Yesterday I grafted the following scions to a P trifoliate rootstock ( large trunk with multiple branches), a mature lime and a Chandler Pommelo: Yosemite Gold, Clemenule from Spain, Page, W. Murcott and seedless Kishu at my sister's house in Stockton. It was hot there. Over 90 degrees. I put alum. foil over the grafts. Now, how long should I wait before I remove the foil?

Just two weeks, you tell your sister to expose it partially opening (50% exposure) after one week, then after two weeks, remove it completely. It will die or it will take. If it dies, do another one, if it takes, then great! Not much to lose there.

Thanks Joe.
I got some apples, pears, plums all very special from her last year and they are thriving and growing really good.
Perhaps next year they should bloom.
Also I didn't see any fire blight from my Asian pear this year.
Again thanks for a very good advice for advising using the copper fungicide. It worked very well.

Does the aluminum foil help with bark grafts? Maybe my problem has been the heat, but I am yet to get a bark graft to take on a citrus. I am working with very small scionwood and putting them on pencil size limbs, but I have tried at least 5 with no success-- any suggestions would be helpful.

That is very strange Skeeter. I've just bark grafted toothpick-sized scionwood on pencil-sized wood three weeks ago and now the sprout is twice as long as the scionwood.

Aluminum foil helps a lot for me when grafting during the summer time.

Skeet:
I am not sure. She lives 143 miles from me.
I'll let you know once I find out.

But from zone 9 I can't remember we have over 90 deg tempt here so I don't use alum foil.
I also grafted many tooth pick size citrus spec. joe's clemenule and I have perhaps 70% take.
I use joe's bark graft method usually but I use one T-bud method this Spring and that too took.

When you use these toothpick size scions, how long is the diagonal cut that you make on the base? (I would guess mine to be about 1/2 inch).

Do you still make small cuts along the side of the diagonal cut?

The sun can be brutal down here at 30 degrees N latitude -- it is almost straight up now-- so the foil may be the key. I will try it again next week at my sisters-- I really want to get that Nules started!

Skeet. The key to grafting in the heat is to keep the plant in the shade... If thats not possible I would wait until the temps drop.

The most ideal temperature is between 60 deg F to 90 deg F. Between 90 deg F to 100 deg F, you would use aluminum foil if you can't have shade. Above 100 deg F, just forget about grafting.

Skeet:
Yes, I still always use the cut about 1/3 at the tip of the diagonal cut although at times I made a mistake of cutting the whole thing in half so I start all over again. At this time I only use 2 kinds of grafting method: One is Joe's Bark Graft and the other one Tongue and whip ....don't know the term both by Joe's method. If the recipient plant's branch is bigger, I use the Joe''s Bark Graft and if both are the same size, then I use the tongue and whip I believe.
I've been very successful with both on all of my trees either citrus or non citrus. I am almost 100% take on non citrus in these methods.
Thanks Joe for the teaching.
One tip:
Once they take remove all the surrounding branches unmercifully so the new plant has sunshine or just graft at the top of the canopy.
During my inexperience time, I graft anyplace as long as it is easy reach. Now I am very particular where I graft. I think of places where they can get the most sunshine once they grow at maturity or prematurity. And I choose the healthiest green branch that is shooting almost straight up if possible and I remove any lateral branches of that particular branch so all the nutrients of that branch is focus on the new graft. AND I cut the branch about 6 inches to 10 inches from where that branch is attached to the main branch. I used to graft almost at the tip of a long branch so now that they have fruit I have to support that branch for them to stay on.

Thanks Guys for all the tips-- I think Lazz is probably right-- since I can't move these inground trees to the shade, I should wait until fall when we cool back to below 90s again. I was patient last summer and waited until we were consistiently below 90-- I think that was one of the keys to my beginners luck last year.

I will try one more Nules this Sat, but will wrap it in foil to see if that will help. I may try some additional temporary shade as well.

To me, the easiest and best time is NOW.
You ought to see my new grafts. They take and grow so fast in only a matter of a week. In 20 days I have buds sprouting.
Even my bananas, they are taking off like crazy right now.
But then the night and day time tempt is ideal right now.

Yeah Benny, I would really like to get a Nules started, but most of my recent attempts have been a waste of time. I did get one washington naval to take on my sister's grapefruit and I have not been back to check on the ones I did for my brother a little over a week ago.

My first bark graft was on the wild persimmon-- actually I was like you and did a whip/tounge graft on the 1/4 inch stock and one bark graft on the 1/2 inch stock--they both worked great. My attempts to use the bark graft on citrus (about 5 or 6 attempts) have all failed--in a matter of days usually.

I wish we were in that ideal temperature range, but we are in the 90's now til late Sept. even the lows will be in the 80s for most of the summer.

I'll take pics of my tooothpick size nules grafts and will post it here.