Grafting

**Advantages of Grafting:**
– Precocity: Induces fruitfulness without completing the juvenile phase.
– Dwarfing: Induces dwarfing or cold tolerance to the scion.
– Ease of propagation: Scion is difficult to propagate vegetatively by other means.
– Hybrid breeding: Speeds maturity of hybrids in fruit tree breeding programs.
– Hardiness: Scion has weak roots or stock plant roots are tolerant of difficult conditions.

**Sturdiness and Ornamental Use:**
– Provides a strong, tall trunk for certain ornamental shrubs and trees.
– Used to raise standard roses and certain ornamental trees.
– Helps in raising ornamental trees like weeping cherries.
– Ensures a strong stem for certain ornamental shrubs.
– Commonly used for standard roses.

**Disease and Pest Resistance:**
– Use of pest/disease tolerant rootstocks allows the production from desired cultivars.
– Example: Combatting Phylloxera.
– Provides resistance in areas with soil-borne pests or pathogens.
– Ensures successful planting of desired cultivars.
– Utilizes pest/disease tolerant rootstocks.

**Pollen Source and Pollination:**
– Provides pollenizers in orchards.
– Example: Crab apple limbs grafted onto trees for pollen needs.
– Ensures proper pollination in orchards.
– Used in apple orchards for better pollination.
– Helps in providing pollenizers in tightly planted orchards.

**Repair and Curiosities:**
– Repairs trunk damage that prohibits nutrient flow.
– Uses bridge grafts to connect severed tissues.
– Inarch grafting connects tissues receiving flow from roots.
– Repairs damage caused by rodents stripping bark.
– Grafts nearby water sprouts or saplings to repair trunk damage.
– Includes interesting grafting practices like grafting potatoes and tomatoes on the same plant.