Intergeneric Grafting of Ornamental Incense Cedar: First Results

Horticultural grafting is important in propagating conifers, mainly because many species are hard to root, especially when using cuttings from mature trees. Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florins) was recently introduced in Albania as an ornamental tree in public and private urban green spaces and is now much in demand. Intergeneric grafts are rarely used in conifers, and there is little information regarding incense cedar grafting onto rootstocks from different genera. This work aimed to evaluate the effects of intergeneric grafting on the quality of ornamental incense cedar, which is little known in Albania. Scions were prepared by taking 8-10 cm apical shoot from young C. decurrens ‘Aureovariegata’ plants. Rootstocks were prepared from one-year-old Mediterranean cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) seedlings. First results show that the height of grafted plants tended to increase slowly from 30 to 90 days after grafting (DAG), with a minimum increase of 4,9 %; this is because the plant grafted takes several days to join scion and rootstock. The Relative Growth Rate (RGR) of the scion was generally higher than that of the rootstock, which even showed negative values 60 DAG; this trend grew after 90 DAG. At the end of our experimental work, we obtained 410 plants, representing an 82% graft success rate available for planting in different Albanian soils.