Graft

graft, in horticulture, the joining together of plant parts by means of tissue regeneration. Grafting is the act of placing a portion of one plant (bud or scion) into or on a stem, root, or branch of another (stock) in such a way that a union will be formed and the partners will continue to grow. The part of the combination that provides the root is called the stock; the added piece is called the scion. When more than two parts are involved, the middle piece is called the interstock. When the scion consists of a single bud, the process is called budding. Grafting and budding are the most widely used vegetative propagation methods.

Understand the science behind the whip-and-tongue grafting technique and watch apple buds bloom from a grafted scionSee all videos for this article

The principles involved in grafting are based on the matching of scion and stock cambiums (meristematic tissue, the cells of which are undifferentiated and capable of frequent cell division). Cambial tissue in most woody trees and shrubs is an inconspicuous single cell layer covering the central core of wood and lying directly beneath the bark.