Grafting 101

[0soyoung]

If that's the case then I should be golden. They're all threaded through and wedged to the top and wired out so they get plenty of sun.

ding, ding, ding!
WE (will) HAVE A WINNER

 

[markyscott]

Refinement of a technique - detached scion grafting. This was the first grafting technique discussed in this thread in which a scion cut from the same or different tree. In the pictures and videos I showed on the subject, the wedge was made with one cut on the understock. When grafting to a branch on the understock that is much larger than the scion, try three parallel cuts instead like in this picture from Boon:


It will reduce pressure on the scion and reduce the tendency for the scion to be pushed out of the cut.

Scott

 

[Rodrigo]

Watch your grafts throughout the growing season. When you see this, it's time to act:
View attachment 134497

You're looking for callousing where the shoot exits the trunk and a noticeable difference in thickness - the shoot is now thicker where it EXITS the trunk than where it ENTERS. This means that the newly grafted shoot is starting to take nutrients up on its own. One might be tempted to remove it now - but resist this temptation. Now it's time to wean the graft from the branch.

Here's what I mean - first, take a sharp knife and scrape the bark and cambium off on opposite sides of the branch.
View attachment 134498
View attachment 134500

Then take a small wire and wrap it tightly around the branch. You want it tight so that as the branch grows, it will girdle itself.
View attachment 134499

This will force the shoot to take nutrients through the graft union rather than the stem of the shoot. This strengthens the union and reduces the reliance on the vascular system of the shoot. This is the first step to seperate the graft.

Hey @markyscott,

First off thank you very much for the write up on this thread. Extremely informative and I used it to graft a few branches on a trident this spring. Just rubbed the buds before the graft this morning.

Quick question, in the first picture on this post it looks like the middle shoot of the grafted branch has already been cut. At what point did you make that cut?

 

[markyscott]

Hey @markyscott,

First off thank you very much for the write up on this thread. Extremely informative and I used it to graft a few branches on a trident this spring. Just rubbed the buds before the graft this morning.

Quick question, in the first picture on this post it looks like the middle shoot of the grafted branch has already been cut. At what point did you make that cut?

I don’t recall this case in particular, but, in general, don’t prune until after the graft has taken and you’ve separated the scion. Once that’s done, you can prune normally, taking advantage of the bud placed close to the graft union to start building your branch.

S

 

[kapnobatai]

Hello all, noob here, just landed here after looking for a way to shorten the understock/rootstock.
I've bought recently 2 grafted conifers, a 1year old cryptomeria japonica and a 2 year old picea abies.
They are grafted pretty high on the rootstock (aprox. 30cm on a 40cm rootstock) so I was wondering if it is possible to shorten the rootstock.
If so, which would be the best way and when?
Many thanks!

 

[Shibui]

They are grafted pretty high on the rootstock (aprox. 30cm on a 40cm rootstock) so I was wondering if it is possible to shorten the rootstock.
If so, which would be the best way and when?

There's a number of different ways to shorten trunks. Probably the easiest is to layer where you want new roots. Air layer if it is up higher or ground layer if the new roots are closer to soil level.
Layers are not always successful on thin stems so I'd probably let both those grow for a couple of years before attempting any work.

 

[kapnobatai]

thanks for the reply. wouldn t be possible to cut the stem, take a piece out and tape it back? do you think it would heal?
The breeder who sold them to me told me that is possible and that she will explain me how but I guess it s going to take a while and I'm very curious to find out

 

[SeanS]

Here's another trap.
View attachment 135538

This picture comes from Eric Schrader's blog. It's a successful, but poorly executed graft. First, the scion was grafted perpendicular to the trunk and second, the cut wasn't deep enough. This graft will never look good. It's especially important with junipers to graft along the grain - junipers have a very linear vascular system and cutting a groove perpendicular to the grain can damage a lot of it. Cutting a groove parallel to the grain will minimize the distrubance to the living vein.

@markyscott you’ve advised to avoid grafting against the grain, but what about “downstream” with the grain? More specifically can JBP be grafted with the scion pointing down or does it have to be in the direction of sap flow?

 

[River's Edge]

More specifically can JBP be grafted with the scion pointing down or does it have to be in the direction of sap flow?

I believe post #202 in this thread illustrates the aspect you are interested in. And as pointed out a good technique to improve results.

 

[Nivel]

@markyscott you’ve advised to avoid grafting against the grain, but what about “downstream” with the grain? More specifically can JBP be grafted with the scion pointing down or does it have to be in the direction of sap flow?

I think so. Starting at 7:49 you can see this case.

 

[markyscott]

@markyscott you’ve advised to avoid grafting against the grain, but what about “downstream” with the grain? More specifically can JBP be grafted with the scion pointing down or does it have to be in the direction of sap flow?

View attachment 474530

I have absolutely oriented the scions this way in successful grafts before. It’s a good technique if you are interested in growing branches that exit the trunk downward.

S

 

[SeanS]

I have absolutely oriented the scions this way in successful grafts before. It’s a good technique if you are interested in growing branches that exit the trunk downward.

S

Great, thanks Scott! I’ve been seeing some Japanese videos of grafting on mame/shohin JBP recently (like the one @Nivel posted above) but thought I had read somewhere that grafts should be in the direction of sap flow in pines. I’ll be grafting a shohin JBP soon and wanted to confirm before I did so. With shohin I feel there’s less space on a graft to get a good downward angled branch without an awkward bow/arc if your graft is pointing upwards to begin with.