Grafts on maple a problem?

[GailC]

Are grafts on maples really a bad issue if they are done well and barely visible?

I almost bought a sharps pygmy but noticed it is grafted. Its low on the trunk and hard see. Would this ever be a issue? The tree isn't big, under 1" trunk.

 

[Pitoon]

Are grafts on maples really a bad issue if they are done well and barely visible?

I almost bought a sharps pygmy but noticed it is grafted. Its low on the trunk and hard see. Would this ever be a issue? The tree isn't big, under 1" trunk.

A graft is a graft no matter how you look at it. Sometimes they blend in well other times they don't, but for the most part a trained eye will always see it.

If you like the tree go for it. Maybe you can air layer right above the graft?

 

[LanceMac10]

In my experience with Sharps and seeing lots every year at my favorite landscape garden centers, the under stock will grow faster than the Sharps so the difference just gets worse over time. I would probably keep it in a too small pot to slow growth of the roots but your just compromising the trees health. Or you can just live with the graft!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@LanceMac10 is steering you right, the graft union may smooth out over time, but the understock will slowly get larger and larger than the scion. At first this will look like "good taper", but eventually it will pass that point and become garrish.

Maples have smooth bark, meaning minor differences between color and texture of understock and scion will be easily noticed. Unlike Japanese white pines grafted onto Japanese black pine, or Pinus nigra or Pinus sylvestris, where when the tree is old enough to bark up often the bark types mix at the graft union making it hard to really see the graft union. I have a Jack pine, Pinus banksiana 'Chippewa' grafted onto what i think is Pinus sylvestris, and the growth rates match quite nicely, and the bark types have blended to the point where it is nearly impossible to see the graft. This nice compatibility just does not happen often with Japanese maples.

For older, well developed Japanese maples, email Brent Walston at Evergreen Gardenworks, he occasionally lists on his "Specimen List" well developed, cutting grown Japanese maples. But email him, with your price range, he may have stock he has not listed publicly. He is good about sending photos and giving you options.

 

[GailC]

Thanks all. I didn't think about the rootsock outgrowing the scion.
I thought about trying to airlayer above the graft but I really suck at airlayers. I'll keep looking.

 

[LanceMac10]

….here is mine, and the graft is clearly visible.....and some chipmunk damage too!! I re-potted to this bigger one to restore some vigor and give the roots room to run. Not too long or the rootstock will start to grow too quickly.


Hope you find one!!

 

[RKatzin]

It is definitely more of a problem with dwarf cultivars than standard cultivars. My Mikawa yatsbusa has a most unsightly bulge at the graft union because the rootstock is growing faster. Like a quarter inch difference in trunk diameter. Shishigashira is developing with barely noticeable difference at the union. My Hupps dwarf is super slow growing and it's just beginning to show a bulge after ten years.
I have a standard cultivar, 'Glowing Embers' and you really have to look close to find the graft on it.

 

[Canada Bonsai]

Are grafts on maples really a bad issue if they are done well and barely visible?

Not all grafts are terrible, but the kind of graft that you're presumably talking about--the scion graft used in the landscape nursery industry--is best to avoid if possible, regardless of the cultivar! In a world where pre-bonsai maple material is so readily available (and these hardworking guys like Brent et al. could use your support!), it never rarely makes sense to purchase landscape material for bonsai!

It's important not to perpetuate a stigma around grafting in and of itself though. A show-level maple bonsai will have often had many grafts during its lifetime, and that's perfectly fine! One type of graft that works very well is thread grafting!

Attached is a photo of a deshojo that was thread grafted to standard palmatum root stock. As this tree develops into landscape or bonsai material, the graft will disappear completely (as will that tiny wound, of course). Thread grafts are not perfect, but they are a significant aesthetic improvement over scion grafts, and i wish that the landscape nursery industry thread grafted for the sake of both bonsai and landscape enthusiasts!

Like @LanceMac10 and @Leo in N E Illinois pointed out though, all types of grafts must also be performed with material that grow at similar rates, and thread grafting is no exception.

In the future, if you find a cultivar at a landscape store that you would like to use/try for bonsai do not hesitate to purchase the material! But when you're choosing your specimen think about taking cuttings, air layers, or thread grafting one of its branches below the scion graft. (Keep in mind, though, that the landscape nursery industry is not thinking about your nebari when they repot...).

Many maple cultivars do not easily propagate from either cuttings or air layers, and so a tread graft like the one in the image is one way to experiment with a cultivar without having to endure an unsightly scion graft. Higasayama comes to mind, as do some interesting dissectums.