# Grafting Wax



## JohnK and Sheri

Don't know if it is a "good" recipe but this recipe comes from "Super Formulas" by Elaine White.

10oz (weight) rosin
2 oz (weight) beeswax
1 oz (weight) charcoal powder
1 T linseed oil
Heat the beeswax and rosin at 250F until they melt. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Allow to cool to a spreadable consistency and brush it onto the graft. Charcoal and rosin are sold by "Chem Lab".

Sheri


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## Black Creek

*wood glue instead of grafting wax?*

i already have a small tub of it, but i was hoping to not buy it anymore. the thing i notice about it is that it smells a lot like Elmers glue. I was wondering if maybe its a cheap mixture of wood glue and something else. i bought it from an orchard. 


the smell got me to thinking, why cant i just use some water resistant/proof wood glue?


i was planning on doing some cleft grafting on some 3-4'' diameter persimmon trees and realized the tub i bought will probably only do 2 or 3 trees since the entire cleft is supposed to be filled with grafting wax.


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## JohnK and Sheri

*disclaimer*This is probably a dumb question; I know nothing about grafting. 

Does the graft have to 'grow' into the tree? If the glue is water proof would this deter the graft?
Sheri


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## Black Creek

trees never really heal, they seal. you are basically lining up the cambium layers of the root stock and grafted shoot. any air space is a place that will cause it to dry out or invite infection. so, any opening that is there, will always be there wether or not it's filled with graft wax or glue. i'll be doing cleft grafting so that makes a lot of air space.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26132/26132-h/images/image018.png here is a basic random pic of what i'm doing i found online


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## MapMan

I use Parafilm (M) to cover large areas of graft, and then add grafting wax to fill in areas not covered by the Parafilm. Works very well, and not as messy as grafting wax. And, the nice thing about Parafilm is that it stretches to about twice its length, and then tightens back up, so it adds much needed tension to cuts, especially needed to get good scion/rootstock contact in grafting. Available in a wide variety of widths for winding or placing on grafting areas.

MM


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## JohnK and Sheri

MM, what do you use for grafting wax. Do you make your own?
Sheri


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## BoBn

You can use heated liquid wax. It should be not too hot. If you can stand holding you finger in it then it is not too hot. We used a crock pot to keep the melted wax in. I used to bench graft several hundred dwarf conifers and Japanese maples each winter when I worked at a nursery. For field work, we had wax melters that looked like kerosene railroad lanterns with a tin can on the top. I did mostly veneer grafting and budding.


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## MapMan

I bought a tin, way back when, and when it ran out, I used - believe it or not - toilet bowl sealant wax. Now I tend to use Parafilm, and I've mixed up my own wax - 1/2 paraffin and 1/2 beeswax. Add more paraffin if it gets too thick. 

MM


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