Can you use a piece of root as a stock?
Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 12:30 am
I'm just curious, and haven't been able to find anything on Google because the words are too common.
Instead of taking a scion and attaching it to the vascular bundle of the green part of the stock, could you attach the scion to the vascular bundle (or whatever it's called) in a large, woody root?
Instead of taking a scion and attaching it to the vascular bundle of the green part of the stock, could you attach the scion to the vascular bundle (or whatever it's called) in a large, woody root?
I think the reason for using the main stem is the number of undifferentiated cells in the meristem, which allows for a better join to form. Also, grafts are usually performed on new growth for similar reasons, so woody root tissue is far less likely to take. However, there's a technique called 'Hypocotyl' grafting, which involves grafting the roots of a recently germinated stock plant into the recently germinated scion. There was a good article about it on the web, but it's gone offline now. 
It's a good method for getting 'natural'-looking plants with a good growth rate. There's no visible graft line or stock on plants grafted in this manor. Seems like it would be tricky to do, but I would like to give it a go sometime.