Bruce... gigantea budding problems...

Bruce, have you budded gigantea before? If so did you bud onto multiflora? My new gigantea, budded onto multiflora, has just dropped off its understock. It was about 3ft long and growing nicely and then just dropped off. I've had this happen between gigantea and multiflora before as well. The previous one that I did myself grew to about 2ft long and then just dropped off as if the understock had rejected it. This one looked the same. I was wondering whether you've found any incompatibilities between gigantea and multiflora? I've snipped the gigantea up into cuttings to strike and budded three buds onto some Indica Major plants I had ready to go and so hopefully I will have saved it. I am curious, however, as to whether there may be some compatibility issues between gigantea or multiflora or if it is caused by something else like sudden drying out something I did wrong?

Simon, sorry about losing your Gigantea. I budded 20 two years ago and did not have any problems, also have two of these in pots that are secure. I don't think there is incompatability between the understock ( Multiflora) and Gigantea. I chip bud as mentioned and get very fast initial growth so find it necessary to cut the first initial cane to 6" which encourages one or two side shoots. When these canes grow to about 300mm I use a 750mm bamboo cane to stake them to.
Water shoots and new grafts need to be staked until they harden off. This takes around one year for grafted plants and 2 years to be sure the graft is 100% safe. The faster growth from good budding is more likely to create problems. Remember the pix I sent you of a 6 months old climber that had an 8 foot long main cane.
You could take the buds from the broken cane and budd these onto your rootstocks and ended up with half a dozen or more new plants. Gigantea buds are small so you could use your seed grown understocks in this emergency. Certainly better if you have prepared pencil thick understocks with lower buds removed. Sometimes the broken cane will shoot well if planted as an ownroot particularly if there is some of the understock adhering to the sion.
Hope this is helpful for you to save your Gigantea.

Oh well... I've budded all I could onto 'Indica Major' and prepared the rest as cuttings... so will see how it goes. Seems gigantea and I are destined to keep circling just out of reach of each other for a while yet I might put out an emergency request for pollen next season instead

I am pretty sure the broken section that was attached to the understock will grow roots from there and uncovered buds above will shoot. Plant in sand that has been carefully washed before hand.
If unsuccessiful please let me know. My Gigantea are still small being kept in 8" pots for just over a year. Will have to plant them this month because growth checked plants are never the same thereafter. There should be pollen available from these next Spring.

Best of luck. Bruce