8 Different Types of Grafting | Top Grafting Methods

Check out all the major Types of Grafting along with their procedures that are frequently used in the nursery for preparing healthy plants!

Here are the different Types of Grafting used to develop plants. Let’s have a look at all of them in detail! These are good for both a newbie and a professional gardener.

Check out some important terrace gardening tips here

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What is Grafting?

Grafting is the process of joining parts from two different plants to grow a new plant. Through grafting, the properties of two plants can be fused into one plant

The established plant on which grafting is conducted is called the rootstock, and the part of a different plant that is fixed on rootstock is known as scion.

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Different Types of Grafting

1. Side Veneer Grafting

Side veneer grafting is great for plant varieties that are difficult to root. It uses small potted seedlings as a rootstock. This type of grafting is majorly used for compact and dwarf conifers.

The rootstock is grown in containers in the season prior to the grafting. After that, it is kept in the greenhouse for a couple of days to stimulate new root formation. The plant is deprived of watering during this period.

Process

Make a shallow cut at the base of the stem. Pick a scion with the same diameter as rootstock and make a cut at the base. Place the cut piece of the scion against the cut surface of the rootstock and hold them together via grafting tape or twine. Coat the whole grafted area with grafting paint or wax. Remove the tape or twine once the grafting is healed and united as one.

2. Bark Grafting

This grafting works well for flowering and fruiting trees. It is done when the bark is green and slippery, hence easy to slit. Here, multiple scions are joined onto a single rootstock.

Process

Make a vertical slit on the rootstock on which each scion (2 inches long with 1 inch apart) can be placed.  Cut each scion and fix it on rootstock and seal the graft with grafting wax or paint.

3. Splice Grafting

Splice grafting works best for herbaceous plants that have a stem diameter equal to or less than a half-inch. It is necessary that the rootstock and the scion both must be of the same diameter.

Process

Make an inch-long diagonal cut on the rootstock and on the base of the scion. Now, insert a scion onto the rootstock and bind them together using a grafting tape or twine. Apply a coat of grafting paint or wax. You can open the twine once the wound or union has healed.

4. Inarch Grafting

This grafting is majorly used to support the weak, injured, or damaged area of the stem. The scion is generally an existing shoot, or, sucker grown around the injured part. Here, the tip is grafted above the injured part using bridge grafting.

5. Saddle Grafting

This grafting technique is quite easier than others. Here the rootstock and the scion both are of the same diameter. It is done on dormant rootstock.

Process

Cut the top of the rootstock and scion in an inverted V shape. The cuts on the rootstock and scion must be of the same length for perfect contact. Bind them with grafting twine and seal with grafting wax or paint.

6. Bridge Grafting

It is used to ‘bridge’ a damaged portion of the plant near a trunk base. The bridge graft renders support and aid so as to allow the nutrients and water to move across the damaged or diseased part.

Process

Choose a straight scion, twice the length of the damaged portion to be grafted. Make a 2-inches long narrow cut at the end of the scion, remove damaged or diseased tissue from the rootstock, and join the two. Apply a coat of grafting wax or paint.

7. Cleft Grafting

This grafting technique is frequently used in flowering and fruiting trees to create a new variety. It is done when the scion and rootstock both are in dormancy.

Process

Here’s a detailed article that will help you understand the process.

8. Whip and Tongue Grafting

This grafting goes well for woody ornamental plants. Both the rootstock and the scion must be of the same size and their diameter should be no more than half-inch.

Process

Check out this article with the process explained in detail.