Grafting 101

[markyscott]

Just use a chopstick to wedge the shoot against the side of the hole, remove the parafilm and we're good to go.


It's a good way to go if you want to keep all those side branches.

 

[Paulpash]

Good article. One tip regarding the exit hole of the thread graft. To avoid having the bark tear out place some masking tape on the exit side and ensure your drill goes through it. Carefully remove the tape and you now have a neat exit hole with minimal peripheral damage. This minimizes any die back around the hole and speeds healing once sealed.

 

[markyscott]

Good article. One tip regarding the exit hole of the thread graft. To avoid having the bark tear out place some masking tape on the exit side and ensure your drill goes through it. Carefully remove the tape and you now have a neat exit hole with minimal peripheral damage. This minimizes any die back around the hole and speeds healing once sealed.

Thanks Marie1uk! That's a great suggestion. I'll definitely do this next time.

Scott

 

[Giga]

Good stuff - i'm not new to grafting but this is great stuff. I'll be grafting some branches on my ume this next season

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Thanks Scott. Thread grafting is such a high percentage shot, I wish it was the answer to everything. I'd be shoving pine shoots and shimp whips through holes all day long! I'll have to show a thread graft I did on my Chishio JM last week. I got a little aggressive and it split lengthwise at the back of the hole. It's precarious, but still budding, so fingers crossed! I had been growing the shoot for 2 years just for this spot and would HATE to start over.

 

[markyscott]

Thanks Scott. Thread grafting is such a high percentage shot, I wish it was the answer to everything. I'd be shoving pine shoots and shimp whips through holes all day long! I'll have to show a thread graft I did on my Chishio JM last week. I got a little aggressive and it split lengthwise at the back of the hole. It's precarious, but still budding, so fingers crossed! I had been growing the shoot for 2 years just for this spot and would HATE to start over.

Thanks Brian. For those just starting out, thread grafting is a great place to start. It's one of the easiest grafts to get right. And please do post your JM graft. If you have some lessons learned from your experience, it would be great if you can share those as well.

 

[bwaynef]

Hi bwaynef - I'm sorry I missed your question. If it's budding well and you just repotted it, I would not graft this season. A good rule of thumb is that if you repot, don't graft and if you graft, don't repot. So let it grow this season and recover. Then evaluate next spring - you may have suitable buds by then. It's important to start with healthy material and the buds should be strong, but not too strong.

I mentioned that I was going to leave it alone this year and was concerned with what I can do to have scions available in the spring of 2018.

Thanks for the great visual reference.

 

[markyscott]

I mentioned that I was going to leave it alone this year and was concerned with what I can do to have scions available in the spring of 2018.

Thanks for the great visual reference.

Hi bwaynef. You may have some suitable buds, but you'll have to evaluate next spring. Typically the apical buds are too strong, but you may have some medium strength buds that could work. I don't believe you have to do anything special. Let's just see how it grows and take a look next spring. Feel free to post here if you need some help selecting scions.

 

[Gustavo Martins]

It thread grafting possible only with maples or deciduous in general? Can this be used for evergreens (e.g. Olive, Ficus) as well?

 

[markyscott]

It thread grafting possible only with maples or deciduous in general? Can this be used for evergreens (e.g. Olive, Ficus) as well?

Hi Gustavo. I've done thread grafting with ficus. You just have to defoliate the branch first. I imagine you could do the same thing with olive, but I've never done so myself. I've grafted southern live oak, our local evergreen oak, but I've only used approach grafts on those.

 

[Paulpash]

It thread grafting possible only with maples or deciduous in general? Can this be used for evergreens (e.g. Olive, Ficus) as well?

I've thread grafted on many different deciduous species (oak, hawthorn, acer, prunus, Larch, cotoneaster, hornbeam) so I know all these take to the procedure well. With evergreen species you are struggling because you have to defoliate before being able to pass the scion through the hole. Doing this to many coniferous species will kill the branch so you're back to square one. Approach grafts are a better option for conifers if you're going down the 'graft while attached to donor' route. Ficus are very resilient so if you think the defoliated branch will bud back out and grow vigourously in your area then this could be an option for you.

 

[0soyoung]

I postponed grafting for far too long. I quickly learned that thread grafting is not well suited to thin 'trunks', but as 'everyone' says, it has a high success rate on 'thicker' trunks. Several physiological questions arose in the process of this acer palmatum thread graft I made last year (my first on this scale and my first such success).
In March 2016 looking at the entrance side: In Sep 2016:
Note how much thicker the thread is on the exit side in Sep.

Last season I got to asking myself what the difference is between thread grafting and threading a seedling through a tile. And for that matter what is the point of the wire tourniquet on the entry side.

• We know that putting a wire tourniquet around a stem will cause it to swell (get thicker) just above (the distal side where the branch tip is).
  • So IMHO, the point is NOT to wean the thread, but to make it fatten on the entrance side so that this wound will heal over faster after the graft has been separated.
  • Hence I applied the tourniquet soon after the tree had leafed out
• On the exit side we get the same type of swelling
  • Wouldn't one get roots here if it was kept damp (i.e., pack damp sphagnum around it just like a layer or damp substrate just like a seedling through a tile)?
  • HINT: yes!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

The scion for this thread graft was grown out for a couple years to replace the awkward left branch that appears from the base of the first left branch. It will be positioned between the #2 and #3 branches on the right. The photos show:
1. Ready to work. Notice how the scion goes vertical, it was cut, then bends back toward the tree.
2. Hole drilled.
3. Threaded through.
4. Close up.
5. Complete.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

The spot I pointed out in #1 above was where it split. The cut was right against the trunk. I definitely pushed it too far, but it is important to get buds positioned right at the exit so the first node is close to the trunk. It went fine until I was finished, the it just gave way and ran like a hangnail.
1. Shows the front of the graft, and buds swelling from today.
2. Shows the back of the graft. As soon as it split, I guy-wired the branch to the trunk to take the pressure off, and covered it with cut paste.
3. Shows the thread graft from above. It is important to get the tips out and away from the canopy, into sunlight so it will grow strong and not get shaded out.
4. Full tree. It really needs to be repotted, but I don't want to move it and risk the graft, so I'll chance it this year. It's been repotted annually for the last 10 years.

 

[markyscott]

The spot I pointed out in #1 above was where it split. The cut was right against the trunk. I definitely pushed it too far, but it is important to get buds positioned right at the exit so the first node is close to the trunk. It went fine until I was finished, the it just gave way and ran like a hangnail.
1. Shows the front of the graft, and buds swelling from today.
2. Shows the back of the graft. As soon as it split, I guy-wired the branch to the trunk to take the pressure off, and covered it with cut paste.
3. Shows the thread graft from above. It is important to get the tips out and away from the canopy, into sunlight so it will grow strong and not get shaded out.
4. Full tree. It really needs to be repotted, but I don't want to move it and risk the graft, so I'll chance it this year. It's been repotted annually for the last 10 years.
View attachment 134562 View attachment 134563 View attachment 134564 View attachment 134565

Nice lesson and great tree, Brian. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[markyscott]

I postponed grafting for far too long. I quickly learned that thread grafting is not well suited to thin 'trunks', but as 'everyone' says, it has a high success rate on 'thicker' trunks. Several physiological questions arose in the process of this acer palmatum thread graft I made last year (my first on this scale and my first such success).
In March 2016 looking at the entrance side: View attachment 134551 In Sep 2016: View attachment 134552
Note how much thicker the thread is on the exit side in Sep.

Last season I got to asking myself what the difference is between thread grafting and threading a seedling through a tile. And for that matter what is the point of the wire tourniquet on the entry side.

• We know that putting a wire tourniquet around a stem will cause it to swell (get thicker) just above (the distal side where the branch tip is).
  • So IMHO, the point is NOT to wean the thread, but to make it fatten on the entrance side so that this wound will heal over faster after the graft has been separated.
  • Hence I applied the tourniquet soon after the tree had leafed out
• On the exit side we get the same type of swelling
  • Wouldn't one get roots here if it was kept damp (i.e., pack damp sphagnum around it just like a layer or damp substrate just like a seedling through a tile)?
  • HINT: yes!

Thanks Oso! I appreciate you sharing your experience. I'm a believer in weaning the graft, though. The tourniquet may do exactly what you say, which I'm sure helps. But I've cut grafts that appeared to have swollen and calloused without weaning, only to watch the branch die immediately. So I suggest going slow and not separating the graft in one go. The tourniquet helps with that too.

Also, you might consider removing the leaves on the shoot below the graft union. Only keep the leaves on the part of the shoot you're going to keep.

 

[0soyoung]

Also, you might consider removing the leaves on the shoot below the graft union. Only keep the leaves on the part of the shoot you're going to keep.

To a certain extent, I agree. It pays to be prudent.

However, IMHO, this is a pretty convincing demonstration of the effects of polar auxin transport (PAT). Even though there is foliage nearby, the entrance side stem didn't thicken much, if at all, over an entire season (in my second photo, PAT goes from right to left). Minerals and water go 'up' (left to right) in the xylem; the output of the foliage (photosynthate and auxin) goes the opposite direction (right to left) in the phloem (aka, outer bark).

I severed the threaded stem on the entrance side just after leaf-drop. The graft is healthy and the entrance wound looks just like a small branch had been pruned (which doesn't prove much of anything AFIK). One such small branch pruning wound can also be seen in this pic I just took.



Anyway, grafting is fun stuff!
Provided, of course that one thinks ahead

 

[markyscott]

To a certain extent, I agree. It pays to be prudent.

However, IMHO, this is a pretty convincing demonstration of the effects of polar auxin transport (PAT). Even though there is foliage nearby, the entrance side stem didn't thicken much, if at all, over an entire season (in my second photo, PAT goes from right to left). Minerals and water go 'up' (left to right) in the xylem; the output of the foliage (photosynthate and auxin) goes the opposite direction (right to left) in the phloem (aka, outer bark).

I severed the threaded stem on the entrance side just after leaf-drop. The graft is healthy and the entrance wound looks just like a small branch had been pruned (which doesn't prove much of anything AFIK). One such small branch pruning wound can also be seen in this pic I just took.

View attachment 134593

Anyway, grafting is fun stuff!
Provided, of course that one thinks ahead

Looks healthy, Oso. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[markyscott]

Another thread grafting example in pictures.



Super easy. If you've never grafted before, this is the one to start with.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

I postponed grafting for far too long. I quickly learned that thread grafting is not well suited to thin 'trunks', but as 'everyone' says, it has a high success rate on 'thicker' trunks. Several physiological questions arose in the process of this acer palmatum thread graft I made last year (my first on this scale and my first such success).
In March 2016 looking at the entrance side: View attachment 134551 In Sep 2016: View attachment 134552
Note how much thicker the thread is on the exit side in Sep.

Last season I got to asking myself what the difference is between thread grafting and threading a seedling through a tile. And for that matter what is the point of the wire tourniquet on the entry side.

• We know that putting a wire tourniquet around a stem will cause it to swell (get thicker) just above (the distal side where the branch tip is).
  • So IMHO, the point is NOT to wean the thread, but to make it fatten on the entrance side so that this wound will heal over faster after the graft has been separated.
  • Hence I applied the tourniquet soon after the tree had leafed out
• On the exit side we get the same type of swelling
  • Wouldn't one get roots here if it was kept damp (i.e., pack damp sphagnum around it just like a layer or damp substrate just like a seedling through a tile)?
  • HINT: yes!

Regarding the tourniquet at entrance site, that is some really good thinking, 0so! Nice to keep the in mind for any creative work.

Keep us updated, @Brian Van Fleet .
Great stuff, @markyscott .