Here is a brief summary about grafting.


1. The older the scion, the lower the survival rate, on the contrary, the survival rate will increase. This is suitable for species that are difficult to graft to alive.

2. The volume of the scion will affect the survival rate of grafting, and the volume refers to the diameter and length of the scion. The smaller the volume, the lower the survival rate. Tree species that are easy to graft to survive have less impact.

3. The degree of rootstock development will affect the survival rate of grafting. For example, the rootstock dug back into the upper pot has a lower graft survival rate and growth rate than that of the ground rootstock.

4. The temperature will affect the survival rate of grafting. The suitable grafting temperature is 20-30 degrees. But short-term low temperature or high temperature has little effect on grafting.

5. Light will affect the survival rate of grafting. Some flower friends grafted potted plants at home and put them in a cool place. As a result, the cuts often became moldy. This is insufficient light. When grafting plants in summer, pay attention to shade, and grafting should be in the sun in winter.

6. The larger the rootstock grafted wound, the lower the survival rate, and vice versa the higher the survival rate. The drilling grafting method can be said to have the least trauma to the rootstock, and the grafting can be alive within 10 days. Other grafting methods often take more than one month to survive the grafting.

7. In the dark environment, the callus of grafted wound grows faster. You can see that we often use black tape to wrap grafted wounds. This is the reason. The purpose is to accelerate the growth of callus.

8. The influence of season on the survival rate of grafting. Some plants have a dormant period, and when grafted during dormant period, the scion generally does not grow. So avoid the dormant period.

9. Regarding the problem of rootstock sap flow,. In the southern spring, the grafting rains and humidity are high, and the rootstock often has a large amount of sap flowing out. At this time, the bag cannot be tightly tied. Or do a few half-circle cuts on the rootstock to release water. If it is a potted plant, properly control the humidity of the potted soil before and after grafting.

10. What is the cambium of plants?
When viewed in cross-section, the rootstock cambium is a seam between the bark and the wood. But if you peel off the bark, the cambium is actually the innermost layer of the bark and the outermost layer of the wood, which can be understood as cambium. Strictly speaking, all grafting methods that separate the bark without hurting the wood have the highest survival rate. Cutting off the rootstock or scion is the butt of the thread. If the cortex is only removed, it will be the butt of the surface, so the survival rate will be greatly improved. For example, the survival rate of large rootstocks is higher than that of cuts. This is the principle.

11. Regarding the question of whether to leave branches and leaves on the rootstock
In fact, many grafted rootstocks do not have branches and leaves, and only a small part of them are conditional. In the past few years, many farmers here cut down the big white-flesh pomelo trees for grafting of the three-red honey pomelo. Many of them deliberately left a branch, but from the perspective of the grafting effect, it is no different from leaving no branches. So keeping branches and leaves is actually not very meaningful.

12. The influence of top advantage on grafting.
In addition to grafting on the top of the branches, large rootstock grafting will also do abdominal grafting. According to our experience, the lower the grafting point, the worse the growth effect. Even if it can be grafted alive, the growth is obviously not as good as the top scion. Therefore, the grafting point of the large rootstock should not be too different.

13. About scion cutting
We used to say that cutting the scion should be done with one cut, but not a second cut. But my hand is clumsy, and a scion needs to be cut several times to be trimmed well. Sometimes the scion itself is a little bend, and also bend after cutting it out. The scion can be cut flat with one cut, of course it is the best. If the cut is not flat, repeated trimming is also possible. If the scion is bent, tie it tightly.

14. About the grafting knife.
It is a good thing to have a handy tool for the grafting knife. If you don’t have anything, it’s fine as long as it is a knife. We did not have a decent grafting knife before, so we used kitchen knives for grafting, rusty woodworking plane shavings for grafting, pruning shears for grafting, and so on. In recent years, we have also done some research on grafting tools. I made some grafting tools myself.  Some results have been achieved.

We currently mainly use 440C quenched stainless steel for grafting knife materials. The main reason for choosing this material is that it is not easy to rust, and the maintenance is relatively simple and convenient. The hardness of 440C quenched stainless steel is about 57, although it is lower than that of high-speed steel, but it is usually sufficient for grafting. 440C quenched stainless steel is very suitable for lovers of occasional grafting. Once the high-speed steel is not well maintained, it will rust in one year. So when you don't use a knife, you must apply oil. There is also a super-hard high-speed steel with a hardness of about 67, but the price is doubled. This is suitable for friends who are professionally engaged in grafting.

Succulents and herbs do not apply to the above viewpoints.

The above is personal experience, for reference only.