HUMPHRIS NURSERY

Grafted treasures

You may have heard the term grafted plants before and wondered what it actually means? In a production nursery it means stocking up on the first aid supplies – those grafting knives are sharp!

Grafting is the process of joining two different plants together to create one super plant. The plants that are grafted together need to be compatible and both plants need to belong to the same family, apples with apples and citrus with citrus.

The root stock is grown first and then the main event, the scion, is grafted on later. There are a various techniques to join the two plants together, and different styles are used for different plants.

We graft to achieve special results from our plants, including: » Disease resistance – weaker plants can be grafted onto strong rootstocks to become stronger » Soil tolerance – plants that like dry conditions can be grafted onto a root stock suited to a broad range of soil types. So you can have that flowering Eremophila from outback WA growing happily in your rain soaked Melbourne garden » Reliability – bees are certainly our friends but if they pollinate a yellow flower with the pollen from a red flower there are no guarantees that the seed produced will be a yellow flowering plant. Grafted plants are a way to guarantee the flower colour » Plant habitat – if we graft a tall growing plant on a small growing rootstock then the size of the finished plant will be compact. We do this with citrus and other fruits, instead of a towering fruit tree the dwarfing rootstock will keep the size to under two metres, perfect for smaller gardens and container plantings.

To get an idea of how long the grafting production process takes, let’s look at the Acacia Waterfall Standard grafting time frame:

Year one – plant the root stock seed. These need to be tended regularly to make sure they grow straight and any side shoots are removed so they don’t leave a scar. Year two – graft the scion to the root stock. The scion and the rootstock ideally need to have the same diameter so the veins of the plant just under the bark are aligned, this will give a strong successful union. If they aren’t the same size then you will be left with a weak or unsuccessful graft. It can take months for the graft to knit to the understock, only then will the plant start to grow.

Year three – The young plant is potted into its finished container. It will need all of this year to develop a strong stem and a top big enough for sale.

Year four – the grafted plant is sent out to nurseries for sale.

This timeline is pretty standard for grafted trees and shrubs, although depending on how tall you require the root stock the timeline can be reduced by 6 – 12 months. A faster growing plant like a tomato would have a radically reduced timeline of months rather than years.

There are only a handful of production nurseries in Victoria that produce grafted plants. It is a highly specialised field that takes extensive plant knowledge and technical skills. Grafted plants are highly sought after and slow to produce, this can mean that sometimes it is difficult to source the plant that you want or often there is a waiting list.

Keep your eyes open for grafted treasures in your local nursery, there is something special for every garden. From ornamental weeping cherries, brilliant flowering eucalypts, succulent fruits to prickly cactus, you can really appreciate the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into every single plant.

Humphris Nursery is a Victorian production nursery with a specialised grafting team. Featured in their range are dwarf Corymbias, Brachychitons, standardised Acacias and Grevilleas, Eremophilas and a range of fruiting trees. You can find their grafted products in all good garden centres.