Inosculation or Trunk Fusing

[thams]

I think it's pretty well known that both Maples and Ficus can exhibit inosculation or the fusing of trunks or branches if conditions are right. I read this morning that the same can be done with olives as well. Has anyone tried dong this or have any tips when trying? I have some olive root suckers that I could root and bundle tightly. Is it better to root the cuttings first and then attempt fusing, or could I take the cuttings, wrap them tightly together and then attempt to root? Thanks!

 

[Cadillactaste]

I would think anything on roots would stand a better chance. To bind them without roots...you deal with ones which may not root correct? Then you have saplings/suckers that are in the mix that are dead.

 

[0soyoung]

I don't think there would be any particular advantage to rooting a bundle of cuttings versus bundling rooted cuttings.

Certainly with maples, inoculation occurs naturally because two stems abrade one another as they sway in the wind. Eventually the stems thicken and are rigid enough that the cambium between them is abraded away and/or dies and they end up win a common ring of cambium around them (and, hence, have 'grown together'). It undoubtedly can happen with any gymnosperm/angiosperm with appropriate characteristics/circumstances.

We have two ways to fairly simple ways to artificially inosculate stems.

1. Thread them trough a tile or bind them with a loop of wire
   1. Inosculation of two stems requires them to be held so tightly that the cambium between then gets 'squeezed out' (dies, actually) so that the two stems end up with a common ring of cambium around them. Similarly with more than two stems, the bundle winds up with a common ring of cambium around it.
2. Remove the bark and cambium on the mating surfaces of the stems; i.e., affect a mutual approach graft.
   1. These could likely be held with grafting tape and, hence, might avoid tourniquet layering. Doing this with three or more stems would be challenging, but one could fuse pairs of stems and subsequently mutually approach graft pairs of pairs (or graft other stems separately to a pair).

 

[bonhe]

I would think anything on roots would stand a better chance. To bind them without roots...you deal with ones which may not root correct? Then you have saplings/suckers that are in the mix that are dead.

I agree.
Bonhe

 

[Alexsim]

I don't think there would be any particular advantage to rooting a bundle of cuttings versus bundling rooted cuttings.

Certainly with maples, inoculation occurs naturally because two stems abrade one another as they sway in the wind. Eventually the stems thicken and are rigid enough that the cambium between them is abraded away and/or dies and they end up win a common ring of cambium around them (and, hence, have 'grown together'). It undoubtedly can happen with any gymnosperm/angiosperm with appropriate characteristics/circumstances.

We have two ways to fairly simple ways to artificially inosculate stems.

1. Thread them trough a tile or bind them with a loop of wire
   1. Inosculation of two stems requires them to be held so tightly that the cambium between then gets 'squeezed out' (dies, actually) so that the two stems end up with a common ring of cambium around them. Similarly with more than two stems, the bundle winds up with a common ring of cambium around it.
2. Remove the bark and cambium on the mating surfaces of the stems; i.e., affect a mutual approach graft.
   1. These could likely be held with grafting tape and, hence, might avoid tourniquet layering. Doing this with three or more stems would be challenging, but one could fuse pairs of stems and subsequently mutually approach graft pairs of pairs (or graft other stems separately to a pair).

Are there spiecies that this will work better on, maple is mentioned will it also work on evergreens such as spruce, pine, or juniper?

 

[Potawatomi13]

Indeed. Bristlecone and Whitebark Pines, very likely many or most others growing from seed caches or buried cones end up fused and generally multi trunk or multi root system trees.