New Member, first time poster and soon first time grafter..

I've read through most of the forum now, and have not seen a clear answer for this:

In reference to polar direction -East, West, North, South ... where should I place my graft? I suspect it makes no difference.

The trees I am planning to graft on are a fully grown navel and a full grown valencia -- both at least 15 years old. and 10 - 12 feet tall. They both see full sun.

I live in Santa Paula, CA. Will be doing a bark graft with Meyer Lemon, Lisbon Lemon, and Oro Blanco grapefruit, and an unknown wonderful lime..

Also, if anyone has any info about Gene Lester Ranch (tour dates, location, etc), I woudl really appreciate a PM.

Thanks

Joe is the real expert on this, but he has been busy with family lately. I asked him about the grafting factors that influence subsequent growth earlier this year--you may be able to find the post. He said the vigor of the scion buds and the limb it is placed on are primary factors. Second is the location relative to the amount of sunlight it will get. Other factors like location relative to height, and orientation do not matter that much.

As for factors affecting success, speed is very high on the list, cleanliness is also important--use alcohol or disinfectant, appearance (neat -perfect fit) is not that high. So practice cutting your buds on some spare limbs-- cut and open the T before you cut the bud ( I use the top of a bic ink pen to hold the T open) then when you cut the bud, slip it directly into the T slot and wrap it.

If nothing goes wrong, I can do that in 5-10 seconds ( from cutting to inserting). My first attempts were about 65 %--now I get about 80%--still nowhere near as good as Joe.