Kyle Franks demonstrates by way of a tutorial on how to do a whip and tongue graft on avocado rootstock and scion. The scion was selected off a tree that is a heavy and consistent producer.
The ‘whip and tongue’ graft is probably the most widely adopted method of bench grafting. Ideally choose rootstock and scion material of the same thickness as this maximises the chance of cambial contact all the way around. However, if your scion wood is thinner than your rootstock you can adjust the graft slightly to accommodate this.
The cambium layer, the slimy layer between the wood and bark, is where active growth occurs. Joining the cambium layers of the root and scion is crucial to the success of the graft. In whip and tongue grafting this is done when corresponding cuts through rootstock and scion material are joined end to end and then bound. The interlocking ‘tongues’ add structural support to the join as the cambium layers heal and fuse together, as well giving a larger surface area of cambial contact.
Filmed in Kalae, Molokai, Hawaii
