I was recently given a small tree that had the top nearly severed - it's just hanging on by the bark on one side. I'm thinking of trying to graft the top to another rootstock, and wondering if I should just lop the thing off and do a whip graft or try an approach graft while it is still connected. With the whip (or perhaps a banana - has anyone tried a banana graft on a citrus?), one challenge would be to keep the top secure while the graft was healing - we are talking about an ~1/3 inch diameter tree with a fairly full top and a drip line diameter of 1.5 to 2 feet - but I could probably rig up enough stakes to steady it. More seriously, I would query whether the top would survive the stress of being completely severed- it's significantly larger and fuller than anything I've grafted before. An approach graft would allay this concern, allowing the top to draw from its current rootstock until the graft takes, but I would be concerned over the ultimate strength of the graft. I have no experience with approach grafts, but some of the (admittedly young) approach grafts I have seen have looked somewhat.. tenuous; are they as strong as other grafts once healed and mature?
Thanks,
ES