Plant grafting plays an important role for gardeners and hobby gardeners. We have a short summary for you of what it is all about.
Plant grafting is an indirect form of plant propagation that takes place on a vegetative basis. In Germany, this step is also known as art in the garden and thus enjoys immense interest, especially from a visual point of view.
Reasons for grafting plants
In the case of natural propagation of plants, the positive properties of the mother plant are partially lost. Plant grafting is intended to counteract this. With this method one can preserve the plant itself and also its beneficial properties. In addition, propagation via cuttings and seeds usually takes much longer than grafting. As a result, you will get a higher quality plant in less time.
How to refine
Refining takes place roughly in two steps. The first thing you need to do is take a young branch (the budding) from the plant you want to get. You then place this on a plant that serves as a root replacement system (the rootstock). This can result in other growth forms, but also new flowers or fruits.
Refining Techniques
While dormant periods associated with plant grafting rely primarily on copulation and goatsfoot grafting, bark plug grafting and oculation play an important role during growth phases.
Tip: Read also our article "Grafting plants - 3 methods explained".
Which plants can be grafted?
Grafting is only possible with nudibranchs or dicotyledonous plants, as only these have a cambium, which is essential for the growth process. As a rule, woody plants such as roses or (fruit) trees are grafted. But fruit plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers or pumpkins are also suitable for grafting.
Since when are plants grafted?
Plant improvement as such has been used since ancient times. In the past centuries it has beenconstantly perfected by human hands and has thus been able to gain in complexity and volume.
What should be considered when grafting plants?
A high level of hygiene must be ensured in all plant grafting processes. Be sure to avoid touching the interfaces - both with your hands and with any objects. The interfaces must not come into contact with water either. In addition, when grafting, you must ensure that the scambia of the scion and the rootstock ideally lie exactly on top of each other so that the plant parts can grow well together.
The cambium is the growth layer, which is located between the sapwood and the bark, especially in trees. It is responsible for the shoot growth of the plant.