7 Best Plant Tape For Grafting Fruit Trees That Old Farmers Swear By
Secure successful fruit tree grafts with the right tape. Discover the 7 best options, from stretchable to biodegradable, that experienced farmers swear by.
When you’re standing in the orchard with a sharp knife and a promising scion, the last thing you want to worry about is your tape. The right grafting tape is more than just a wrap; it’s the crucial bandage that protects your new union and ensures it heals into a productive tree. Choosing the wrong kind can mean a failed graft, wasted time, and a lost season.
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Why the Right Grafting Tape Is So Crucial
Grafting is surgery for trees, and the tape is your suture and bandage all in one. Its first job is to hold the cambium layers of the scion and rootstock in firm, continuous contact. Without that pressure, the vascular tissues can’t merge, and the graft will fail. It’s as simple as that.
But the tape does more than just apply pressure. It creates a waterproof seal, preventing the delicate, cut surfaces from drying out before they can heal. It also acts as a barrier, keeping out rainwater that can introduce disease and rot into the vulnerable wound. A good tape balances these needs—providing strength without girdling the tree as it grows.
Parafilm M: The Professional’s Go-To Choice
You’ll find a roll of Parafilm M in almost any serious grafter’s kit, and for good reason. This waxy, stretchy film is self-sealing and breathable. As you stretch it, it becomes sticky and conforms perfectly to every nook and cranny of the graft union, creating an excellent moisture barrier that still allows for gas exchange.
The key thing to understand about Parafilm is that it’s a sealer, not a binder. It has very little structural strength. You wrap it over the entire scion and union to lock in moisture, but you’ll almost always need to overlay it with something stronger, like a rubber band or poly tape, to provide the actual pressure needed to hold the graft tight. It eventually breaks down in the sun, so you don’t have to worry about removing it.
Buddy Tape: For Superior Stretch and Sealing
Think of Buddy Tape as Parafilm’s high-performance cousin. It’s designed specifically for grafting and budding, and it excels at its job. The most amazing feature is its incredible elasticity; it can stretch to over eight times its original length, allowing you to get a very tight, secure wrap with just a small piece.
Like Parafilm, Buddy Tape is self-adhesive and breathable, but it also contains a UV inhibitor that helps it break down naturally over several months. This is a huge time-saver, as you don’t have to come back and cut it off. The only real trade-off is the cost. Buddy Tape is significantly more expensive than other options, but for valuable grafts or for folks who value convenience, many find the high success rate and reduced labor make it worth every penny.
A.M. Leonard Poly Tape: A Reliable Workhorse
This is the straightforward, no-nonsense option that just plain works. A.M. Leonard’s grafting tape is a simple, non-adhesive polyethylene strip. It’s strong, slightly stretchy, and provides excellent pressure to hold a graft union securely. You simply wrap it tightly and tie it off with a knot.
Because it’s not sticky, it’s easy to handle, even with gloves on. However, its strength is also its main drawback: it will not break down on its own. You absolutely must remember to come back in a few months and cut it off once the graft has taken. Forgetting to do so will girdle and kill the branch. It’s a cheap and effective tool, but it requires that final bit of follow-through.
Flexiband Rubber Strips for Strong Pressure
When you need consistent, powerful pressure, especially for techniques like T-budding or chip budding, rubber strips are fantastic. These are essentially specialized, heavy-duty rubber bands. You stretch them as you wrap, and the natural tension of the rubber pulls the union together tightly from all angles.
The best part about rubber strips is that they are designed to be photodegradable. After a few weeks or months of exposure to sunlight, they become brittle and break apart on their own, eliminating the risk of girdling. This makes them a great "wrap it and forget it" option for applying pressure, though you’ll still want to wrap the bud itself with Parafilm to prevent it from drying out.
Zenport Clear Tape for Monitoring Your Grafts
For beginners, one of the hardest parts of grafting is trusting that things are working under the wrap. Clear vinyl tape, like the kind Zenport offers, solves this problem. It allows you to see the graft union, confirming your cambium alignment is good and letting you watch for the first signs of callus formation without disturbing the seal.
This visual feedback is invaluable when you’re learning. The tape is strong and provides good pressure, but like the poly tape, it is not self-adhesive and must be tied off. It also isn’t breathable and will not degrade, so marking your calendar to remove it is non-negotiable. It’s a great training tool that helps build confidence.
Farm-Grade PVC Tape: The Economical Option
Sometimes, you just need to get a lot of grafts done without breaking the bank. That’s where basic PVC tape comes in. It’s essentially a more flexible, UV-resistant version of electrical tape, but without the gummy adhesive. It has a good amount of stretch, allowing you to pull it tight and create a strong, waterproof bind.
This is a purely functional choice. It seals well and holds tight, but it offers no breathability and will absolutely strangle a growing branch if left on too long. For large-scale bench grafting or field grafting where cost is a major factor, it’s a practical solution. Just be diligent about removing it once the union has healed.
Old-Timer’s Waxed Cambric: A DIY Method
Before modern plastics, grafters used what they had: cloth and wax. Waxed cambric tape is just a thin cotton strip impregnated with a melted mixture of beeswax and rosin. You can still buy it, but many old-timers just make their own by dipping strips of old bedsheets into a pot of grafting wax.
Wrapping with waxed cloth provides a breathable, waterproof seal that molds nicely to the graft. It’s a slower, more deliberate process that connects you to the history of the craft. While it’s not as fast or convenient as a roll of Buddy Tape, it’s incredibly satisfying and effective, and the materials are cheap and sustainable. It’s a perfect choice for the hobbyist who enjoys the process as much as the result.
Ultimately, the best grafting tape is the one that fits your budget, your technique, and your personal workflow. There is no single magic bullet; a professional with 500 rootstocks to graft has different needs than a backyard orchardist trying to add a single variety. Experiment with a couple of different types to see what gives you the most confidence and the best results.
