Forsythia is a shrub with yellow blooms in early spring that grows 6-10 feet tall and 5-8 feet wide, thriving in partial shade to full sun and moist soil. Grafting involves joining two plants together so they grow as one, allowing for improved varieties by combining desirable roots and shoots. There are different types of grafting including hardwood grafting done in winter for fruit trees and ornamentals, cleft grafting, and bark grafting. Tomato grafting involves grafting greenhouse tomato varieties susceptible to disease onto rootstocks with strong disease resistance.

1. Vegetative Propagation Plant: Forsythia Term: Grafting

2. Forsythia Plant type: Shrub USDA Hardiness Zones: 5a to 8b Height: 6’ to 10’ Spread: 5’ to 8’ Exposure: partial shade to full sun Bloom Color: Yellow Bloom Time: Early spring, Mid spring Moisture: moist Form: Upright or erect Landscape Uses: Erosion control, Screen Usually the first color in spring landscape

3. Grafting The process of joining two plants so they grow together as one Improves varieties with poor rooting ability Bottom is root stock Top is scion

4. Types of grafting Hardwood Done when wood is dormant Fruit trees Grapevines Ornamental & Bonsai

5. Creative grafting

6. Cleft Graft

7. Bark Graft

8. Tomatoes Greenhouse tomatoes Specially bred –susceptible to soil-borne diseases Grafted onto varieties with strong disease resistance

9. Tomato Grafting Scion & rootstock about the same diameter Use high humidity for 7-10 days until graft has healed

10. Today Try a hardwood graft Variegated Ficus & Green Ficus Try a softwood graft Geraniums