.
Clare,
Great pics--thanks!
I am attaching a pic of Moragne Rainbow.
wow high temps for grafting too sheesh!!
Im in the wrong part of the country for all this lol!!
ONWARD!! (anyways) :^P
Wowee, Brad! That is a stunner. Congrats on rooting cuttings of that one. Hmmm, maybe some tips of that would make for some nice grafts! It sure sounds like a good candidate for grafting.
Hang in there, Michael! Soon, you'll be in a warmer climate; right?
Clare,
I havent had 1 single asthma attack since my surgery!!
going on week3 now!!
Yesterday I intentionally exposed myself to 4 irritants that would have caused an attack just 3 weeks ago.
NOTHING!!!
I am sooo Psyched!!
If this holds true then my meds will be backed off and the cold will be the only factor left to test.
Thatll be this winter.
Id love tomove in fact right now lol!!
My wife however is really struggling with the reality of all that entails
Her whole family is up here and shes very close to them all.
We agreed that if the winters dont bother me anymore wed stay
With the provision of a very large greenhous lol!!
Must be attached to the main home as heating it in the winter is gonna hurt baaaad!!
I'm so glad to hear that Michael. One's health is everything. Congratulations, Dude! You deserve to be able to breathe! LOL! Awesome!
Michael - that is awesome...I'm so happy to hear that surgery has given you relief!!! Breathing is so under-rated you know! :)
Glad you are feeling better, Michael!
Brad
Thanks you guys :wub: ;^)
OH!! BTW>>> I can smell too!!
I had a hold over blossom on my Jesse Noel Brug it opend tonight!
I could smell it from over 50 feet away!!
And it didnt make my chest tight or nose burn!!
WOW!!! is this what normal breathing and smelling is? heh....
WOO-HOO!!!
((((hugs)))))
I am so impressed Clare. What great pictures. I may try this sometime in the far future. I am still just getting to know these wondrous plants.
Oh Michael, I am so happy for you. I hope you never have trouble again. I watched my Mom struggle to breath for years, it was terrible. What kind of surgery helps asthma?
I had sinus surgery.
My lower sinuses were filled with scar tissue from chronic sinus infections
They were also 75% full of infection that wouldnt go away
So they removed it physically
There is a new procedure for the bronchials called Bronchial thermoplasty.
They insert a scope down into the bronchials 1 at a time and they use a stint to expand it,
Then they emmit a radio frequency signal that generates heat to 130 degrees.
It burns away teh muscle that wraps teh bronchial tubes.
It removes about 30% and the success rate at this time is awesome.
My ENT says wait for the test individuals to be 10 yrs out from the procedure.
He says if they develop scarring theyll be worse off than before.
Ill wait.
Thanks, Kell. It is easy, given the right instruction and the right conditions. I am excited about grafting too and will do more in the future. One of the nice things about grafting is that, if your trees are not developed to the point where you can take decent-sized cuttings to share with your friends, you can take a small piece of one of the tips and graft it on to root stock to share. Your friend then gets to have the plant too without your having to sacrifice a whole branch.
Since I've uploaded so many of Kukiat's demonstration pictures, I've put this thread in the Frequently Asked Questions section under grafts for the future grafters.
Well if you are so helped now, why take such a chance. I would wait too. I have a similar thing with my eyes, of htose who have the surgery to fix them, 1/3 stay the same. 1/3 get better and 1/3 get worse. And you can only do the surgery twice. So I said...I will wait till I can't wait anymore. Why rush it? Good for you that you are feeling so much better.
Clare, I will have to try it later on. Right now I am so overloaded. I am glad the info is readily accessible so when the mood strikes.......... LOL!
This pic shows some amazing grafts of Kukiat's. You can barely see the grafting scar on some of them.
