if you thread a branch through a hole that is slightly larger
than the
diameter of the branch..and there is no "tight" fit will the
graft
still
eventually take?
Yes. Look at trees in nature where one branch has eventually
grown close
to another. If in a position where there is little movement
through
wind-rock they eventually thicken until one becomes naturally
grafted to
another. This is with two old and thick bark layers.
In extremis you could drill a half inch hole and put a quarter
inch
shoot through. It's far from ideal and would look pretty odd
for a good
while, but would eventually work.
A couple of points here.
1. For every tree "in nature" with two branches that rub and
eventually weld together, there probably are a dozen or two that
don't; one or both of the abraded branches will die (or start a
fire ;-).
Out of curiosity, I took two rooted cuttings *from the same
plant,* scraped away the bark on one side of each, taped them
tightly together and let them grow for 4 years. When I removed
the tape, I had two cuttings with flat sides.
2. You might realize that inserting a branch through a too-large
hole would be an iffy prospect when you consider that there
always are a few well-executed thread grafts that do not take --
especially with trees that have thin bark.
So, as I said earlier, if you have the too-big hole already
drilled, use it if you like. In several years you MAY have a new
branch with an ugly knob at the base. Or, you could drill the
correct hole nearby and do it right and have a healthy graft in a
year or so.
It's always better to do things correctly. Isn't it?
Jim Lewis -
- Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden
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