Preparation of grafting tools
1. Sharp thin blades: razors and scalpels can be used. Many grafting posts require that the blade be disinfected with alcohol with a concentration above 70{bf} before use. If there is no alcohol, it doesn't matter. I directly cut the lower thick leaves with the blade for disinfection and cleaning.
2. Large tweezers: The tweezers are required to be hard. Since there are a large number of thorns on the petiole of the rootstock, we cannot directly touch and fix it with our hands. At this time, a solid large tweezers can fix the unicorn instead. Palm, protect your delicate fingers from being pricked.
3. Ziplock bag: Use size 1-2 ziplock bag. Bagging is required after grafting to increase the air humidity of the small environment. The air humidity needs to be maintained at 60-70｛bf during the wound healing period. ｝, it is difficult for wounds to heal in dry air. Techniques for grafting cactus with unicorn wood (rootstock):
1. Choose fresh, strong, and well-growing unicorn palm branches as rootstocks, with a length of not less than 20cm. If conditions permit, grafting on a particularly long unicorn palm will definitely have better results. good. The scion also needs to grow well and be healthy, but it is not necessary to require the most vigorously growing seedling to be the scion.
2. For grafting cactus seedlings, it is best to choose cactus seedlings that are 1-3 months old and have a diameter of 3-5mm. The seedlings are too large and their bodies exceed the cross section of the rootstock diameter, so the grafting success rate is very low. Reason: The exposed wound of the scion will lose a lot of water, and the wound will be easily infected, eventually leading to grafting failure.
3. The top growth point of the unicorn palm, which seems to be the same thickness from top to bottom, is pagoda-shaped, gradually becoming thicker from thinner. Select the part whose diameter is larger than the scion and cut it crosswise with a thin knife. When you cut it, you need to do it in one go. You can get the feel of it by practicing a few more cuts. The same requirements apply when removing the roots of scions. The seedlings should be placed flat on the ten fingers. Both the rootstock and the scion are required to have a smooth cross-section without dirt.
4. Use a blade to remove the 3-5 leaves below the area where the rootstock needs to be cut to facilitate bagging later. Take a closer look at the rootstock’s cross-section characteristics. There is a circle between the lighter color in the center and the green outside, and this circle is composed of many small circles of about 1mm. These small circles are the vascular bundles for plant growth and the high-speed channels for plant nutrient transportation. They are like the blood vessels of our door. After successful grafting, there will be one or more vascular bundles connected to the vascular bundles of the scion. For grafting 3-5mm seedlings, there is no need to deliberately align the vascular bundles, while for grafting 1-2mm seedlings, you must find the largest vascular bundle to adhere to the spike.
5. When grafting, you need to be quick. Cut off the top of the rootstock first, and then handle the scion immediately. Use tweezers to clamp the rootstock, quickly stick the upper part of the scion to the rootstock, and then gently slide it a few times. , and press it gently, this can fully integrate the tissue fluid of the rootstock and scion, and also remove the air bubbles at the junction. The grafting process needs to be done quickly and gently. If the time is too long, the vascular bundles of the rootstock may be closed, resulting in grafting failure.
6. The best position for gluing is when the scion and one side of the rootstock are aligned (the two circles in the picture). In my picture, the cross section of the grafted seedling is slightly larger than the rootstock. The scion, so press it directly in the middle. In fact, it doesn’t matter much. You can carefully observe that the growth vascular bundles in the cross section at the bottom of the scion seedling are divergent, so there are many points of connection with the vascular bundles of the rootstock, and the grafting can basically be successful.
7. At this point, the basic operation is completed, and the last step is bagging. Bagging is carried out directly after grafting. Use a size 1-2 ziplock bag. After putting it on, seal the mouth of the bag, leaving a small opening for ventilation. If you want to completely seal it, it is difficult to do so.
8. Place the grafted rootstock in a place with shade above 60{bf}, or in a place with strong astigmatism. The wound should be protected from excessive sunlight, but as the rootstock, Unicorn Palm needs photosynthesis. So it cannot be placed in a place with insufficient light. Remove the ziplock bag after 5 days and proceed with normal maintenance. Within 1-2 months after grafting, lateral teeth will continue to appear on the petioles of the upper part of the rootstock, which need to be removed in time to provide all nutrients to the scion.