Grafting Conifers

Demonstrating how to graft conifers during winter and bagging them individually for the purpose of providing humidity to the graft.

[@esotericagriculture6643]

Thanks for this great conifer grafting guide. Your videos are probably the best way for someone to learn about how to graft conifers and be successful. Well done! 👍🏻

[@coniferblacklab]

Thanks man.

[@Olya3488]

It's interesting to watch how our collegues on the other side of the world do it! Thanks for such a detailed video!

[@jaredstude770]

Thank you so much for the procedure for grafting pines. I'm interested in the timing of the grafts? Is this best done before the spring flush of candles or some other time?

[@jrsstp]

Best grafting video on youtube! J

[@tianyinjia]

Excellent, thanks. I'm just about to start, and nothing beats a "live" demo.

[@coniferblacklab]

Sure thing. Best of luck.

[@westcoast_johnny]

Thank you for making this video, I’m researching how I can make my own Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar. I’d love to hear your advice, etc. thank you!

[@fswhinkla]

Best video on grafting I've seen, thank you. Now, if only I could find a source for Eastern White Pine seedlings. Seems Oregon has a prohibition on importation.

[@johnparkerthegimpygardener]

+Laurence Hawkins Tree seeds .com is a good source of stock seed , not shore about if it is limited to your state . the price is very reasonable get every year from him and your not hit hard with the postage and handling scam that has taken the industry by storm .

[@matshagstrom9839]

Great set of videos. Thank you for making them. I’m new to growing conifers. I feel like I’ve gotten pretty good at most things with these trees including growing from seed but my grafting results still stink. I live in San Francisco so we have no frost and cold wet summers and warm sunny falls. What the best month to do this? Should the scion be further into the season than the root stock or the other way around? It seems like grafting should be done just before bud break early spring? Does timing make a big difference? Sorry for all the questions. I’m also curious about grafting redwood trees. I’m guessing the same principles would apply. Thank you again, MH

[@coniferblacklab]

Glad they help. The rootstock is advanced and never should the scion be. The scion is always dormant when winter, summer, or fall grafting. I don't Fall graft. I stop grafting deciduous trees during July. That's when I'm chip budding fruit trees (or deciduous ornamentals). You will do your conifer grafting with humidity (humidity chamber) and when the buds on the conifer rootstock(s) have 1/3 swollen up large and/or are beginning to unfurl foliage, that's when you begin grafting. Your scions should be collected above 55 F for at least a week. Place your scions in a ziplock with a small amount of paper towel that you squeezed every last bit of water from humanely possible. That paper towel should be the size of a small marble for sandwich bag or quart ziplocks and then for gallon ziplocks, its size should be for a large marble. You run the water over the towel, squeeze it all out, and make the appropriate size marble size ball. Collect your scions while carrying a cooler with ice on an overcast day and early in the morning if you can. If just collecting a few scions, do it anytime but have that cooler with ice if you're on the road or it's not a short walk to return right back into your house.

[@jameswright-2024]

do you know what rootstock is used to graft the weeping white spruce Picea glauca pendula that usually grows 8 feet wide and 15 plus fee tallt ?

[@juliegogola4647]

Hey Daxman, this reminds me a little of the "air layering" I've seen on KZbin videos of how to "clone" a Rhododendron, BUT, in the "air layering" process you do NOT cover up the foliage of the Rhody, and you make a pocket of soil in the baggy for roots (eventually) to grow into. With your voice, if you wanted to, you could be selling millions of CD's singing the blues or country music, yes, you sound like Johnny Cash. :)

[@coniferblacklab]

: ) I'd rather be a grafter. Thank you miss Julie.

[@19regal83]

I have a draft blue spruce bonsai and it pretty old. I was wondering if can graft onto old mature wood?

[@martinnaarendorp6833]

Thanks very much!

[@coniferblacklab]

Thank you very much J.

[@ohmitered408]

Hi, where do you get the lower graft stock that you use for your conifers variety that is intended to be top grafted. Do you grow the lower graft stocks by seed or buy them from a tree nursery? If you do buy them, can you list the tree nursery where we can buy the lower graft stock.

[@coniferblacklab]

You order them during winter for spring delivery. I buy from Needlefast or Flickinger's. If you don't start thinking about placing an order during December and January, February may come and you might be to late. You buy them bare-root, pot them up during spring and graft on them the following winter/early spring. There are plenty of other seedling suppliers: Lawyer Nursery, Pikes Peak, KF Evergreens, and probably a dozen or more on the West coast.

[@ohmitered408]

+coniferblacklab Thank you so much for the info I always wanted to graft tree's like conifers. I do have a lot to experience grafting cactus as I mostly collect cactus but I wanted to try to branch out and try my hand at tree grafting but I had no idea where to start. With the info and videos you have made is helping me on to the right places to start. Thank you so much!

[@coniferblacklab]

You are welcome.

[@coniferblacklab]

Hi Lawrence, thanks a lot. My two Oregon sources of potted understock are sold out of Pinus strobus: Western Evergreen & Brooks Tree Farm, however several friends purchase superstock conifers from The University of Idaho Seedlings to graft onto right away. Just pot them and they're ready after you've warmed them up for a few days at least. Depending on your locale/soil/growing conditions,U of I has Pinus flexilis or Pinus monticola available. These are both 5-needle pines and are graft compatible to Pinus strobus along with all other 5-needle pines. seedlings.uidaho.com/Store/DrawProducts.aspx?CategoryID=2&ParentID=15&PageID=47

[@corinalupu7623]

Hello i live in romania, i wonder whhen is the best time to graft my conifer

[@coniferblacklab]

When buds plump and no more very cold weather outside. In greenhouse that won't frost, graft when buds plump.

[@valentinciprianaldea1994]

Aprilie

[@johnparkerthegimpygardener]

Thank you have not grafted pines yet !!! what is you % of success ?? and no need for wax , subbed you channel , like what i see !!

[@coniferblacklab]

+john parker (the gimpy gardener) The bag creates humidity thus not allowing scion to dry out. The same results are achieved if a lightweight piece of poly is draped over grafts sitting on the floor or if a humidity chamber is erected where all sides are covered with poly. It's all about creating humidity so the scions and working area will not dry out. Wax or parafilm is primarily used for deciduous grafting. On one rare occasion I waxed a conifer because the wood was nearly dead and, this was after I rehydrated it, and then grafted it (scion waxed except for the bottom couple inches so cuts could be made - then rubber banded and working area wrapped in parafilm.) I did three scions like this and one of them knitted. But waxing conifers is definitely not the norm. My success rates for grafting conifers & deciduous are 90%, John. Best regards, Dax

[@rpreddy7217]

Hi What is the seeding plant you used in this video?

[@coniferblacklab]

+RP Reddy I was grafting soft pines that have needles in groups of 5's. In the USA we use Pinus strobus; In Europe, they use Pinus armandii. Pinus armandii has better moisture (soil moisture & air moisture/humidity) tolerances than that of Pinus strobus. Unfortunately, Americans are a century or more behind Europeans.

[@rpreddy7217]

Thank you. I bought $50 worth of seeds from tree seeds.com. Now, after watching your video.. I think those seeds are good for rootstocks. Correct me if I am wrong

[@coniferblacklab]

Reddy I don't know what you bought because you didn't say. Where are you located or nearest metropolitan area and I can help determine which species of a Genus is a good seedling rootstock for your area.

[@janeDoe-ru2xy]

Can I graft onto a large tree using this method? I had a neighbor come up and cut most of my branches on one side of 3 pine trees on my lawn, for no other reason than to be a bully. I'm afraid with so much of the trunk exposed it will weaken my trees and kill them.

[@coniferblacklab]

Best to consult an arborist about your trees. It's not a grafting situation.

[@janeDoe-ru2xy]

That's the problem I don't know any and couldn't afford to hire one if I did. I was hoping to put branches back on the tree. The guy sent his child of 10 up to cut holes in the bark, which I noticed right away and I put the bark back on the tree and duct taped it and the hole is gone and there's bark there, I was hoping to put branches back on the tree too. Thank-you for a quick response.

[@alexvon8611]

will this work for a norfolk pine?

[@coniferblacklab]

I would Google "rootstocks for Norfolk pine Auracaria" and see what comes up. When grafting Norfolk pines I have personally seen two rootstocks a guy on Florida on a plant group I used to peruse a lot... put them onto. Otherwise, the answer to your question is yes in that the grafting process is the same.

[@alexvon8611]

Thank you all the best :)