Grafting

Matt Jakubik

History

ancient technique

practiced as early as 1,000 BC

employed widely by the Romans centuries later

Grafting

two different plants are united so they grow together as one

Scion - top - vegetative part

Stock - bottom - root part

Scion

Rootstock

Reasons for use

give plants stronger more disease resistant rootscause dwarfingtop working - grafting many different varieties to the limbs of one tree

Reasons for use

insert different variety for cross pollination

propagate plants difficult to bud

Requirements

compatibility

must be related to each other to enable the stock and scion to grow together

Requirements

Scion wood

one year old

vigorous growth

Requirements

Timing

stock and scion should be dormant or have no leaves

Matching of tissue

cambium of two matched plant parts must come in close contact with each other

cambium cannot be allowed to dry out

Waterproofing

immediately after making graft, cut surfaces must be covered with a waterproof grafting compound

Types of Grafts

Whip Graft

-- used when stock & scion are small and are the same size

Cleft Graft

-- used in topworking trees

-- stock is usually much larger than scion

Budding

Actually a form of grafting

A single bud is used instead of a scion

Budding is quicker

2 main types:

- T-budding & Chip Budding

T-budding

Scion and Rootstock must be compatible

Bark must be slipping

Examples: apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, and roses

Chip Budding

Very similar to T-budding

Advantage: wood can be dormant, bark doesn’t have to slip

Widely used for grapes

Layering

Asexual Propagation

Roots are formed on a stem

root while still attached to the parent plant

Asexual Propagation

the stem or root which is rooted is called a layer

the layer is removed from the plant only after rooting has taken place

Advantages and Disadvantagesrelatively simple

requires more time

requires a lot of work by hand

fewer plants can be started from each parent plant

Advantages and Disadvantagesusually very successful

some plants layer naturally - raspberry

Simple Layering

a branch from the parent plant is bent to the ground

covered with soil at one point

terminal end remains exposed

Air Layering

Ancient Chinese practiced air layering

process eliminates burying part of the plant in the soil

Air Layering

instead, a part of the stem is girdled

cut all the way around

the cut is surrounded by moist sphagnum or peat moss

Air Layering

Moss is wrapped with plastic to hold in place

roots grow from the wound on the stem