Grafting

Grafting in bonsai is the technique of joining living plant tissue, usually a bud or a small branch, from one tree onto another compatible tree so that it grows on permanently as part of the second tree. Growers use grafting to add a branch exactly where a design needs one, to swap in foliage with smaller leaves or needles, or to correct a gap left by a branch that died or was removed too early.

Successful grafting depends on close compatibility between the two trees, usually the same species or closely related ones, and on careful technique to align the cambium layers so the graft can fuse and carry nutrients between the two. Growers commonly graft in spring when sap flow supports rapid healing, then protect and wait, sometimes for a full year, before confirming a graft has taken.

Grafting is considered an advanced technique because a failed graft wastes both the donor material and time on the recipient tree, and a visible, poorly healed graft union can be more obtrusive than the gap it was meant to fix. Beginners are usually better served improving basic pruning and wiring before attempting grafts on a tree they care about.