Grafting - Revision history

67.173.194.17 at 01:31, 13 July 2010

2010-07-13T01:31:26Z

67.173.194.17 at 01:09, 13 July 2010

2010-07-13T01:09:50Z

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	[[Image:Approach grafting.png\|thumb\|300px\|A) Whip-graft B) ? graft]]		[[Image:Approach grafting.png\|thumb\|300px\|A) Whip-graft B) ? graft]]
	[[Image:Roubovani1.jpg\|thumb\|300px\|Cleft graft before waxing.]]		[[Image:Roubovani1.jpg\|thumb\|300px\|Cleft graft before waxing.]]
	The joining of two separate plants into one. The process of inserting a [[~~cion~~]] in a plant with the intention that it shall grow there.{{SCH}}		The joining of two separate plants into one. The process of inserting a [[scion]] in a plant with the intention that it shall grow there.{{SCH}}

	==The grafting of plants==		==The grafting of plants==
	This section from ''Manual of Gardening'', by L. H. Bailey		This section from ''Manual of Gardening'', by L. H. Bailey

	Grafting is the operation of inserting a piece of a plant into another plant with the intention that it shall grow. It differs from the making of cuttings in the fact that the severed part grows in another plant rather than in the soil.		Grafting is the operation of inserting a piece of a plant into another plant with the intention that it shall grow. It differs from the making of cuttings in the fact that the severed part grows in another plant rather than in the soil.

	There are two general kinds of grafting--one of which inserts a piece of branch in the stock (grafting proper), and one which inserts only a bud with little or no wood attached (budding). In both cases the success of the operation depends on the growing together of the cambium of the cion (or cutting) and that of the stock. The cambium is the new and growing tissue lying underneath the bark and on the outside of the growing wood. Therefore, the line of demarcation between the bark and the wood should coincide when the cion and stock are joined.		There are two general kinds of grafting--one of which inserts a piece of branch in the stock (grafting proper), and one which inserts only a bud with little or no wood attached (budding). In both cases the success of the operation depends on the growing together of the cambium of the cion (or cutting) and that of the stock. The cambium is the new and growing tissue lying underneath the bark and on the outside of the growing wood. Therefore, the line of demarcation between the bark and the wood should coincide when the cion and stock are joined.

174.93.34.201: /* Whip graft */

2010-07-09T13:52:28Z

Whip graft

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	===Whip graft===		===Whip graft===
	Grafting is the insertion of a small branch (or cion), usually bearing more than one bud. If grafting is employed on small stocks, it is customary to employ the whip-graft. Both stock and cion are cut across diagonally, and a split made in each, so that one fits into the other. The graft is tied securely with a string, and then, if it is above ground, it is also waxed carefully.		Grafting is the insertion of a small branch (or cion), usually bearing more than one bud. If grafting is employed on small stocks, it is customary to employ the whip-graft. Both stock and cion are cut across diagonally, and a split made in each, so that one fits into the other. The graft is tied securely with a string, and then, if it is above ground, it is also waxed carefully.
			The word CION being used, is, as I have seen elsewhere, spelled SCION..a bud or shoot taken from one plant and grafted on to another(the ROOTSTOCK). See pages 52-53 from 'THE PRINCIPLES OF GARDENING' by HUGH JOHNSON, Simon and Schuster, 1979.

	===Cleft graft===		===Cleft graft===

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 Grafting, Multiplication by. Grafting is the operation of inserting a part of one plant into another plant or part with the intention that it shall grow and produce its kind.
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 For further discussion of the whole subject of grafting, the reader is referred to current works on fruit- growing; also to the two American special books on the subject—Fuller's "Propagation of Plants" and Bailey's "Nursery-Book." In English, Baltet's "Budding and Grafting" is standard. It is an English version of "L'Art de Greffer." L. H. B.
 }}
 {{glossary}}

Christi at 05:27, 10 September 2009

2009-09-10T05:27:41Z

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Christi at 12:13, 8 September 2009

2009-09-08T12:13:06Z

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	It seems to have been a popular misconception that any kind of plant will grow on any other. Pliny .asserts that the art of grafting was taught to man by nature. Birds swallow seeds, and these seeds, falling in "some cleft in the bark of a tree," germinate and make plants. "Hence it is that we see the cherry growing upon the willow, the plane upon the laurel, the laurel upon the cherry, and fruits of various tints and hues all springing from the same tree at once." This, of course, is not grafting at all, but the implanting of seeds in earth- filled chinks and cracks, in which the plants find a congenial foothold and soil. But the ancients have left us abundant testimony that genuine grafting was employed with success. Pliny describes a cleft-graft. He gives several precautions: the stock must be "that of a tree suitable for the purpose," and the graft must be "taken from one that is proper for grafting; the incision or cleft must not be made in a knot; the graft must be from a tree "that is a good bearer, and from a young shoot;" the graft must not be sharpened or pointed "while the wind is blowing;" "a graft should not be used that is too full of sap, no, by Hercules! no more than one that is dry and parched;" "it is a point most religiously observed, to insert the graft during the moon's increase."		It seems to have been a popular misconception that any kind of plant will grow on any other. Pliny .asserts that the art of grafting was taught to man by nature. Birds swallow seeds, and these seeds, falling in "some cleft in the bark of a tree," germinate and make plants. "Hence it is that we see the cherry growing upon the willow, the plane upon the laurel, the laurel upon the cherry, and fruits of various tints and hues all springing from the same tree at once." This, of course, is not grafting at all, but the implanting of seeds in earth- filled chinks and cracks, in which the plants find a congenial foothold and soil. But the ancients have left us abundant testimony that genuine grafting was employed with success. Pliny describes a cleft-graft. He gives several precautions: the stock must be "that of a tree suitable for the purpose," and the graft must be "taken from one that is proper for grafting; the incision or cleft must not be made in a knot; the graft must be from a tree "that is a good bearer, and from a young shoot;" the graft must not be sharpened or pointed "while the wind is blowing;" "a graft should not be used that is too full of sap, no, by Hercules! no more than one that is dry and parched;" "it is a point most religiously observed, to insert the graft during the moon's increase."

			Herein are seen the beginnings of the grafting practices of the present day, together with some practices of layering. Sharrock treated the whole subject of
			grafting under the head of "Insitions," and here he minutely describes the cleft-graft, and speaks of it as "the common way of grafting." The practice which we now know as inarching or grafting by approach, he significantly calls "Ablactation" (that is, suckling or weaning). Now that so much is said about the proper and careful selection of cions, it is interesting to read Shar- rock's advice on this subject: "Good bearing trees are made from Cyons of the like fruitfulness. . . . Cyons are best chosen from the fairest, strongest shuits, not from under shoots or suckers, which will be long ere they bear fruit, which is contrary to the intention of grafting." But we have seen that Pliny gave similar advice before the Christian era,—which is only another illustration of the fact that most of our current notions have their roots deep in the past.

			The accompanying cut (Fig. 1673) reproduced two- thirds size from Robert Sharrock's "History of the Propagation and Improvement of Vegetables," 1672, shows various kinds of grafting in vogue over two centuries ago.

			Budding.

			The operation of budding consists of inserting a single detached bud underneath the bark of the stock. It is employed only in stocks of small diameter, and preferably in those not more than one year old. The operation may be performed whenever the bark will peel and whenever mature buds may be secured. The bark will peel in early spring and again in late summer or early autumn, and the operation of budding in the open ground is therefore performed at those times. In the spring the buds are secured from twigs of the previous season's growth. At the second budding season, in late summer or early autumn, the buds are secured from growing twigs of the season. At that time of the year the buds will be sufficiently developed to be easily recognized and handled.

			Budding is much employed in nurseries. Peaches, cherries, plums, and most stone fruits, are habitually budded rather than cion-grafted. In the East, apples and pears are usually budded in the nursery; but in the West apples at least are usually root-grafted. Third-rate stocks are sometimes set in nursery rows and budded the following July.

			It is practicable to insert buds rather than cions in the tops of young trees, for the purpose of changing the tree into a different variety. Sometimes the buds are inserted in limbs two and three years old; but it is usually preferable, if the tree is of some age, to cut back the tree somewhat heavily the previous season or the previous spring, to get a growth of suckers into which the buds may be set.

			The cutting from which the buds are taken is known to budders as a stick (Fig. 1674). In early spring-budding, this stick is the last year's growth of the variety which it is desired to propagate. Later in the season, the stick is the twig grown in that season. Not all the buds on the stick are strong enough or good enough for budding. The budder will usually discard the weak ones at the top and at the bottom, unless he is very much pressed for buds, as may be the case with new or rare varieties. If the stick is taken late in the season the leaves will be on; but these are quickly cut off to prevent too much evaporation from the cutting. About ¼ inch of the leaf-stalk is left to serve as a handle to the bud.

Christi at 12:08, 8 September 2009

2009-09-08T12:08:10Z

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			Grafting, Multiplication by. Grafting is the operation of inserting a part of one plant into another plant or part with the intention that it shall grow and produce its kind.

			The practice of grafting, together with all the reasons, consequences and results, constitutes a department of knowledge known as graftage. The term grafting is ordinarily restricted, in popular speech, to propagation by means of short twigs or cions, and budding is used to designate the insertion of single buds that arc severed from the branch on which they grew; but these distinctions are not fundamental. Stock is the plant or part on which the grafting is done. Cion (scion, sion) is the part inserted into the stock, although it is usually restricted to cuttings of twigs, and does not include detached buds. In many writings the word is spelled scion, but the other is shorter and it was a very early horticultural term, many old horticultural writings using don and cyan. Scion is apparently later, and usage is not uniform. The word graft is sometimes used in the sense of don, but it would better be used for the completed thing — the new plant or part made by the joining of cion and stock.

			Grafting is not always employed for purposes of propagation. It may be a reparative process. What is known as bridge-grafting is of this kind. Wounds or girdles may be bridged by cions, as in Fig. 1672 (after Hedrick), for the purpose of supplying new tissue to connect the parts. Here the edges of the girdle are trimmed to the fresh firm tissue, cions whittled wedge- shape at each end are inserted, bandages are drawn around the trunk to hold the free edges of the bark and the ends of the cions, and wax is poured over the work. This operation is performed in spring, with dormant cions. The buds should not be allowed to throw out shoots. If the cions are placed close together, they will soon unite along their sides and make a continuous covering of the wound. Writing of bridge-grafting, Hedrick says (N. Y. Sta. Circ. No. 17): "Its most important use is to preserve trees injured or girdled by rodents or disease. Any ragged or diseased edges should be cleanly cut away, a longitudinal slit should be made in the bark, both above and below the wound, and the edges of the slits loosened slightly. A cion should then be cut 2 or 3 inches longer than the space to be bridged, one side beveled off at both ends (Fig. 1672), and inserted in the slits, its beveled face against the wood
			of the trunk. In order to guard against any accidental displacement it would be well to drive a small tack or nail through each end of the cion, which, however, must not be split in the operation. Other cions in a like manner may be inserted at intervals of about 2 inches over the entire injured surface. The ends of the cions should be covered with wax but it is not necessary to cover all the bridged portion of the trunk. If the tree operated upon is small and likely to weave in the wind it should be tied firmly to a strong stake as such movements might tear apart the tender uniting surfaces."

			Cions are sometimes inserted freely in the stub left by a large broken limb, for the double purpose of providing other shoots to take the place of the branch and of facilitating the healing of the wound. Sometimes cions are inserted in limbs on a one-sided or misshapen tree for the purpose of securing better growth on that side, the variety perhaps being the same as that of the tree itself.

			Another reason for grafting is to produce some radical change in the nature of the cion, as rendering it more dwarf, more fruitful, or otherwise changing its habit. Still another office is to adapt plants to adverse soils or climates. An example is the use of the peach root in the southern states upon which to work the plum, as the peach thrives better than the plum in sandy soils. The practice in Russia of working the apple on roots of the Siberian crab is an example of an effort to make a plant better able to withstand a very severe climate.

			In general, however, grafting is employed for the purpose of multiplying or perpetuating a given variety, mostly of woody plants. It is used with plants that do not bear seeds, or in which the seeds do not come true or are difficult to germinate, or when the plants do not propagate well by cuttings or layers. It is also employed to increase the ease and speed of multiplying plants.

			In common practice, the effect of the stock on the cion is rather more mechanical or physical than physiological or chemical. The influences are very largely those associated with greater or less growth. As a rule, each part of the combined plant—the stock and cion— maintains its individuality. There are certain cases, however, in which the cion seems to partake of the nature of the stock; and others in which the stock partakes of the nature of the cion. There are recorded instances of a distinct change in the flavor of fruit when the cion is put upon stock that bears fruit of very different character. There are some varieties of apples and pears which, when worked on a seedling root, tend to change the habit of growth of that root. Examples are Northern Spy and Whitney apples, which, when grafted on a root of unknown parentage, tend to make that root grow very deep in the soil. All these instances seem to be special cases, or exceptions to the general rule that each part maintains its individuality. Reasons for this change of nature in these cases have not been determined, and in most cases such results are not to be predicted. The most marked effect of stock on the cion is a dwarfing influence. Dwarfing may be expected whenever the stock is of a smaller stature than the cion. The most familiar example is the dwarf pear, made by working the pear on quince stock. Supplying a plant with a slow-growing root is only the beginning of the making of a dwarf. The plant must be kept dwarf by subsequent pruning and other care. There is comparatively little demand for large-growing forms of woody plants, whereas there is much demand for dwarf forms. See Dwarfing, page 1082.

			The limits within which grafting can succeed are to be determined only by experiment. These limits are often within the species, and usually within the genus, but there are instances in which plants of distinct genera intergraft with success, as in some of the cacti. In general, the closer the affinity of cion and stock, the better the union. When stock of the same species cannot be secured, it is allowable to chose another species. Thus it was for a time impossible to secure Japanese plum stocks upon which to grow the varieties of Japanese plums, and peach, Marianna, myrobalan and domestica plum stocks have been used, and are used to this day. In some cases another species grows more readily from seed, is cheaper, is less liable to fungous injury in the nursery, or has some other practical advantage. Thus, most domestica plums (Prunus domestica) in the North are worked on the myrobalan (P. cerasifera); many sweet and sour cherries (Primus avium and P. Cerasus) are worked on the mahaleb (P. Mahaleb); many kinds of roses are worked on mahctti and Rosa multiflora stocks.

			From time to time there arises an agitation against grafting, particularly in the Old World. Cases of poor unions and the difficulties of sprouting from the root or stock are cited as proofs that graftage is injurious and devitalizing. But these are examples of poor results. They show what should not be done. Properly performed, on plants of proper affinity, graftage is not devitalizing. It is essential to modern horticulture.

			The ways or fashions of grafting are legion. There are as many ways as there are ways of whittling. The operator may fashion the union of the stock and the cion to suit himself; if only he apply cambium to cambium, make a close joint, and properly protect the work. Thus, Thouin in his "Monographic des Greffes," 1821, ' describes 119 kinds of grafting. All kinds of grafting may be classified into three groups:

			1. Bud-grafting or budding. In the old days called inoculation.

			2. Cion-Rrafting, or what is now thought of as grafting proper.

			3. Grafting by approach, sometimes called inarching.

			Early practice.

			Grafting is one of the oldest of the arts of plant-craft. It is probable that the real art of grafting was held more or less as a professional or class secret in the ancient world, for the writers seem to have only the vaguest notion of its possibilities and limitations. Virgil writes (Preston's translation):

			But thou shalt lend
			Grafts of rude arbute unto the walnut tree,
			Shalt bid the1 unfruitful plane sound apples bear.
			Chestnuts the beech, the ash blow white with the pear.
			And, under the elm, the sow on acorns fare.

			It seems to have been a popular misconception that any kind of plant will grow on any other. Pliny .asserts that the art of grafting was taught to man by nature. Birds swallow seeds, and these seeds, falling in "some cleft in the bark of a tree," germinate and make plants. "Hence it is that we see the cherry growing upon the willow, the plane upon the laurel, the laurel upon the cherry, and fruits of various tints and hues all springing from the same tree at once." This, of course, is not grafting at all, but the implanting of seeds in earth- filled chinks and cracks, in which the plants find a congenial foothold and soil. But the ancients have left us abundant testimony that genuine grafting was employed with success. Pliny describes a cleft-graft. He gives several precautions: the stock must be "that of a tree suitable for the purpose," and the graft must be "taken from one that is proper for grafting; the incision or cleft must not be made in a knot; the graft must be from a tree "that is a good bearer, and from a young shoot;" the graft must not be sharpened or pointed "while the wind is blowing;" "a graft should not be used that is too full of sap, no, by Hercules! no more than one that is dry and parched;" "it is a point most religiously observed, to insert the graft during the moon's increase."



	[[Image:Apple tree grafting 3.jpg\|thumb\|400px\|Numerous grafts in one spot.]]		[[Image:Apple tree grafting 3.jpg\|thumb\|400px\|Numerous grafts in one spot.]]
	[[Image:Budding (PSF).jpg\|thumb\|300px\|Budding.]]		[[Image:Budding (PSF).jpg\|thumb\|300px\|Budding.]]

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-[[Image:Upload.png|thumb|[[Special:Upload|Upload image!]]]]
+[[Image:Apple tree grafting 3.jpg|thumb|400px|Numerous grafts in one spot.]]
-The process of inserting a [[cion]] in a plant with the intention that it shall grow there. See ''[[Budding]]''.{{SCH}}
+[[Image:Budding (PSF).jpg|thumb|300px|Budding.]]
 {{glossary}}

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-[[Image:Zweijährige-Geißfußveredelu.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Grafted apple tree ''Malus'' sp., consolidated 'V' graft]]
+[[Image:Upload.png|thumb|[[Special:Upload|Upload image!]]]]
-[[Image:Newly_Grafted_Cherry_Tree.JPG|thumb|250px|right|''Newly grafted cherry tree'', tape has been used to bind the rootstock and scion at the graft and tar paint to protect the cut end of the scion from desiccation.  The buds will burst within the next few weeks to produce leaves and shoots]]
+The process of inserting a [[cion]] in a plant with the intention that it shall grow there. See ''[[Budding]]''.{{SCH}}
-Usually, one plant is chosen for its roots, and is called the '''stock''' or [[rootstock]]. The other plant is chosen for its [[Plant stem|stems]], leaves, [[flower]]s, or [[fruit]]s and is called the '''scion'''.   The scion contains the desired genes to be duplicated on top of the stock plant.
+{{glossary}}

WikiWorks: New page: Grafted apple tree ''Malus'' sp., consolidated 'V' graft [[Image:Newly_Grafted_Cherry_Tree.JPG|thumb|250px|right|''Newly graf...

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New page

[[Image:Zweijährige-Geißfußveredelu.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Grafted apple tree ''Malus'' sp., consolidated 'V' graft]]
[[Image:Newly_Grafted_Cherry_Tree.JPG|thumb|250px|right|''Newly grafted cherry tree'', tape has been used to bind the rootstock and scion at the graft and tar paint to protect the cut end of the scion from desiccation. The buds will burst within the next few weeks to produce leaves and shoots]]
[[Image:Grafted blossoming tree unidentified white pink.JPG|thumb|250px|right|A grafted tree showing two different color blossoms]]
'''Grafting''' is a technique used to join parts of 2 or more plants and cause them to grow together as one plant. It is used quite commonly, and most fruit trees sold in nurseries tend to be grafts. The most common reason for grafting is as a method of asexual [[plant propagation]]. It is most commonly used for the propagation of [[tree]]s and [[shrub]]s grown commercially.

Usually, one plant is chosen for its roots, and is called the '''stock''' or [[rootstock]]. The other plant is chosen for its [[Plant stem|stems]], leaves, [[flower]]s, or [[fruit]]s and is called the '''scion'''. The scion contains the desired genes to be duplicated on top of the stock plant.

In stem grafting, a common grafting method, a [[shoot]] of a selected, desired plant cultivar is grafted onto the stock of another type. In another common form called [[budding]], a dormant side bud is grafted on the stem of another stock plant, and when it has fused successfully, it is encouraged to grow by cutting out the stem above the new bud.

For successful grafting to take place, the [[vascular cambium]] tissues of the stock and scion plants must be placed in contact with each other. Both tissues must be kept alive until the graft has taken, usually a period of a few [[week]]s. Successful grafting only requires that a vascular connection takes place between the two tissues. A physical weak point often still occurs at the graft, because the structural tissue of the two distinct plants, such as [[wood]] may not fuse.

==Reasons for grafting==
*'''Dwarfing''': To induce dwarfing or cold tolerance or other characteristics to the scion. Most [[apple]] trees in modern [[orchard]]s are grafted dwarf or semi-dwarf trees planted at high density. They provide more fruit per unit of land, higher quality [[fruit]], and reduce the danger of accidents by harvest crews working on ladders.
*'''Ease of propagation''': Because the scion is difficult to propagate vegetatively by other means, such as by [[Cutting (plant)|cuttings]]. In this case, cuttings of an easily rooted plant are used to provide a rootstock. In some cases, the scion may be easily propagated, but grafting may still be used because it is commercially the most cost-effective way of raising a particular type of plant.
*'''Hybrid breeding''': To speed maturity of hybrids in fruit tree breeding programs. Hybrid seedlings may take ten or more years to flower and fruit on their own roots. Grafting can reduce the time to flowering and shorten the breeding program.
*'''Hardiness''': Because the scion has weak roots or the roots of the stock plants have roots tolerant of difficult conditions. e.g. many showy [[Western Australia]]n plants are sensitive to [[Phytophthora cinnamomi|dieback]] on heavy soils, common in urban gardens, and are grafted onto hardier [[eastern Australia]]n relatives. [[Grevillea]]s and [[Eucalyptus|eucalypts]] are examples.
*'''Sturdiness''' In order to provide a strong, tall [[trunk]] for certain ornamental shrubs and trees. In these cases, a graft is made at a desired height on a stock plant with a strong stem. This is used to raise 'standard' [[rose]]s, which are rose bushes on a high stem, and it is also used for some ornamental trees, such as certain weeping cherries.
*'''Pollen source''': To provide [[pollenizer]]s. For example, in tightly planted or badly planned apple [[orchard]]s of a single variety, limbs of [[crab apple]] may be grafted at regularly spaced intervals onto trees down rows, say every fourth tree. This takes care of [[pollen]] needs at blossom time, yet does not confuse pickers who might otherwise mix varieties while harvesting, as the mature [[crab apple]]s are so distinct from other apple varieties.
*'''Repair''': To repair damage to the trunk of a tree which would prohibit nutrient flow, such as the stripping of the bark by [[rodent]]s which completely girdles the trunk. In this case a [[bridge graft]] may be used to connect the tissues receiving flow from the roots to the tissues above the damage which have been severed from the flow. Where a [[watersprout]], sucker or sapling of the same species is growing nearby, any of these can be grafted to the area above the damage by a method called inarch grafting. These alternatives to scions must be of the correct length to span the gap of the wound.
*'''Changing cultivars''': To change the cultivar in a fruit orchard to a more profitable cultivar, called ''topworking''. It may be faster to graft a new cultivar onto existing limbs of established trees than to replant an entire orchard.
*'''Maintain Consistency''': Apples are notorious for their genetic variability, even differing in multiple characteristics, such as, size, color, and flavor, of fruits located on the same tree. In the commercial farming industry, consistency is maintained by grafting a scion with desired fruit traits onto a hardy stock.

[[Image:Neadle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|An example world-famous Circus Trees created by Axel Erlandson.[1]]]
*'''Curiosities'''
**A practice sometimes carried out by [[gardener]]s is to graft related [[potato]]es and [[tomato]]es so that both are produced on the same plant, one above ground and one underground.
**[[Cacti]] of widely different forms are sometimes grafted on to each other.
**Multiple [[cultivar]]s of fruits such as apples are sometimes grafted on a single tree. This so-called "[[Fruit Salad Tree|family tree]]" provides more fruit variety for small spaces such as a suburban backyard, and also takes care of the need for pollenizers. The drawback is that the gardener must be sufficiently trained to [[pruning|prune]] them correctly, or one strong variety will usually "take over". Occasionally, a so-called "[[Graft-chimaera|graft hybrid]]" or "chimaera" can occur where the tissues of the stock continue to grow within the scion. Such a plant can produce flowers and [[foliage]] typical of both plants as well as shoots intermediate between the two. The best-known example is probably [[+Laburnocytisus 'Adamii'|+''Laburnocytisus'' 'Adamii']], a graft hybrid between [[laburnum]] and [[broom (shrub)|broom]], which originated in a [[nursery (horticulture)|nursery]] near [[Paris|Paris, France]] in [[1825]]. This small tree bears yellow flowers typical of ''Laburnum anagyroides'', purple flowers typical of ''Chamaecytisus purpureus'' and curious coppery-pink flowers which show characteristics of both "parents".
**Ornamental and functional, [[arborsculpture]] uses grafting techniques to join separate trees or parts of the same tree to itself. [[Furniture]], hearts, entry archways are examples. [[Axel Erlandson]] was a prolific arborsculptor growing over 75 mature shaped and grafted trees.

== Methods ==
=== Cleft ===
The easiest and most common form of grafting is cleft grafting. The stock is simply split and the scion is inserted. It is best if the stock is 2-7 cm in diameter and has 3-5 buds, and the cleft is around 7cm deep. The scion is cut in a [[wedge (geometry)|wedge]] shape and inserted into the tree with the cambium. The bare stock is covered with grafting compound, otherwise the cambium layer quickly dries and the graft fails.

=== Stub ===
Stub grafting is a technique that requires less stock than cleft grafting, and retains the shape of a tree. Also scions are generally of 6-8 buds in this process.

An incision is made into the branch one centimetere long, then the scion is wedged and forced into the branch. The scion should be at an angle of at most 35° to the parent tree so that the crotch remains strong. The graft is covered with grafting compound.

=== Awl ===
Awl grafting takes the least resources and the least time must is best done by an experienced grafter for fear that the grafter would accidentally drive his tool too far into the stock and then the scion would have a reduced chance of survival. Awl grafting can be done by using a screwdriver to make a slit in the bark but just so far as the cambium layer. Then inset the wedged scion into the incision.

=== Veneer ===
Veneer grafting, or inlay grafting, is a method used for stocks larger than three centimeters in diameter. The scion is recommended to be about as thick as a pencil. Clefts are made of the same size as the scion on the side of the branch, not on top. The scion end is shaped as a wedge, inserted, and wrapped with tape to the scaffolding branches to give it more strength.

=== Renewing fusion ===
"Renewing fusion" is a grafting method in which a small branch (at least a centimeter wide) from one plant to a main branch of another, by carefully shaving a proper amount of bark from the large branch and inserting the scion into a cut hole. The graft is taped with a thin strip of duct tape in diagonal lashings, to hold it up and to prevent insects from entering the hole.

The origin of grafting is uncertain. the peoples of ancient civilizations who grew fruit trees may have observed natural unions made by twigs and branches of compatible trees growing next to one another.

==Natural grafting==
Tree roots of the same species will sometimes naturally graft where they make physical contact with each other. A group of trees can share water and mineral nutrients via root grafts, which may be advantageous to weaker trees, and may also form a larger rootmass as an adaptation to promote fire resistence and regeneration as exemplified by the [[California Black Oak]].<ref>C.Michael Hogan (2008) ''Quercus kelloggii'', Globaltwitcher, ed. nicklas Stromberg [http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_info.asp?thingid=82385]</ref>

A problem with root grafts is that they allow transmission of certain [[pathogen]]s, such as [[Dutch elm disease]]. Natural grafting also sometimes occurs where two stems on the same tree, shrub or vine make contact with each other. This is common in plants such as strawberries and potatoes.

== Herbaceous grafting ==
Grafting is often done for non-woody plants such as a [[tomato]], [[cucumber]], [[eggplant]] and [[watermelon]].<ref>{{cite web | last = Core | first = J. | date = 2005 | title = Grafting watermelon onto squash or gourd rootstock makes firmer, healthier fruit. | publisher = Agricultural Research | page = 53 | url = http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul05/fruit0705.htm }}</ref> The main advantage of grafting is for disease-resistant rootstocks. In [[Japan]] there is an automated process using grafting [[robot]]s.

== References ==
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==External links==
* [http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/98-003.htm#BRIDGE%20GRAFT Steps to inarching technique]
* [http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/propagation/grafting.html Asexual Propagation (with diagrams)]
* [http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/98-005.htm grafting methods (with diagrams)]