Can I use electrical tape for rose grafting (when should I remove the rose grafting tape)?

Can electrical tape be used for rose grafting?

When grafting roses, I personally do not recommend using electrical tape , although I have seen some fruit trees grafted successfully using tape.

However, the buds of roses are relatively tender, unlike those of hard-branch fruit trees, and the glue on the tape is not conducive to the healing of the grafted site.

Therefore, for grafted roses, I personally recommend using plastic wrap, plastic grafting tape, and professional grafting tape. Generally speaking, for home grafted roses, ordinary plastic wrap is sufficient, which is economical and easy to use .

The role of rose grafting tape

The grafting tape has two main functions:

①Sealed grafting interface

The first is to seal the grafting site, because the grafting site needs to maintain a high humidity and dark environment, which is conducive to the formation of callus tissue .

Only when callus tissue is formed on the rootstock and the scion, and the callus tissues of the two are fused, can the graft survive. Therefore, poor sealing of the grafting interface can easily lead to dehydration of the callus tissue, affecting the survival of the graft.

②Fixed grafting interface

The second function of the grafting tape is to fix the grafting point . Because the grafting point is not firm in the early stage, the grafting tape can play a certain fixing role, thereby restraining the scion, which is beneficial to the grafting point.

What kind of grafting tape is best for roses?

Therefore, based on the two functions of the grafting tape, anything that can close the grafting interface can be used for grafting. Therefore, electrical tape can also be grafted.

However, electrical tape is too thick and contains glue, which is not good for the grafting interface and is considered a foreign body. Therefore, it is not recommended for delicate grafting.

In fact, the most economical grafting tape is plastic strips and plastic wrap. Many fruit trees are grafted with plastic wrap. The whole roll of plastic wrap can be cut into small rolls of 2-3 cm and used for grafting.

Of course, in addition to these plastic grafting tapes, there are also some imported high-end grafting tapes . For example, Germany has a rubber grafting tape that looks like tofu skin and is very interesting. The British Austin grafted roses often use this kind of grafting tape.

Japan also has a kind of polymer grafting tape, which has excellent ductility and self-adhesiveness. After grafting, it can directly wrap the buds, and the buds can break through the grafting tape after germination. And it can be naturally degraded later, but the price is very high, which is hundreds of times that of ordinary grafting tape.

How long does it take to remove the rose grafting tape?

About 25 days after rose grafting, if the callus tissue is basically formed, the scion and rootstock are well healed, and the petiole of the scion falls off naturally, then the binding can be untied.

When untying, remove the grafted film and cut the rootstock about 2 cm above the grafted bud. It will germinate in about 10 days.