Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Preparing the plants
• Part 2 of 3: Grafting the roses
• Part 3 of 3: Caring for grafted roses
• Necessities

Oculation, or grafting, is a technique for propagating a plant where you take part of one plant and attach it to another. With roses it is easier to propagate with cuttings, but you can also graft roses. Especially if you have a strain that gives beautiful flowers but has a weak root system. One of the most popular methods of grafting roses is the T-notch method, but you will need a little time and patience to perfect this method.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Preparing the plants

1. Choose the correct period. Graft your roses in the middle of summer, as this is when the sap flows into the plants. If the juice and nutrients are flowing, there is a better chance that the graft will be successful and the new rose will do well.
   • The best time to graft is after the midsummer flowering cycle, which usually takes place in August.
2. Select an ent. The graft, or bud, is the part of the plant that you are going to graft onto another plant. In roses, the graft is often chosen on the basis of beautiful flowers, because those flowers will continue to grow after grafting.
   • The best graft is a young stem of the plant. The stem should have mature leaves, have recently flowered and have early wood development.
   • For best results, choose a stem whose flower has just wilted.
3. Choose a plant for the rootstock. The rootstock is the plant with which the graft is fused. Rootstocks are often chosen on the basis of health and robustness, but often do not have the most beautiful flowers. For grafting to be successful, the rootstock must also be a rose plant.
   • Two of the most popular choices as a rootstock for roses are Dr. Huey and Fortuniana.
4. Water the plants well before grafting. Roses need a lot of water to do well and the graft will have a better chance of survival if both the graft and rootstock are well watered before the procedure. Ideally, both plants are watered daily for the 2 weeks prior to grafting.
   • Make sure that the roses are watered very well 2 days and the night before inoculation.

Part 2 of 3: Grafting the roses

1. Sterilize your knife. Plants, like humans, are susceptible to viruses, bacteria and fungi. You can prevent the spread of disease by working with sterilized garden tools, especially if you are performing a delicate procedure such as grafting. This not only improves the chances of a successful grafting, but also the chances of the plant surviving.
   • The easiest way to sterilize your paring knife is with ethanol or isopropyl alcohol.
   • Take a clean cloth and dampen it with the alcohol. Wipe the blade thoroughly, making sure to reach the tip, sides, and base of the blade as well. Be careful not to cut yourself during this process. Set the paring knife aside for a few minutes to air dry.
2. Prune the rootstock. Prune the rootstock with clean pruning shears. Remove dead leaves, flowers and stems. Select a healthy stem with many well-developed leaves as the grafting site. Use your paring knife to remove all buds and thorns from the middle part of the stem.
   • Removing the thorns is not necessary, but it will prevent you from opening yourself up during the grafting process.
   • Removing the buds is important because you want the buds on the graft to grow instead of the buds on the rootstock.
   • When pruning or trimming, cut at a 45-degree angle to minimize damage and improve circulation.
3. Cut a T in the rootstock. Cut a 2.5 cm long T into the bark of the rootstock with the paring knife. Be careful not to penetrate the cambium layer, which has a wet, light green color. Use the tip of the knife to gently unfold the flaps you created in the bark.
   • The best place for the T-notch is near the center of the stem, between 2 eyes. The eyes are where leaves and buds grow from the stem.
4. Cut and edit a stem. Cut off the stem that you will be using as a graft and cut the top and bottom off. Leave a 5 cm long centerpiece. Make sure this part of the stem has at least 1 eye where a new leaf can grow out of the stem.
   • Use the shears to trim away any thorns, buds and leaves.
   • Cut the stem 2.5 cm below the lowest eye.
5. Cut the graft from the stem. Place the paring knife on the stem, above the eye. Insert the knife deep enough into the stem to penetrate the bark and the cambium layer. This is the layer just behind the bark that transports nutrients.
   • Cut away the eye, making sure to trim away the bark and cambium layer as well.
6. Place the graft directly into the rootstock. Make sure the eye is facing up, that means the stem is facing the right way. As you place the graft in the rootstock, the flaps in the bark will form around the graft. Push the graft all the way to the bottom of the T, leaving the eye exposed at the top of the flaps.
   • The cambium layers of the graft and rootstock are now in contact with each other. This will make the vaccination successful.
7. Secure the graft with grafting tape. Close the bark flaps around the graft. Wrap a few layers of grafting tape around the graft. Wrap the area under the eye, but leave the eye exposed.
   • Don't be afraid to gently pull on the tape to stretch it, this will keep the cambium layers in contact with each other.

Part 3 of 3: Caring for grafted roses

1. Water the plant a lot. Grafted plants need a lot of water. Water the rootstock every day for 2 weeks after grafting to ensure that the soil remains moist. The soil should not be soaking wet, but make sure it stays moist.
2. Cut away the first buds of the graft. Once the graft starts to create new stems on the rootstock, it will begin to form new buds. However, as long as the graft is still establishing itself, the buds can be too heavy and harm the eye. To minimize eye strain, cut the first 3 or 4 buds that form until the graft has healed completely.
   • Cut away the buds with a sharp knife or scissors as soon as they emerge.
   • To give the plant the best chance, you can also prune the rootstock above the graft.
3. Let the tape fall off by itself. Grafting tape is a special type of tape that decomposes itself over time and falls off the plant. Do not remove the tape from the rootstock. If enough time has passed, the tape will fall off on its own. This also ensures that it will stay on long enough for the graft to heal.

Necessities

• Ent
• Rootstock
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Clean cloth
• Pruning shears
• Sharp shears
• Grafting tape