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Grafting tape for fruit trees

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are bench-grafting an apple or a pear while the wood is still dormant, and you need grafting tape for fruit trees that will cover a pencil-thick union and come off again. In the United Kingdom the Royal Horticultural Society puts whip-and-tongue grafting in March or early April, on rootstocks planted about twelve months earlier. The tie is grafting tape or raffia. This page stays with that calendar and the stated 2 cm and 3 cm rolls, priced from £4.69 to £7.39. It does not teach the spiral. The listings stay on the [grafting tape comparison](/hub/garden-tree-and-hedge-shears/grafting-tape). Peter F. set the dates on 21 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are bench-grafting an apple or a pear while the wood is still dormant, and you need grafting tape for fruit trees that will cover a pencil-thick union and come off again.

Our top picks

Bailinks Bailinks (2 polyethylene rolls)

Best overall

Bailinks Bailinks (2 polyethylene rolls)
7.3/10about £5.89
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SKYPRO SKYPRO (PVC 100 m)

Best value

SKYPRO SKYPRO (PVC 100 m)
7.1/10about £4.99
View offer
Detetap Detetap (polyolefin roll)

Rank 3

Detetap Detetap (polyolefin roll)
7.5/10about £5.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.March or early April, apples and pears
  2. 2.Pencil-thick wood
  3. 3.A stated 2 cm or 3 cm roll
  4. 4.When the tie comes off

March or early April, apples and pears

Collect scion wood in December or January, shoots about 23 cm, then graft in March or early April onto a rootstock planted about a year earlier. The prepared scion is three or four buds. Workshop notes sometimes start pears from about mid-February because the wood moves in store. That does not replace the Royal Horticultural Society’s window. Pears on quince can need an interstock. The People’s Trust for Endangered Species names Comice as a pear that often does. Chip budding waits until mid-summer. Rose T-budding wants a rubber tie or damp raffia. The spiral is on how to use grafting tape.

Pencil-thick wood

The Royal Horticultural Society puts the scion at about 8 mm, pencil thick, and the sloping cut at about 5 cm. A shop guide that puts both pieces at about 25 mm contradicts that line. A 10 g or 20 g pack is the wrong object if you thought you were buying 100 m. kcrnw is 10 g. SwiftCartSZH is 20 g. ACKKOR’s sleeves stop at 7.5 mm, below the pencil line. For this wood you want a stated film width. The buying order is on the grafting tape buying guide.
Bailinks Bailinks (2 polyethylene rolls)

Testsieger

Bailinks Bailinks (2 polyethylene rolls)
7.3/10about £5.89
View offer

A stated 2 cm or 3 cm roll

Either stated width can cover an 8 mm union. This page does not rank 2 cm above 3 cm. SKYPRO states 2 cm by 100 m of PVC at £4.99, with 4.3 from 209 reviews. The title says bio-degradable and the material line says PVC. METERXITY states 125 m by 2 cm, and both packs share one 4.2 from 30. Detetap states 3 cm by 100 m at £5.99. The bullets say polyolefin and a little wax, and the material field says polyethylene. Bailinks says about 100 m by 3 cm on two rolls at £5.89, with a UK note of about 50 apple grafts. Wufaa’s 100 m bullet clashes with dimensions of 5 by 3 by 1 cm. Yurifaz states widths and no metres.

When the tie comes off

The Royal Horticultural Society says to remove the tie when a callus is clearly visible, about eight weeks. Suffolk Fruit and Trees describes growers who leave a stretchy tie until August and then unwind it. Those are two UK notes, not one rule, and not a third date in between. PVC here has no decay test. If the film is biting into bark, cut it. Do not take scion wood from a tree with a nest in use. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is the reason. One listing per job is on best grafting tape.

Common questions

When do you whip-and-tongue an apple or a pear in the UK?
The Royal Horticultural Society says March or early April, on rootstocks planted about twelve months earlier. Scion wood is collected in December or January, about 23 cm, and kept heeled in or in a dry bag in the fridge. Some workshop notes start pears from about mid-February because the wood moves in store. That earlier start does not replace the Society’s window for the job as a whole.
How thick should the scion and the rootstock be?
About 8 mm for the scion, pencil thick, and the rootstock the same or a little thicker. The sloping cut is about 5 cm, and the prepared scion on the bench is three or four buds. A guide that puts both pieces at about 25 mm contradicts the 8 mm line. Cambium has to meet along the cut. The tape does not correct a mismatch in thickness.
Is a 2 cm roll or a 3 cm roll the one that matches that wood?
Either stated width can cover an 8 mm union. This set prints 2 cm on SKYPRO’s 100 m PVC roll and on METERXITY’s 125 m PVC rolls, and about 3 cm on Detetap, on Bailinks, and on Wufaa’s bullet. They are not ranked against each other here. A title that says 2 cm by 100 m on a 10 g pack is not the same statement.
When does the Royal Horticultural Society say to take the tie off?
When a callus is clearly visible, about eight weeks, on a whip-and-tongue bound with grafting tape or raffia. Suffolk Fruit and Trees describes growers who leave a stretchy tie until August and then unwind it after cutting the knot. Those are two UK notes. They are not averaged into a third date. If the film is biting, cut it.
Can the silicone sleeves cover pencil-thick wood?
ACKKOR states 3–7.5 mm. Pencil thick, on the Royal Horticultural Society’s page, is about 8 mm, which is outside that range. The bullets name apple and pear, and they still stop at 7.5 mm. Use a sleeve only on a union you have measured inside the stated band. For an 8 mm whip-and-tongue, use a stated film roll.
Is summer chip-budding the same job?
No. Chip budding runs from mid-summer to early autumn, and the bud and leaf stalk stay uncovered. The March or early April whip-and-tongue is dormant wood, bound firmly, and uncovered when the callus shows. Using the summer clock on a March graft, or covering a chip because the March wrap was a full spiral, mixes two methods.
What wood must you not cut?
Do not take scions from a tree with a nest in use, and do not bring plant material back from abroad. A roll of tape is not a plant passport. Stop and get help for a large limb over a path or a roof, a possible tree preservation order, imported scion wood, or a suspected quarantine pest. The film will not make those cuts safe.

Related pages

Grafting knife

Grafting tape

Best grafting tape: a long roll, wax line or sleeve

Grafting tape buying guide: material, length, then price

How to use grafting tape: stretch, overlap, bud out

Parafilm vs PVC grafting tape: wax wording or cut it

Sources

Public sources used for graft timing, removal, the Parafilm description, plant health and the Consumer Rights Act. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved on 21 October 2026. Named Parafilm at £13 is outside this set.

  1. RHS — grafting ornamental plants and fruit trees (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  2. RHS — chip budding (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  3. RHS — T-budding (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  4. Orchard Link — bench-grafting notes (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  5. Agroforestry Research Trust — Parafilm grafting tape (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  6. Amcor — Parafilm grafting tape technical sheet (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  8. UK Plant Health Information Portal (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  9. GOV.UK — plant health controls (retrieved 21.10.2026)