Grafting at Bonafonte Gardens

Jerry Tracey, Sr. Director of Horticulture and Park Maintenance, gave me a grafting tour of the Bonfante Gardens last month. I requested this interview/tour because of all the unusual two tone, two varietal, and muti-trunked trees I viewed touring the Bonfante Gardens and Park last summer. Jerry told me the trees he will point out today either were grown by Michael Bonfante, Iseli Nursery, Inc., or Axel Erlandson. Axel Erlandson spent the last 40 years of his life in Scotts Valley sculpting Box Elders, Sycamores, Ash and Spanish Corks into shapes of chairs, ladders, spirals and baskets. They were known as The Circus Trees. Inspirations of the Circus trees are found in new plantings of trees and shrubs throughout Bonfante Gardens.

We began at the entrance where Jerry's current project is rebuilding a Ladder tree. No you won't find this species in the Sunset Western Garden Book. You might find it in Ripley's Believe It or Not. The Acer negundo or Box Elder at the entrance to the park had seen better days. It was one the original Circus Trees rescued by Michael Bonfante in 1985. Jerry is training a sucker from this Ladder tree to follow up the old frame of the ladder. It twists and leans about four feet up the trunk of the tree. The sucker's very tiny whip branches are being trained along the decrypted old steps of the ladder. This spring Jerry will graft the sucker's branches into the main trunk of the old Box Elder. Jerry will do this when the bark is most pliable; can be cut and pulled back enough to slip the prepared whip into the trunk's cambium. He will prepare the whip just as we learned in class; by exposing its cambium and lining it up with the trunk's cambium. Jerry said Erlandson chose the Box Elder to create many of his Circus Trees because they are a native to most of the United States, live for 60 years and they grow fast like a weed.

Next Jerry takes me into the Monarch Garden Arboretum and shows me a Ficus benjamina which Paul McKinley, Mgr. of Environmental Processes, has grafted into a basket weave. Paul began this creation by planting a series of ficus plants equally spaced around the outside circumference of a pvc pipe inserted into the center of the ficus plants. The eight-inch diameter by three-foot tall PVC pipe held the trees in form while Paul trained the trees into a new Bonfante creation.

Grafting was begun about a foot from the bottom of the tree. Paul began by exposing the cambium of each of ficus, just about an inch in length, side by side. He then bound the exposed sides together with green nursery tape. Paul and Jerry have tried lots of other binding mediums to hold the grafts together but green tape proved best. Paul repeated this technique every eight inches up the ficus. The tape was left on one growing season. The center pvc pipe form was removed and the five-foot tall basket weave Ficus bengamina has joined other wonders of nature displayed in the Monarch Garden.

Currently under construction in the Monarch Garden Arboretum are two Eucalyptus trees being trained to arch over the Mono Rail that runs above and through the Monarch Garden. The trees were trained to arch using a huge bamboo pole. Jerry said they are trying to do a natural graft on the two Eucalyptus trees. They will simply prune the trees where they arch together and let them join at that point. I wish I could be a fly on the wall (excuse me) butterfly on the wall, the day they do that.

Many of the camellias planted along Camellia Row are grafting miracles. Using a grafting method called "Approach", Camellia sasanqua stock is used as a base to Camellia japonica grafted atop. Very difficult to do. Why put the shade loving japonica atop the sun tolerate sasanqua? It turns out that a sasanqua is the most phytophthora resistant camellia for our California soils. The result is a top flowering standard that blooms red in mid-spring and the middle of this camellia standard blooms pink in the fall.

Paul first grew both camellias in separate 10-gallon containers. In the spring, when the weather was temperate, the grafting operation was begun. The base, C. sasanqua, was allowed to grow as a standard, then three feet up the trunk a splice graft union joined the C. japonica still growing in the container next to it. The splice graft area was taped tightly and the wound was carefully monitored. You need to carefully monitor because extreme a changes in temperature or humidity invites pathogenic organisms. Both plants held tight to their roots until Paul was sure the graft union was completely healed.

After 12 weeks, Paul cut off the C. sasanqua above the graft union. At the same time he separated the C. japonica from its original container by cleanly cutting just below the graft union. You can't tell how he did it because the sasanqua is pruned to keep it as dense as its shade loving cousin standing above it. What an amazing sight! You will find a row of these Camellia sasanqua/japonica's along the sidewalk and behind another favorite of mine—the Vegetable Show and Stage (Bonfante Gardens calls the Vegetable Show the "Red and White Animatronics Show").

Now we come to a miraculous complexity of texture, form and color called Claudia's Garden. The garden is full of bird attracting spruce, which are trained to weep, spiral, circle and bounce. Claudia's Garden is my favorite place to sit in silence and allow my eyes to infuse the garden creations. Grafting imagination has taken gold medal standards here. By the stairs, leading down into Claudia's garden is a two-tone spruce containing 9-10 grafts circling around the tree. The branches change from gray-blue to olive green as they circle the tree. The technique used looks the same as Master Gardener Bader Kudsi explained in last month's newsletter.

Scions of Picea pungens 'Glauca' were prepared by angling and exposing the cambium. Next, a wedge is cut into the olive-green Alberta spruce root stock. The effect is a green cone shape top with a slightly more coarse textured blue hoop skirt. Jerry said, "This tree took about four years to mature after grafting but has been in the Bonfante Garden's collection for approximately 10-12 years."

Approach graft method looks like it was used to make a Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star', a silver blue prostrate juniper, grafted onto a 3-foot tall trunk. The resulting creation; a beautiful blue juniper that can grow into three-foot wide umbrella cascading over the trunk.

Finally, I come to the last creation on my Bonfante Grafting Tour. A red Acer palmatum dissectum is grafted midway up the trunk of a green Acer palamatum. The green A. palmatum dominates the small red A. p. dissectum. The Bonfante Guardians must take special care to contain the more vigorous maple growing on top for "architectural balance" and to allow sunlight penetration below to its cousin.

The Bonfante Gardens should be opening in May. Check their website for the latest information. www.bonfantegardens.com For more information on grafting call our hotline at 408 282-3105, Monday through Friday, 9:30-12:30. You may also send your questions by mail to: Master Gardeners, 1553 Berger Drive, Bldg. 1, San Jose, CA 95112.

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Guardians of Bonfante Garden Enlighten Us Part II, Grafting Sue Conde Jerry Tracey, Sr. Director of Horticulture and Park Maintenance, gave me a grafting tour of the Bonfante Gardens last month. I requested this interview/tour because of all the unusual two tone, two varietal, and muti-trunked trees I viewed touring the Bonfante Gardens and Park last summer. Jerry told me the trees he will point out today either were grown by Michael Bonfante, Iseli Nursery, Inc., or Axel Erlandson. Axel Erlandson spent the last 40 years of his life in Scotts Valley sculpting Box Elders, Sycamores, Ash and Spanish Corks into shapes of chairs, ladders, spirals and baskets. They were known as The Circus Trees. Inspirations of the Circus trees are found in new plantings of trees and shrubs throughout Bonfante Gardens. We began at the entrance where Jerry's current project is rebuilding a Ladder tree. No you won't find this species in the Sunset Western Garden Book. You might find it in Ripley's Believe It or Not. The Acer negundo or Box Elder at the entrance to the park had seen better days. It was one the original Circus Trees rescued by Michael Bonfante in 1985. Jerry is training a sucker from this Ladder tree to follow up the old frame of the ladder. It twists and leans about four feet up the trunk of the tree. The sucker's very tiny whip branches are being trained along the decrypted old steps of the ladder. This spring Jerry will graft the sucker's branches into the main trunk of the old Box Elder. Jerry will do this when the bark is most pliable; can be cut and pulled back enough to slip the prepared whip into the trunk's cambium. He will prepare the whip just as we learned in class; by exposing its cambium and lining it up with the trunk's cambium. Jerry said Erlandson chose the Box Elder to create many of his Circus Trees because they are a native to most of the United States, live for 60 years and they grow fast like a weed. Next Jerry takes me into the Monarch Garden Arboretum and shows me a Ficus benjamina which Paul McKinley, Mgr. of Environmental Processes, has grafted into a basket weave. Paul began this creation by planting a series of ficus plants equally spaced around the outside circumference of a pvc pipe inserted into the center of the ficus plants. The eight-inch diameter by three-foot tall PVC pipe held the trees in form while Paul trained the trees into a new Bonfante creation. Grafting was begun about a foot from the bottom of the tree. Paul began by exposing the cambium of each of ficus, just about an inch in length, side by side. He then bound the exposed sides together with green nursery tape. Paul and Jerry have tried lots of other binding mediums to hold the grafts together but green tape proved best. Paul repeated this technique every eight inches up the ficus. The tape was left on one growing season. The center pvc pipe form was removed and the five-foot tall basket weave Ficus bengamina has joined other wonders of nature displayed in the Monarch Garden. Currently under construction in the Monarch Garden Arboretum are two Eucalyptus trees being trained to arch over the Mono Rail that runs above and through the Monarch Garden. The trees were trained to arch using a huge bamboo pole. Jerry said they are trying to do a natural graft on the two Eucalyptus trees. They will simply prune the trees where they arch together and let them join at that point. I wish I could be a fly on the wall (excuse me) butterfly on the wall, the day they do that. Many of the camellias planted along Camellia Row are grafting miracles. Using a grafting method called "Approach", Camellia sasanqua stock is used as a base to Camellia japonica grafted atop. Very difficult to do. Why put the shade loving japonica atop the sun tolerate sasanqua? It turns out that a sasanqua is the most phytophthora resistant camellia for our California soils. The result is a top flowering standard that blooms red in mid-spring and the middle of this camellia standard blooms pink in the fall. Paul first grew both camellias in separate 10-gallon containers. In the spring, when the weather was temperate, the grafting operation was begun. The base, C. sasanqua, was allowed to grow as a standard, then three feet up the trunk a splice graft union joined the C. japonica still growing in the container next to it. The splice graft area was taped tightly and the wound was carefully monitored. You need to carefully monitor because extreme a changes in temperature or humidity invites pathogenic organisms. Both plants held tight to their roots until Paul was sure the graft union was completely healed. After 12 weeks, Paul cut off the C. sasanqua above the graft union. At the same time he separated the C. japonica from its original container by cleanly cutting just below the graft union. You can't tell how he did it because the sasanqua is pruned to keep it as dense as its shade loving cousin standing above it. What an amazing sight! You will find a row of these Camellia sasanqua/japonica's along the sidewalk and behind another favorite of mine—the Vegetable Show and Stage (Bonfante Gardens calls the Vegetable Show the "Red and White Animatronics Show"). Now we come to a miraculous complexity of texture, form and color called Claudia's Garden. The garden is full of bird attracting spruce, which are trained to weep, spiral, circle and bounce. Claudia's Garden is my favorite place to sit in silence and allow my eyes to infuse the garden creations. Grafting imagination has taken gold medal standards here. By the stairs, leading down into Claudia's garden is a two-tone spruce containing 9-10 grafts circling around the tree. The branches change from gray-blue to olive green as they circle the tree. The technique used looks the same as Master Gardener Bader Kudsi explained in last month's newsletter. Scions of Picea pungens 'Glauca' were prepared by angling and exposing the cambium. Next, a wedge is cut into the olive-green Alberta spruce root stock. The effect is a green cone shape top with a slightly more coarse textured blue hoop skirt. Jerry said, "This tree took about four years to mature after grafting but has been in the Bonfante Garden's collection for approximately 10-12 years." Approach graft method looks like it was used to make a Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star', a silver blue prostrate juniper, grafted onto a 3-foot tall trunk. The resulting creation; a beautiful blue juniper that can grow into three-foot wide umbrella cascading over the trunk. Finally, I come to the last creation on my Bonfante Grafting Tour. A red Acer palmatum dissectum is grafted midway up the trunk of a green Acer palamatum. The green A. palmatum dominates the small red A. p. dissectum. The Bonfante Guardians must take special care to contain the more vigorous maple growing on top for "architectural balance" and to allow sunlight penetration below to its cousin. The Bonfante Gardens should be opening in May. Check their website for the latest information. www.bonfantegardens.com For more information on grafting call our hotline at 408 282-3105, Monday through Friday, 9:30-12:30. You may also send your questions by mail to: Master Gardeners, 1553 Berger Drive, Bldg. 1, San Jose, CA 95112. Gardening Tips \| Events \| Best Picks \| Publications \| Links \| Projects Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County University of California Cooperative Extension 1553 Berger Drive, Bldg. 1, San Jose, CA 95112 www.mastergardeners.org Website related comments: webmaster@mastergardeners.org © 1997-2008