Paraffin

PARAFFIN – The use of melted paraffin to cover grafts instead of the familiar grafting wax, received considerable attention following successful experiments with it in connection with work on nut trees reported about 1920 by Dr. Robert T. Morris of Connecticut. He found that it was convenient and cleanly to use, afforded protection to the graft from moisture and infection, admitted the helpful light rays and thereby hastened the union of stock and scion, and in general greatly simplified the previously difficult problem of nut grafting. From his work and recommendation that not only the graft but the entire scion be covered with the melted (but not hot) paraffin, developed the now quite common practice of dipping the entire top of dormant plants, such as rose bushes and some fruit trees, in paraffin to check evaporation and keep them in better condition between digging and storage.

This treatment became widespread among nurserymen, especially in connection with the so-called packaged roses, in which the roots are embedded and sealed in a mass of peat moss, the whole plant being enclosed in a carton for sale by department and hardware stores, etc. Paraffining has also been practiced on budded plants, but with somewhat less success, owing to the greater susceptibility of the tender buds to injury. Nevertheless, the use of paraffin, which can he obtained anywhere and kept in the right condition for application with a soft brush in a simple heating pot, as an easy method of covering any sort of propagation wound and of preventing evaporation and drying of the tops of dormant, deciduous plants, can well be investigated by home gardeners. Information about the latest developments and recommendations in the field can be obtained from State agricultural colleges and experiment stations.

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