Eddie Cassidy, age 14, of Billings, Mont., for his question:
HOW ARE PLANTS GRAFTED?
A graft is the union of parts of two plants to make a single plant. There are three main types of grafting: cion grafting, budding or bud grafting and inarching.
When man grafts plants, he joins a cutting from one plant to a root, or to a stem bearing roots, of another plant. The part implanted is called the cion. The plant receiving the cion is the stock.
The cion retains the characteristics of the plant from which it is taken. The stock supplies food and water for the growing plant.
A type of cion grafting called whip grafting is most often used when the stock is a root. The cion is a branch six to eight inches long and about the thickness of a pencil. Both the stock and the cion are cut diagonally with a smooth cut. The vertical cleft is then made in each so that they can fit closely together.
The joint where the cion unites with the stock is then tightly wrapped with waxed yarn made by soaking a ball of yarn in hot grafting wax. The grafts are then tied in bundles and stored until planting time in the spring. This method is often used with apples and pears.
Cleft grafting is another type of cion grafting. Here a branch one to two inches in diameter is cut off squarely and split into a wedge shaped butt which is inserted into the cleft of a square cut on the stock. The union is then covered in grafting wax.
With budding, a single bud is grafted on the stock. Fruit trees, roses and many ornamental plants are propagated by budding.
The cion in budding is a mature bud cut from a twig of the current year's growth with a bit of bark and a bit of wood. The bud is inserted in a T shaped wound in the stock by pushing it down, using the leafstalk as a handle.
To graft by inarching, one removes a small area of bark from two plants and ties the plants together.
When the union is completed in an inarching graft, the lower part of one plant along with its root will be cut away.
Still another type of grafting is called bark grafting. It is often used with large trees. The bark is opened and the cion is pushed down between the bark and the wood. The cion is cut thin, held in place by a waxed bandage, and covered with grafting wax.
Yet another method is called splice grafting. Here the cion and stock are cut across diagonally, laid together, and kept in place by tying with waxed string.
A type of budding called annual budding is used in grafting trees with thick bark.
Grafting can be used to change the habits of growth. Trees can be dwarfed, for example, by grafting cions of vigorous plants on less vigorous stocks.
Several varieties of any plant may also be grafted on one stock. Some farmers have fun by having as many as five different kinds of apples growing on a single apple tree.
Only closely related plants can be grafted on each other. Plums may be grafted on peaches but not on apples or pears.