Nebari restyle method for ugly grafts

[Las Rewson]

I had an Acer palmatum 'Shaina' graft with an obvious bark color mismatch at the base of the tree, due to the position of the graft on the rootstock, so I decided to experiment with renovating the position of the nebari.
I'm bothered by unsightly grafts with mismatched bark and abrupt changes in trunk diameter at the graft, which is common in nursery bought maples. I could regraft it, but since I already had this particular tree I decided to experiment with a method to fix it and I had great success, so I am sharing the method. Since the 'Shaina' cultivar doesn't air layer well or grow well on its own roots, I decided to try and induce root growth just below the existing graft from the tissue of the rootstock. Instead of a full air layer style cut I simply scored vertical lines into the bark with a knife all around the base just below the graft line, basically anywhere you'd want a root to originate. I painted the cuts with 15,000 ppm IBA in 50% ethanol. I buried the graft in a new pot up to the new root level with potting soil. The result was a beautiful radial root system which emerges right below the graft line, effectively hiding the graft and creating a great start on the new nebari. See the photo below. Eventually I will prune out most of the original root system leaving only the new radial system, to allow for a more shallow pot. Sorry I don't have a before pic or a tutorial, but I wasn't expecting such great results.

 

[0soyoung]

I simply scored vertical lines into the bark with a knife all around the base just below the graft line, basically anywhere you'd want a root to originate. I painted the cuts with 1500 ppm IBA in 50% ethanol.

Vertical, as in parallel to the axis of the stem = up and down the length of the stem?

I'm understanding it to be this way and am puzzled why I see no indication of vertical cuts and/or why every new root magically appeared only from the top end of the cuts.​

50% ethanol?? You used 100 proof Everclear? Or maybe you have denatured ethanol and diluted it with water to 50%?? OR, you mixed 1500 ppm IBA powder in ethanol equal volumes powder to denatured ethanol??

I'm confused
​

I've tried similar things by drilling holes through the cambium with and and without dusting with 3000 ppm IBA and not gotten any new roots - the holes simply barked over. Lots of other things have led me to believe that the least bit of bridging across a girdle will arrest acer palmatum root layering. Hence I'm intrigued by what you've done.

 

[Las Rewson]

When I say vertical I mean the axis that runs from the sky to the center of the earth, up and down along the length of the trunk. The cuts I made started just below the graft line and extended about 10 mm down into the rootstock. I don't know why they all decided to grow at the top of the cuts but it worked out well. You can't hardly see any of the bright green bark of the rootstock anymore either. Similar to when a cutting grown or air layered tree is rooted, the bark tissue near the roots tends to turn a brown color. I've also had success with a similar method with other trees by removing a band of bark just below the graft, leaving a small portion of rootstock bark above it; basically an air layer that leaves some of the rootstock tissue intact below the graft. I would only do this if I had a nice tree with a bad graft or for cultivars that need the vigor of a species rootstock in order to layer or in order to simply survive/thrive. As for the rooting hormone solution: IBA doesn't dissolve well in 50% ethanol so it helps to dissolve it double strength in 100% ethanol first and then dilute to 50%. I just use nearly pure grain alcohol from the liquor store and buy pure IBA by the gram on eBay.

 

[Las Rewson]

Also I should mention the potting mix is perlite and Pine Bark fines roughly 50/50.

 

[0soyoung]

Okay. I think I understand - you made your own 1500ppm IBA solution. Then (since you could not soak the cuts as one would cuttings) you painted the solution on your vertical cuts and ... etc., as you've said.

 

[Las Rewson]

You can't see any indication of the cuts because they are all below the new radial nebari. I used a grafting knife to score lines into the bark, I did not remove any bark.

 

[Las Rewson]

Yes I made my own IBA rooting hormone solution because you need such a high strength and in Dirr he references 50% ethanol solutions as being most effective. I revised my original post, I meant 15,000 ppm IBA in 50% Ethanol not 1,500.

 

[Las Rewson]

What you said about painting on the IBA solution was correct, can't dip it, so must paint instead.

 

[Las Rewson]

Another picture from a different angle. Virtually all traces of the graft wound are gone and only bark with 'Shaina' genetics is visible starting just above the nebari.

 

[Las Rewson]

Here's a picture of a young tree with a bark mismatch, due to the graft, and it shows where to cut. It's a different tree than the first photo, but it's an example of the method

 

[Las Rewson]

Here's a picture of the ugly graft tree example without the markup. The difference in bark at the base of this young grafted tree would not make good bonsai material because the graft would be 2" above the nebari right in the middle of the main trunk.

 

[Las Rewson]

Most grafted maples use a seedling of an upright green standard species version of Acer palmatum as the rootstock, and it's much easier to induce rooting from the tissue of these immature rootstock seedlings than it is to induce rooting in the cultivar tissue which is already mature, even on newly grafted trees, and has been mature for several hundred years in the case of some cultivars. This method allows you to exploit the readiness of immature trees to root, so if you can't air layer a cultivar or find a nice low graft to a rootstock with beautiful nebari, this is the next best thing. Also useful for hiding ugly grafts on future landscape specimens.

 

[Las Rewson]

For anyone interested in how to make the rooting hormone solution I used see below. Also I thought it was 15,000 ppm IBA earlier but when I found my old notes on the solution it was 20,000 ppm IBA, hopefully the final correction on that one. I recommend buying a wide mouth lab grade tinted glass bottle to mix this solution in. The solution is sensitive to light and will break down over time faster when exposed to light.

!!!!!
Pure grain alcohol is highly flammable dangerous stuff so use caution with good ventilation and far away from ignition sources. Proceed at your own risk.
!!!!!

Ingredients:

IBA = Indole-3-butyric acid - bought a gram on eBay.

Pure ethanol - 190 proof grain alcohol at the liquor store will suffice or use reagent grade.

Water - Deionized water is best or use distilled water.

Procedure:

Completely dissolve 1 gram of pure IBA into 25 ml of pure ethanol then dilute the solution to 50% by adding 25 ml of De-Ionized water. Solution is now a 2.0% (aka 20,000 ppm) solution of IBA in 50% ethanol.

 

[fredman]

Interesting indeed. I have to try this. Thanks for the detailed information you provided.

 

[sorce]

Very interesting...

Sneaky sneaky!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[Eric Group]

From the pics, it looks like the roots came out above the root stock from the tree you want to keep... Hard to tell for sure, but after seeing the last pics of where the graft ends and where the "Shaina" begins, I think that tree is now on it's own roots. I seriously doubt that it would have substantial problems rooting or growing well on it's own roots.

 

[0soyoung]

I meant 15,000 ppm IBA in 50% Ethanol not 1,500.

Completely dissolve 1 gram of pure IBA into 25 ml of pure ethanol then dilute the solution to 50% by adding 25 ml of De-Ionized water. Solution is now a 2.0% (aka 20,000 ppm) solution of IBA in 50% ethanol.

Okay, this makes better sense.
One can get prepared powders up to 4.5% IBA from Hormex - just fyi.

I've applied such to green acer palmatum and it turns the foliage orange-red. Since Shaina is red already, the effect might not have been readily apparent. Did you notice any foliar color change?

Also, in WA we pay hefty taxes on drinking alcohol that are not levied on denatured ethanol (for laboratory purposes) - again, just fyi.

Interesting results. Thanks for sharing them.

 

[Las Rewson]

I've read a lot on the propagation of maples and I remember witches broom cultivars like 'Shaina' as examles requiring a grafted rootstock to thrive. If anyone has experience with an air layered or cutting grown 'Shaina' thriving on its own roots I'd be interested to hear about it; maybe it can be done, I don't know for sure.

I know that grain alcohol has extra taxes on it, but denatured alcohol has methanol mixed into it, not sure if that would affect it or not so I avoid it, and also reagent grade is expensive to have shipped to you because it's considered a hazardous material. A little bottle at the liquor store is not that expensive and is easily available where I am. I have gone to the trouble to make the alcohol solution instead of using the water soluble powders because the literature recommended it. It's been effective for me, but I have not compared it to the high ppm powders. It works much better than the 0.1 % powders they sell at the home stores for sure.

 

[Las Rewson]

One thing I like about this method is that there's less risk of killing or mangling a plant compared to cutting an entire ring of cambian off and hoping for the best. If it doesn't work you are probably just left with what you started with, plus some barely noticeable scarring.

 

[Las Rewson]

Also it should be noted that pure IBA is a slightly different compound than the IBA in the powders, which I believe is just the potassium salt of IBA. Pure IBA is not soluable in water thus the alcohol solvent. I've also read, but never tried, that the best solvent to use is poly ethylene glycol 400 (aka PEG 400). Apparently it creates a powerful osmotic gradient which forces the IBA into the cells more effectively than other solvents. What I read was regarding cuttings, but probably applies to this as well.