Hello everyone
I started experimenting with grafting around Dec 2024. The motivation behind this work was driven by the need to save space and minimize the work involved for keeping multiple mother plants alive.
I had success on my very first attempt. Beginners luck…
From all of my observations, a hypothesis began to form. I noticed that when the top node is removed, the branches that form develop large knuckles. My theory is that these knuckles are loaded with hormones that will help increase the odds of the graft being successful.
Below you will see my most recent successful graft, in its early stages.
Today I started another graft on the same plant. This is my Father plant, that will have many different strains.
The pictures below demonstrate the method step by step.
Step 1. Cut just above the knuckle that is forming. The plant tissue should be firm but not woody. Woody older plant tissue decreases chances of a successful graft.
Fantastic! If this is something you do more regularly I highly recommend a grafting gun. They let you to be much more precise about your selections and more importantly that tend to make cuts that let the Cambria (sp?) layer heal better leading to better resource distribution throughout the plant. I used to graft a metric fuckton of tomatoes for my grandpa’s hoop houses.
Few thoughts.
Scion selection is important. Thicker, more healthy stems, are generally better even if they’re harder to cut. They heal quicker and ultimately the graft site is less likely to break over time.
Pick compatible genetics. Not all genetics are compatible. You want scions with similar growth patterns. If one scion grows substantially faster than others it’ll monopolize resources
Pick good rootstock. Rootstock is the most important deciding factor. For tomatoes we were selecting from university rootstock (Rutgers) that was field tested to run on well water with medium salinity. For MJ I’d pick rootstock that grows vigorously in veg with a long flower time. Don’t worry, the rootstock will not impart effects ok the scion. The long flowering time will help prevent one or more of the scions from kicking onto flower prematurely. I no longer graft MJ as I found it didn’t actually save me space, but when I was it wasn’t uncommon for me to have one variety kick into flower while the others weren’t. This fucked the plant structure and caused the non flowering scions to freak out over the excess ethylene. No bueno.
Lastly don’t overdo it. The scions are delicate for at least the first six months. If you let them get too big, they’ll break at that interface layer and you’ll be mad at yourself. Even if they have a nice scar layer don’t trust it.
This is interesting. Especially because I am ignorant of this technique in cannabis.
This allows you to have multiple strains of female flowers off of one rootstock mother?
Does the rootstock affect the grafted scions as far as effect on the flowers? (i.e. do you get any cross effects from the different strains as you would from crossing strains via pollen?). Any other influences from either end?
Any other considerations as to how this changes the nature of the plant?
Similar to other grafting techniques where you can use a mother rootstock for resistance/local conditions and have multiple fruits/flower of your choice?
Flowering times? Can one mix early flowering BLD indices with long-flowering NLD tropical sativas? Sort of a perpetual harvest xmas tree?
The affects are going to be noticed only in the growth rate and nutrient uptake. That is because the root stock is effectively taking over that role for all scions. I’ve seen far faster veg growth but no change in flowering times, terp profile, color, or general changes in the bud itself. It does change the vigor, some plants become much more aggressive with growth and yield better. I’m basing most of my opinion after working with tomatoes but I have tried this a shit ton of times with cannabis also and seen similar results.
It’s a fantastic way of reducing plant count and increasing the vigor of cultivars you enjoy but don’t yield well but it’s not going to change the fundamental aspects of the resulting bud. It’s also a nightmare to deal with if the scions of dramatically different. If one finishes way earlier than the rest, harvesting early causes unwanted die back on the remaining portions which is a bummer
Yep. Not 100% certain but if I had to guess it’s something related to the ethylene levels getting wonky. They don’t ‘die’ in the traditional sense, no browning or obvious necrosis but the buds don’t mature right. They stop filling in, stay relatively at the same state as the first scion to ripen.
Grafting is 1000% worth it if you’re grafting multiple of the same scion, you get some kick ass vigor if you pick a good rootstock. I saw problems with early 8w cuts grafted next to 11-12w cuts. The longer hazy cuts just left me with a bunch of larfy shit buds I couldn’t get rid of.
I was using the pcg cut gushmints as a rootstock. She rocks for rootstock. Was seeing huge yield bumps (20+%) if I chose just one or two similar scions.
I dont plan on having more than 4 strains on my mother plant. I also dont intend on ever flowering the plant. It is a stock that I will take clones from. So far, the process of taking clones from my grafted mother plant has not become more complicated. It is simple and straight forward.
The male rootstock will have more strains grafted onto it. Im not sure how many, but
if I see problems arising as the number increases, I will make the necessary adjustments.
As far as a space saving mother to take clones from, that is ingenious.
Does the rootstock have to be male? Or did you choose that for either vigor, or it not effecting the flowering times on the scions? @sardinebags mentioned choosing a rootstock with long flowering time so not to affect the scions as far as triggering earlier flowering.
I have a male root stock and a female rootstock. I am keeping both mothers and fathers. I didn’t want to put everything onto one single rootstock because im less likely to make mistakes when I take clones.
The male rootstock will also be used to take clones from.
Both mother and father rootstocks were selected because of their vigor and incredible root systems.
Good thought on cutting into the developing knuckles, as they might be full of undifferentiated cells. These might pair well with the vascular cambium of the scion, and maintain good contact.
Will be attempting to make some grafted bonsai mothers later this season, so I’ll be trying out this protocol. Thanks!
Or getting around a type that will not root when placed in cloner. All types seem different one will blow out roots in two weeks others will just rot away! Yes this works on so many levels great topic @Farmers_Hat
That’s a lot of good info thank you for that. I wonder if I put female on a male would it make it easier to inter sex the scion to make seeds? @sardinebags@Farmers_Hat maybe answered earlier but didn’t find
You can absolutely do that. It will NOT produce fem seeds though if that’s what you were going for. The scion will keep it’s sex.
Fun fact this is actually really important for some fruits. Both apples and avocados have genders. For the most part if you’re living in an area with alot of fruit you might not notice that an odd apple tree here or there that kinda looks off and doesn’t produce fruit? Those are the males. One male can easily pollinate dozens of acres of trees and for the most part people don’t consciously plant them at home because they rightfully assume there is a male within wind distance. That’s not always the case though especially in the city. For that reason youll see people graft a male scion into a female plant. It’ll greatly increase the number of viable fruits if your plant is otherwise healthy but not producing fruit.
