AusBonsai

Hi guys,
With so many deciduous trees these days having been grafted onto rootstocks, how does one go about disguising the graft, or does one simply avoid these plants and try to source trees without or simply grow from seed?
As i am growing bonsai for my own personal pleasure and not really having an interest in competitions, how are grafted trees looked apon on the judging table?
Cheers

As long as the graft doesn't stand out there should be no problem with using grafted plants as bonsai.
Grafts do often stand out though for several reasons:
Bark of stock is different to the top.
Graft union sometimes swells to give inverse taper or grows quicker than the top or worse still grows fatter than the stock.

Some varieties are really difficult or impossible to grow on their own roots so have to be grafted.

In young plants the graft union is quite obvious but as they grow the graft union usually becomes more difficult to detect.

I know some growers who specialise in grafted plants for bonsai and use really good techniques and graft very low on the stock so the union will be disguised by the developing nebari. If you want to grow grafted varieties search out these type of growers. Another possibility is to layer a commercially grown plant just below the graft so the union becomes part of the nebari and does not stand out.

Good grafting technique and using stock and scion with similar bark will give best results but using cutting or seed grown stock will eliminate the possibility of graft union problems.

also ... bonsai nurseries usually have better grafted stock because they are producing species especially selected for the specific aesthetic purpose of bonsai (i.e. Blue Atlantic Cedar (Cedrus atlantica 'glauca') which I understand can only be grown by grafting to Atlantic Cedar root stock), whereas commercially grafted stock i.e. fruit trees are grafted for functional purpose and care is not required for the aesthetics appeal.

either way if you are choosing a grafted tree, choose the one with the smoothest transition, as the graft is one aspect on the tree you can't really change!

Good luck!

Ryan

I only ever buy grafted plants for the garden--after taking a couple of air layers or cuttings