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This Grafting page was
prepared by Jim Purdie, and shows the way I graft at my place. I have made
a holding vice to put the rootstock plants in while I cut the slot for the
graft, and also wind the grafting tape, also I have made a Guillotine and
I use this to cut the scion wood ready for inserting in the rootstock. The
photos and text below, describe the methods which I use to graft the
hibiscus plants. We graft plants to produce new plants from existing
varieties, or to help the plants with poor root system to grow on a
vigorous rootstock, to give more flowers and avoid the chance of loss of
the plant through root rot in the wet cold weather.
It is a good idea to give the rootstock plants some fertiliser a few weeks
before use to have them in a growing mode, and also to help with the scion
wood, especially some hard to graft varieties, to prune the tips of the
branches you are going to use, to make the eyes on the branch start to
grow so as they will take off much better when you graft them on to the
rootstock.
When you plant the rootstock cuttings to get them ready for grafting on
to, make sure you try and remove the eyes which will be below the grafting
point and down under the soil, because if you do not remove them, at some
later date the eyes on the rootstock will shoot and the rootstock being
very vigorous, the growth will gradually smother the scion wood and it
will take over, this is something that people who buy grafted plants,
should be aware of, so if the rootstock does start to shoot they should be
told to remove the growth which appears under the graft point, before it
smothers the scion wood which is why they bought the plant for in the
first place. So many times at displays I have had people come up and tell
me of this problem, and they say my beautiful flower has been replaced
with a little windmill pink bloom.
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The photos above show the plant vice on the
left which I made to hold the rootstock plants while I make the
cut for the graft, and also when I am winding the grafting tape
around the graft. I use a vice as I do not like to take the risk
of cutting my fingers by holding on to the rootstock and scion. |
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The above photo is of a rootstock plant of Ruth Wilcox [Albo Lacinatus], ready to be used for grafting. |
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The photo on the left shows the cut being inserted ready for the scion wood, this is called a side graft, and it is the one I use the most. Try and use the same size rootstock and scion wood, so the cambium layer matches on both sides, as this allows the graft to be successful, but if it is not the same size, make sure that at least one side does match up, so as the the graft will callous over, and be sucessful. The photo on the right shows the rootstock plant in the vice with the cut, and also you will notice I have cut off the top leaves of the plant and just left a small section of the branch for the rootstock to keep on trying to grow and provide nourishment for the graft, allowing the graft to callous over. |
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The photo on the left shows the scion wood being cut in the guillotine, and the one on the right shows the scion wood ready to be inserted into the rootstock. |
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The photo on the left shows the scion inserted into the rootstock, always make sure the eyes on the scion are pointing upwards, otherwise your plant will be growing downwards instead of upwards, you will notice how the scion wood is matching the size of the rootstock and this should be a good graft, also try and make sure the cut in the rootstock and the cut on the scion are the same size. The one on the right shows the graft taped up ready to have a label inserted with the name of the scion wood, and then a plastic bag is put over the graft and taped down at the bottom of the graft. |
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This shows the graft inserted into the plastic bag and tied down at the bottom of the bag with a twistie, this allows me to be able to water the pot without getting the graft wet. I also cut one corner out of the plastic bag to allow a little air to get into the bag to stop too much condensation, otherwise it can cause the wood to go mouldy, which can happen here in our climate. This plastic bag is taken off in about 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the climate, and if they are showing new growth, I then cut off the the growing tip of the Rootstock as close to the graft as possible, and then I put the grafted plants into a foam box with wires in the sides to hold a plastic cover I have made to make a little hot house, and they stay in this box for a few weeks and I gradually leave a little more outside atmosphere come in, by gradually lifting the cover, and when they are ready I take the cover off and allow them to sit in the shade house, until they are growing sufficiently and then I repot the plant into a 6 inch pot with some new potting mix with some Osmocote. When the plant is growing strongly, I then cut off the grafting tape, because if you leave the tape on it will tend to strangle the graft. |
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The photo on the left shows a Tip Graft, which is when you cut the growing tip of your rootstock plant off and then make a cut in the tip and insert your scion wood into the cut, making sure to match the cambium layer of both the scion and the rootstock. I use this graft when a graft does not take and there is enough wood left on the rootstock, I cut the top off and use it in this fashion, to try and use the good rootstock up. The photo on the right shows the tip graft bound up with the tape ready for the plastic bag to be used. |
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The photo on the left shows a bark graft, which is the one I use when I have a thin piece of scion wood, and I do not have a thin rootstock plant, I take a thick rootstock and remove the top, and then I lay it on its side and make a cut in the bark about one inch from the tip, and take it up to the top of the plant, then I get my knife and gently lift the bark either side of the cut, and then I cut one side of the scion wood in the guillotine, trying to make the bottom of the cut as thin as possible, and them I scrape off a sliver of bark from the sides of the scion, so as to expose some of the cambium layer, and then you insert it into the rootstock as shown in the left picture. There is often failure with this type of graft, as the wood is so thin, but it is worth a try to see if you get it to take to get your self a new plant of a scarce variety. The photo on the right shows the bark graft bound with the grafting tape, ready for the plastic bag and label. |
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The photo on the left shows the rootstock being cut ready to fold the bark back to expose the cambium layer, and the one on the right shows the bark folded back ready to receive the thin scion wood, as described before in the last set of photos. |
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