1. Best resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Books<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is one book about grafting avocados: \u201cPropagating Avocados: Principles and Techniques of Nursery and Field Grafting\u201d by Whitsell, Martin, Bergh, Lypps, and Brokaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s actually a 30-page pamphlet published in 1989 by the University of California. It can be downloaded for free (and printed, if you like) from the UC website here<\/a> or from Avocadosource here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPropagating Avocados\u201d has many excellent photographs and drawings, and I reread it a couple times every year. It was written by a group of people with vast experience on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Videos<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A web search for videos on grafting avocados turns up many results. I\u2019ve watched a good portion of them. There are a handful that are worth your time. Here are three that are most worthy of your time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gray Martin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Gray Martin is one of the authors of \u201cPropagating Avocados,\u201d and he has made a series of videos about grafting avocados, specifically on topworking (changing a big tree over to a new variety).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start with his video about \u201cSelecting avocado budwood,\u201d<\/a> and continue following his process for an entire year with the rest of his videos.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Martin also wrote this provocative article with Bob Bergh: \u201cAvocado Topworking Update 1990.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ty McDonald<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ty McDonald slowly and clearly walks you through how to do a side graft on a young seedling avocado tree. In Ty McDonald 1<\/a>, he talks about why we graft, tools to use, and methods to choose from. In Ty McDonald 2<\/a>, he performs a side graft to transform a seedling into a Sharwil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lynwood Nursery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To see how tip grafting is done on very small seedlings in a commercial greenhouse setting, this video about Lynwood Nursery in New Zealand<\/a> is worth watching. You\u2019ll see things that will help you do your own tip grafting at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Notes on grafting avocados<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wrapping budwood<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first time I wrapped a scion with Parafilm, an old timer named Jim Neitzel was guiding me. I had wrapped too thickly. Ideally, Neitzel pointed out, you want only one thin layer of Parafilm over each bud. This way the moisture stays in, but the bud also has no problem breaking through the Parafilm as it grows out. That lesson has stuck with me and yielded good grafting results in the years since. Only one layer of Parafilm over a bud.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunlight unnecessary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When tip-grafting small trees in containers, it is not necessary to keep the newly grafted tree in the sunshine. In fact, unless it is winter and the sun is very weak, it is far safer to keep the newly grafted tree in some amount of shade until the graft has healed and the scion has grown out a few inches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This should especially be kept in mind in summer. Keep newly grafted trees out of the strong sun until they have grown leaves to shade their stems and trunk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have grafted successfully during 100-degree days in August through keeping the newly grafted tree in shade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best time of year to graft<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n March is usually the magic month in Southern California. Why do avocado grafts do well at that time? It has warmed up a little and trees have started to grow. February can also be a very good month, as can early April — it depends on the year’s weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But this is for grafts done outside. If you use a greenhouse or a shade structure, then time of year doesn\u2019t matter nearly as much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best time of year to collect avocado scions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n March is not always the best time to collect avocado budwood though. It is often better to collect scions earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best avocado budwood has plump and green buds which are still dormant. You can often find such budwood on any given day of the year, but it is usually most plentiful in the winter when trees have paused growing and before they resume growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a tree has good budwood for the taking but the stock you want to graft onto is not ready, you can store the scions in the fridge for at least a month, sometimes many months, without their losing viability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How long should avocado scions be? Usually between three and eight inches and having two to four good buds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in 1960 some researchers found that scions closer to six inches had better take compared to scions about three inches long. See the discussion about scion length (and time of year to collect) in \u201cSome Factors Influencing Grafting Success with Avocados\u201d by Rodrigues, Ryan, and Frolich<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Storing avocado budwood<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To get the most life from an avocado scion, you want to keep it cool and to prevent it from drying. Placing the stick in a plastic bag, and placing the bag in the fridge works perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some people put damp paper towels or newspaper into the bag. That\u2019s not necessary even though it\u2019s also not harmful unless the paper towel or newspaper is too wet. The plastic bag alone keeps the scion from drying out. My preferred plastic bag is a one-gallon Ziploc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For details on the above, see my post on “How to collect and store avocado scion wood.”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gregalder.com\/yardposts\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/propagating-avocados-book.jpg\")
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