Walter's right, I did say that a lot of grafting occurs because that's what most tree propagation nurseries do: graft. I said that in regard to Acer palmatum cultivars. It's abundantly clear that most of these cultivars will grow almost, or just as good on their own roots. I have observed dozens of these cultivars over the years on their own roots and I see little difference, except for a few weirdos like 'Shishigashiri', which definitely shows a more dwarfing tendency on its own roots, growing at a small fraction of the rate of grafted trees. I don't know if it's still true, but I have read (Dirr) that Holland perfected the cutting propagation of 'Bloodgood' scores of years ago now, and sold them by the tens of thousands in Europe. In the US, I only know of one nursery that specialized in cutting grown A. p. cvs, and that was Wright's Nursery in Oregon, and it went out of business (I cried) about a dozen years ago. They grew about 30 or so cvs from cuttings and they were CHEAPER than grafted trees. A bonsai dream. I had hoped to do a similar thing on a smaller scale, but alas it turned out the microclimate at the new nursery was not conducive. I may still do some more on a hobby scale as I wind down things, but they certainly won't be cheaper than grafts. Even after all the disasters with the weather here, I still have hoarded a number of my early cuttings from as far back as '96, mostly dwarfs.
Vance is correct about the seedling strains. I wasn't aware of the one about Pinus parviflora var azuma, good tip, thanks. I also have one of these grafts and plan to propagate it, perhaps this fall. It will be odd to propagate a seedling strain by grafting, but it does happen, especially to rare species. I often see Cedrus brevifolia grafted (non cvs). Another interesting blooper is A. palmatum 'Viridis' (sic), which should properly be A. palmatum var viridis since this was originally just green dissectum maples. God only knows how many phenotypes are out there labeled 'Viridis'. I also have my doubts about 'Sango Kaku'.
A case can be made for stronger trees when grafting P. parviflora cvs on P. strobus or P. thunbergii since these are tougher root stocks in general and not nearly as disease prone as P. parviflora roots. On the other hand P. thunbergii is not as cold hardy, so it would be a bad choice for zone 4 and colder, but P. stobus would be ok. In any case, the grafts should be as low as possible, which this one is not. I have had limited success in scarring the bark of P. parviflora just above the graft to help swell it and match the understock, but it is far better to start out right with quality starter plants. P. parviflora also roots quite easily (for a pine) and ground layering is always a possibility. I have grown roots on the scion portion this way, but infortunately lost track of the tree.
Brent
EvergreenGardenworks.com
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