What is approach grafting?
Approach grafting carried out by the gardener is a practice inspired by the fusion of plants and trees in nature. The gardener, however, facilitates the process by cutting a strip of bark on each of the plants and forcing contact between them on these areas. The graft by approach therefore consists in merge or weld two trees by bringing their trunks, stems or branches into contact. It is even possible to graft a branch of a tree onto itself.
The graft is carried out at the time when the sap rises, that is to say from March to September on grafts in the herbaceous or ligneous state.
The stages of grafting by approach
Unlike other grafting methods, such as cleft grafting or shield grafting, approach grafting requires the two plants to be grown side by side, either in the ground or in a pot. The grafting is carried out by maintaining the two plants in a vegetative state, that is to say that both plants remain whole throughout the operation.
Prepare the grafts
For this method of grafting, we do not strip the graft, we do not extract it from its mother plant, because it should stick to it and must keep its roots in the ground when it is grafted.
As soon as the favorable period arrives, that is to say generally in the month of July, it is necessary cut into the scion and the rootstock with a knife to take from each, on the area intended to serve as a point of contact, a strip of bark of the same size.
Put the two wounds in contact
Put the two denuded areas of the rootstock and the scion in contacttighten and ligate with raffia or rubber, then apply healing mastic to waterproof and protect the wound.
Place a tutor
For some plants, a tutor is essential, because the two grafted plants apply pressure on each other, which can deform the whole. One or more stakes must therefore be placed to guide and support the grafted plant.
Wean the graft
From the end of winter, when the agglutination is confirmed, you can wean the graftthat’s to say isolate it from its parent plant so that it can live from its own elements. Weaning is done by cutting the graft below the grafting point.
The rootstock must be cut above the point of grafting. The result is then a single plant with the root system of the rootstock and the stem and leaves of the scion.
Do not hesitate to apply a graft putty on the wounds after cutting the rootstock and the graft.