Hey Robert. That gap in the graft concerns me. I have no experience with a grafted one but does not lokk right to me. You call carol and ask her.

Mike

Hi Robert!!!

I would agree with Mike and call Carol and send her a pic of this graft. The tree looks healthy, but the graft doesn't look like it has (Healed) sealed properly. The tree iself looks healthy and im sure it has healed enough for the tree to continue to do well, but i would be concerned about the space left. She may even mention to seal it and give you the proper sealant to use. My concern would be protecting the opening.

I am no expert, but i would leave the band on and call Carol. She will give you the best advice.

Like i mentioned, the tree loooks great!! I think the graft healed in a different way and it just needs a little more protection. It would make you ( us) feel better. (The tree seems fine with it!!) ;-)

Take care,

Laura

Thanks, guys!

I'll send Carol an email with the pics and see what she recommends. :)

-Robert

By the way Robert, do not worry about the graft line. Inside is healed and growing. It is OK if it gets wet, it will not rot. It will not dry up either because the callus at the graft line has bark on the outside.

George

wow! outstanding explanation of grafting and great photos as well...cannot wait to try my 1st one...roxanne

Wow indeed!
Thank you so much for all the detailed explanations and pictures, George!
I'll do as you advised and add some cable ties to the graft.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your knowledge!

-Robert

Thanks George

I think that will give a lot of us more confidence in buying grafted plants.

Mike

George, would you be able to share your new grafting technique with us? Judging by the picture you are not using cable ties anymore?!
Looks great.

I have a question, why do people like to graft plumeria, is there a special reason?

For me the cut tops do not do so great but do put out sprouts which so far I have been able to remove for new plants either to share or to start a new plant without any problems.

MrFrangi,
I am still developing and evaluating the new technique including long term effects in comparison to the standard method. When I am done I am going to publish it in the PSA newsletter. The key is to cause the scion and rootstock to fuse at the cambium line before a callus develops in the center and pushes the two appart. Here is a graft that was broken off accidently (I hit it with the ladder's end). Note that the graft did not open up. It broke below the graft and there is a piece of the rootstock attached to it The graft line is the faint brownish line that runs from the bottom brown spot to the top at 30 degrees. Note that there is no callus between the scion and rootstock but the two are fused together! This type of graft makes a hairline graft scar and by far the strogest bond in the shortest time. I do not use cable ties with this technique.

Wally, grafting is a great technique that can be used in many instances. Some varieties are impossible to root, like Bill Moragne (only available grafted). A lot of varieties (a lot of the reds, Katie Moragne, Hilo Beauty. Pink Wave Rage, etc.) are very difficult to root and it is best to graft them. I do not graft all my trees, just the difficult ones. Most people are scared of grafts because they appear weak. There is nothing farther from the truth. Grafts, when fully healed, are the srongest pieces on the whole plant. A lot of people object to the graft scar as not aestetically nice. You can burry the graft union below the soil with no problems.

Another use of grafting is called 'downgrafting'. Plumerias grow leggy and tall and do not look vey good in pots. They also get blown down by wind easily. There are two ways to make more compact plants: a) root a multi-tip cutting from the top of a tree, and b) use 'downgrafting' to make a compact plant. The picture below shows a multi-tip top cutting. You can use iron fence post to pull the branches to train them to make a nice canopy.

However, most people do not have access to large multi-tip cuttings (very expensive and expensive to ship). So you start with normal multi-tip cuttings, like in the next two pictures. The problem is they grow leggy by the time they first bloom and split or the branches are bent from the mother tree.

You can reshape these plants by downgrafting. It is a technique where you remove a middle section of the branch and graft the tip back on. You can also use tips from other plants. This also allows you to orient the tips to get a nice shape plant. Here is a plant whose two out of the three branches were downgrafted. It makes a more compact plant with a nice shape.

Here is another plant where all three branches where downgrafted.

Another use of grafting is to make rainbow plants. You can graft multiple varieties on a single plant. You can pick the varieties so they all bloom together and you have many different colors on the same plant. You can also pick the varieties so they bloom at different times, in which case the plant becomes everblooming and blooms all year. No more plumerias that just have leafs most of the time. Here is an ever blooming plant with multiple tips of four different varieties.

As you can see you can use grafting to do some neat things. It is a great technique.

Regards,
George

Dear George: I have a Atzec Gold with multiple branch and would like to graft 2 or
3 different plants. Can you give me a lesson on this? I read in the internet various ways
of doing this but would like a simple one with good results.

Hi George,

As always, great information. I was just wondering if you published an article on the new grafting technique that you discuss above?

Regards