Maxifort Brandywine Graft

chancey47 · July 30, 2013

I have been struggling with grafting since February. I decided to start with one variety just to see how it would go. I chose Brandywine since it is kind of an heirloom standard. I chose Maxifort for the rootstock as it seemed to be the variety most mentioned in tomato grafting. It is now July and I have not had one successful graft...well, not until I put an Enchantment sucker on Maxifort. I did several just out of frustration and most of them took in a matter of days. So it appears that my method is adequate for some success, but why can't I get one Brandywine to stick, out of probably 50 I have tried? The seeds for both varieties are from Johnny's, germination was great on both. Anybody got any thoughts? Thanks!

aclum · July 30, 2013

Hi Chancey,

I don't have the reference at hand, but I recall reading that certain scions and rootstocks are incompatible due to a "clash" (for lack of a better term) of the TMV genotypes of each. I haven't been able to find out much about this, but I did notice in ordering some rootstock seeds from DP Seeds distributor that their 105 and 106 had different TMV resistance genotypes noted and differences in their resistance to TMV.

http://www.dpseeds.com/rootstock

The genotype info is no doubt very useful for the commercial greenhouse grower who knows the genotype of their scion, but for someone who doesn't have a clue (like me), it seems like one would just have to determine compatibility by trial and error.

What you might do is to post to the "big grafting thread" (probably on page 2 or 3 of the general discussion) and ask if anyone has had problems grafting brandywine to maxifort. And, maybe, who has had successful brandywine grafts and what rootstock did they use?

Anne

Delerium · July 30, 2013

I was able to graft both Brandywine and Brandyboy on a multiple grafted plant. I had no issues. They took rather quickly to. The first picture healed within 9 days. The Rootstock is not Maxifort its Beaufort.

bitterwort · July 30, 2013

If you're trying to graft the potato-leaved pink Brandywine (rather than regular-leaved red), you might try trimming most of the leaves off the scion. Large leaves can lose water faster than small leaves, so they're harder for the plant to support before the graft heals and the vascular tissue from the rootstock is supplying the scion. I tend to trim off the older leaves on potato-leaved forms especially. I had some that initially wilted and looked as if they would fail, only to have them recover and succeed if I clipped off leaves or half of the leaf and put them back in the healing chamber.

chancey47 · July 31, 2013

Post Script: I am using the potato leafed variety and now have several scions that have been pruned down to just a few small leaves due to repeated attempts with the same scion. So far they are holding their own. I will post a reply to this thread in a week or so to let you know how it worked out. Thanks to all for your ideas!

DavidP · July 31, 2013

I've had good success with Maxifort and the Red brandywine variety, which is regular leaved, harvesting now

Red brandywine with and without maxifort rootstock, grafted plant on left with yellow label

z_willus_d · July 31, 2013

I'll add my experience, having had no particular difficulty (more than the rest) grafting 3 Cowlick's Brandywine and one Sudduth's BW to Maxifort.

How were the grafts you attempted rejected? Did they wilt? Did you pickup mildew? Have you followed all the tips doled out in the grafting thread?
-n

chancey47 · August 3, 2013

The jury is in and it looks like this graft simply does not work. I have attached a photo of a recent graft. As you can see the scion is rooting and the rootstock is producing new growth. This is a fairly recent development, but it demonstrates that my husbandry is adequate for this to happen. Mostly, the graft just doesn't heal except both parts just scab over at the graft site. The graft can be easily separated after more than a week. The Enchantment grafts that I did were solid in a few days. The varieties that I am using are both from Johnny's (no reflection on their products, I am pleased with everything that I got from them). The varieties are Maxifort F1, Hybrid Rootstock Tomatoes and their Heirloom Tall Vine Brandywine. Hope this info helps other struggling grafters. I did not have one successful graft out of over 50 that I attempted. Thanks to the community for its input.

b54red · August 3, 2013

I also had trouble grafting Brandywine Sudduth's and Cowlicks to Multifort. I did get some good grafts and great plants from using Floralina as a rootstock. Floralina seems to be a really good rootstock and none of the grafts using it have died from fusarium even this late in the year. I will certainly be using it again because of the good results. I would love to find a cheaper source for the Floralina seed though. All of the grafts that I did with Multifort are recent additions to the garden so I don't really have much in the way of results yet. Hopefully I will be setting out the last of them late this afternoon.

Bill

ChrisK · August 3, 2013

We almost need a sub forum for grafting!

horticultor · August 8, 2013

Have grafted several Brandywine OTVs onto Maxifort in recent weeks with a success rate around 80%. However, I have to baby this combination more than any other, exposing to light and lowering humidity more gradually (almost a week after removing from total darkness). Even while they're still in total darkness, I hand mist them once a day during dark hours, though some experts say you shouldn't. Even then, unlike other scions, they're often still in a somewhat wilted condition even when ready for longer exposure to indirect sunlight. But if I hand mist them even while they're still in indirect light, they can recover nicely and thrive.

beeman · August 8, 2013

I have recently found a good article on grafting herehttp://therealgarden.com/2011/04/tom...g-time-to-cut/ in it he talks of the colour of the stems where he grafts.
I have never seen this mentioned in any other article I've read on grafting.

horticultor · August 9, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by beeman

I have recently found a good article on grafting herehttp://therealgarden.com/2011/04/tom...g-time-to-cut/ in it he talks of the colour of the stems where he grafts.
I have never seen this mentioned in any other article I've read on grafting.

This may be the best thing I've yet seen on the actual grafting process. Thanks for posting it!

chancey47 · August 10, 2013

As soon as I posted my conclusion, that this graft was incompatible, three of them appear to have taken (clearly Murphy's Law at work here.) The links posted by beeman are an excellent source and, it appears, that I managed to get the conditions right out of sheer persistence. Even a blind hog gets an acorn once in a while. This thread should give anybody, new to grafting as I am, enough information to have some success. Thanks to all who have contributed, your selflessness is commendable.

July 30, 2013	#1
chancey47 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Illinois USA Posts: 6	Maxifort Brandywine Graft I have been struggling with grafting since February. I decided to start with one variety just to see how it would go. I chose Brandywine since it is kind of an heirloom standard. I chose Maxifort for the rootstock as it seemed to be the variety most mentioned in tomato grafting. It is now July and I have not had one successful graft...well, not until I put an Enchantment sucker on Maxifort. I did several just out of frustration and most of them took in a matter of days. So it appears that my method is adequate for some success, but why can't I get one Brandywine to stick, out of probably 50 I have tried? The seeds for both varieties are from Johnny's, germination was great on both. Anybody got any thoughts? Thanks!

July 30, 2013	#4
bitterwort Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MN Zone4b Posts: 292	If you're trying to graft the potato-leaved pink Brandywine (rather than regular-leaved red), you might try trimming most of the leaves off the scion. Large leaves can lose water faster than small leaves, so they're harder for the plant to support before the graft heals and the vascular tissue from the rootstock is supplying the scion. I tend to trim off the older leaves on potato-leaved forms especially. I had some that initially wilted and looked as if they would fail, only to have them recover and succeed if I clipped off leaves or half of the leaf and put them back in the healing chamber. __________________ Bitterwort

July 31, 2013	#5
chancey47 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Illinois USA Posts: 6	Follow-up Post Script: I am using the potato leafed variety and now have several scions that have been pruned down to just a few small leaves due to repeated attempts with the same scion. So far they are holding their own. I will post a reply to this thread in a week or so to let you know how it worked out. Thanks to all for your ideas!

August 3, 2013	#10
ChrisK Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 1,448	We almost need a sub forum for grafting! __________________ Blog: chriskafer.wordpress.com Ignorance more frequently begets knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science. --Charles Darwin

August 10, 2013	#14
chancey47 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Illinois USA Posts: 6	Follow-up #2 Murphy's Law As soon as I posted my conclusion, that this graft was incompatible, three of them appear to have taken (clearly Murphy's Law at work here.) The links posted by beeman are an excellent source and, it appears, that I managed to get the conditions right out of sheer persistence. Even a blind hog gets an acorn once in a while. This thread should give anybody, new to grafting as I am, enough information to have some success. Thanks to all who have contributed, your selflessness is commendable.

July 30, 2013	#2
aclum Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Merced, CA Posts: 832	Hi Chancey, I don't have the reference at hand, but I recall reading that certain scions and rootstocks are incompatible due to a "clash" (for lack of a better term) of the TMV genotypes of each. I haven't been able to find out much about this, but I did notice in ordering some rootstock seeds from DP Seeds distributor that their 105 and 106 had different TMV resistance genotypes noted and differences in their resistance to TMV. http://www.dpseeds.com/rootstock The genotype info is no doubt very useful for the commercial greenhouse grower who knows the genotype of their scion, but for someone who doesn't have a clue (like me), it seems like one would just have to determine compatibility by trial and error. What you might do is to post to the "big grafting thread" (probably on page 2 or 3 of the general discussion) and ask if anyone has had problems grafting brandywine to maxifort. And, maybe, who has had successful brandywine grafts and what rootstock did they use? Anne

July 31, 2013	#6
DavidP Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Riverside, Southern California, USDA 9b, Sunset 19 Posts: 63	I've had good success with Maxifort and the Red brandywine variety, which is regular leaved, harvesting now Red brandywine with and without maxifort rootstock, grafted plant on left with yellow label

July 31, 2013	#7
z_willus_d Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Eastern Suburb of Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,313	I'll add my experience, having had no particular difficulty (more than the rest) grafting 3 Cowlick's Brandywine and one Sudduth's BW to Maxifort. How were the grafts you attempted rejected? Did they wilt? Did you pickup mildew? Have you followed all the tips doled out in the grafting thread? -n

August 3, 2013	#9
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I also had trouble grafting Brandywine Sudduth's and Cowlicks to Multifort. I did get some good grafts and great plants from using Floralina as a rootstock. Floralina seems to be a really good rootstock and none of the grafts using it have died from fusarium even this late in the year. I will certainly be using it again because of the good results. I would love to find a cheaper source for the Floralina seed though. All of the grafts that I did with Multifort are recent additions to the garden so I don't really have much in the way of results yet. Hopefully I will be setting out the last of them late this afternoon. Bill

August 8, 2013	#11
horticultor Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Waco, TX Posts: 23	Have grafted several Brandywine OTVs onto Maxifort in recent weeks with a success rate around 80%. However, I have to baby this combination more than any other, exposing to light and lowering humidity more gradually (almost a week after removing from total darkness). Even while they're still in total darkness, I hand mist them once a day during dark hours, though some experts say you shouldn't. Even then, unlike other scions, they're often still in a somewhat wilted condition even when ready for longer exposure to indirect sunlight. But if I hand mist them even while they're still in indirect light, they can recover nicely and thrive.

August 8, 2013	#12
beeman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 692	I have recently found a good article on grafting herehttp://therealgarden.com/2011/04/tom...g-time-to-cut/ in it he talks of the colour of the stems where he grafts. I have never seen this mentioned in any other article I've read on grafting.