Paw Paw Grafting: Photo Log
Paws paws have quickly become near and dear to us at Mountain Jewel.
Upon moving to the Ozarks, we were so excited to find oodles of wild paw paws on and near our property. Last fall we harvested a lush bounty of wild fruit. It’s safe to say we're fanatical about paw paws!
The paw paws on our homestead haven’t set fruit in the past few years and this may have to do with low genetic diversity. 2 or more varieties are best for pollination. Grafting selected cultivars onto wild rootstock will increase productivity and boost diversity.
The distinguished Paw Paw, Asimina triloba. A wild specimen on our land
As with all our permaculture endeavors, we seek to witness and observe the natural processes before intervening. After seeing heavy fruit set on a nearby patch, and discovering more and more patches on our land, we decided to take action and marry select paw paw genetics onto our wild patches.
Tools of the trade:
Here you see the complete grafting kit. We made a video of the process & share it on our blog likely tomorrow. Pictured: paw paw scions (Mango, Wells, Prolific, NC-1 & Overlease varieties), sharp pruning saw, secateurs, masking tape, grafting film, fresh utility blade, & a pen :)
Sharp blade cutting the Paw Paw at an angle so water doesn't settle on the base.
In the past we’ve attempted whip and tongue with no success. I’ve since learned the importance of wrapping the scion with grafting film to maintain moisture! On past grafts, the scions dried out before leafing out. Since visiting a university fruit station and seeking out information online, I’ve honed in on a few tidbits that will hopefully increase our success.
Scion cut at an angle on the base (with at least two buds remaining) which will go into the base.
Scion placed "just so" into the Cambium of the wild paw paw root stalk. This is a Bark Inlay Graft.
We are choosing to focus on the bark inlay graft. This comes recommended from the paw paw master himself Neil Peterson. The advantages are numerous. First, scion and rootstock don’t need to match and large diameter rootstock can be used. The cuts are simple and a strong union can be ensured with tape. Secondly, vigorous growth results from using established trees.
Mango variety scion inserted and wrapped. Watch for tomorrow's video to see this done live with more explanation.
We are pleased to be in connection to an ever evolving landscape and all the skills associated with managing and increasing productivity of the landscape. Hopeful for a lifelong horticulture journey and increasing abundance!!
Stay tuned for tomorrow's How To Vid!
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All of the paw paw seeds we got from you have sprouted! Pretty excited to have several of these one day!
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woop woop!!! so glad to hear it :)
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Think I learned something.
Where would I learn how to do the tape wrap method you described? I also had a whip and tongue fail on my apple scion last year. Next year I'll have many lateral branches to graft onto, and I am not sure how to graft safely at that angle.
Sharp blades make me so squeamish to handle. Probably because I sliced my finger a few times when I was a kid. It doesn't take much to break the skin on a razor edge.
I've been enjoying reading the pawpaw sagas. :)) It's cool you are able to increase the diversity this way. I hope all these take!
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