Overwinter I grew selected Alder seeds under lights and they are now
over a foot high and 3mm in diameter at the bottom of the trunk.

For an experimental purpose I want to bud them onto last year's twigs
(or maybe 2-year old twigs) of an "adult" tree. After this very cold
spring the buds of this tree now have a single leaf and another to
follow and I ask "How much longer should I wait?"

Meanwhile, as to the materials, there seems to be shortage of the kind
of grafting tape, I had in mind,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PROFESSIONAL.../dp/B000U2WJRK

it is only available in the USA and South Africa. So I have bought

http://www.lbsgardenwarehouse.co.uk/...ape-PRDR-BGTC/ Budding & Grafting Tape
Product Code: R-BGTC

I hope it's the right stuff when it comes. If it's not, does anybody
know of anything more suitable?

Parafilm has been recommended to me, I have a roll of it and I know
where to get more. Do you know of it? Is it suitable?

I have been given a handfull of green rubber strips (they are
"strips", not "circles", "rings" or "loops") to wrap round grafts.
They are a sort of dirty green colour, and they stretch in a funny
way, not really like rubber. But I have forgotten their *name* so I
can't search for them on the web. Does anybody know their name and/or
know of suppliers?

Any thoughts?


Michael Bell
--

--