Grafing...Why?

[Evan Lewis]

Hello!

I hope everyone's weekend was relaxing.

So I cam across a post on a random FB group about grafting.

What are the benefits for grafting? Does it pass down protection or functionality to the next generation?

Are there any cons to grafting?

Best,
EL

[PaulF]

Way too much work for a lazy gardener like me. Seems like the most grafting takes place in the southern part of the country...is this correct? And does it have to do with all the diseases prevalent there compared to the places with harsher winters? Or is it just fun?

[zipcode]

Makes a big difference in terms of soil diseases. That's the biggest benefit for the home gardener. For the pro, the advantages are more, like long season vigor, in the end they save money by keeping the same plant longer.
For cucumbers the advantages are insane, a neighbor bought some plants and had english cucumbers producing at the beginning of june, outside, after the coldest may in history, my (also hybrid) plants were still at the second leaf stage frozen in time.

For eggplant, again, in climate that is borderline adequate, will make a huge difference.

Look at the leaf of this grafted pepper, normally it was 5-6 cm long, I've grown it two years.

Look at the jumbo fruit of an asian eggplant grafted on just a normal tomato, not the super vigorous interspecific hybrids.