Quote:
Originally Posted by jtjmartin
I just grafted my third batch of tomatoes yesterday. I typically graft about 15 at a time and I've had two fail each time. Black Dragon really doesn't seem to like RST-106!
For the first year, I rerooted the RST tops that I used to discard and used some in grafts yesterday. The rerooted RST seemed to be more fibrous than the fresh RST.
I'm also planning on letting some of the RST grow out. Wondering if I can use RST stems (that have never had roots) grafted to heirloom scions and get the RST stems to root.
Jeff
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I have also found a few varieties that don't do that well on the 106 root stock but overall it is the best that I have found. With other root stock I had far fewer varieties that excelled. I think that despite the fact that the graft took, some varieties just don't work that well with some other varieties and the resulting grafted plant just doesn't thrive and produce well. I can live with that and if I must have a particular variety that doesn't work with the RST 106 I can use Estamino or Multifort for that particular variety. One that readily comes to mind is Delicious which does fantastic on Estamino or even Multifort but is only okay when grafted to 106.
I also root the tops for later use and yes they are more fibrous. They are also far less likely to successfully graft than the new seedlings because of the mismatch between the older stem and newer softer stem of the scion. Despite the lower success rate it is worth it to me to use the rooted stems.
I tried just using the stems and grafting hoping for them to root but my success rate was just too low to justify the time and effort. I had far too many cases of damping off due to the longer time needed before the roots took off. Damping off is a major problem here for me and it only gets worse as the weather changes to the more humid hot typical weather of spring and summer.
Bill