ABSTRACT
Aralias are grafted in mid-winter/spring, the huge, doubly pinnate leaves and strong, soft, pithy growth would seem to preclude any attempts at working with the material in the summer. Aralias are mostly grafted using bare-root or root-balled rootstocks. The structure and arrangement of Aralia shoots determines the type of scion material available and the grafting methods used. Aralias produce spur growths surmounted by a single bud. These are mostly short with very compressed internodes. For apical grafting of Aralia, it is always beneficial to make placement of the graft opposite the site of an axillary bud on the rootstock stem. Some grafters have developed patch budding to cope with the large diameter stems of mature Aralia. Most reports describe using bare-root rootstocks, probably because Aralia is normally propagated from root cuttings and the straight, rather thick root system produced is not readily potted. Efficient production of the Aralia elata cultivars requires provision of top-quality scion material.
