Hello dragon fruit enthusiasts! This is Jay, with Hybridizing Dragon Fruit, where we teach YOU how to make your very own dragon fruit varieties! Today’s tip of the day is about: DeGrafting! But, what is DeGrafting? And why is it so incredibly important? Well let me explain…

While grafting your seedling to a vigorous rootstock is an essential step in creating your new hybrid. It is important to remember that doing so is only a temporary solution to help your seedling to fruit as fast as possible. This is not meant to be permanent, though. At a certain point, in order to properly evaluate your hybrid, it must be separated from its host and allowed to form its own natural rootball.

...But why is that?… Well, when you graft to a rootstock, you get certain benefits from that rootstock. Such as weather resistance, disease & pest resistance, and even increased growth rates. For instance:

In the “Focusing Your Cutting” video we did here at HDF, I showcased an Ax that had been grafted, versus an Ax on its own natural roots. The difference… was absolutely staggering! One of the reasons the grafted version shot past the other in growth so dramatically, was not only the vigor of Halley’s Comet, but its wonderful cold resistance as well…

You see, both cuttings were started late summer, and established by fall. Ax grows very slowly and practically hibernates when the temperatures start to drop. However, Halley’s Comet does not care one bit, and continues to grow vigorously throughout the winter.

Because my Ax was grafted to Halley’s, it grew throughout the winter while the other Ax sat quietly, waiting for things to warm up… By spring, the difference in growth was enough to shoot a video over, and makes for a good example of how useful your choice of rootstock can be. It also shows just how much of an influence it can have on your plant’s traits, and how it can muddy the waters when it comes to evaluating your hybrid.

This is why at a certain point during the evaluation process, degrafting your hybrid is absolutely recommended! Only then can you see how your hybrid truly reacts to its environment on its own natural roots, being powered by its own innate engine so to speak. This is how you kick those tires and see what your plant is truly capable of.

Now, some growers like to degraft shortly into the dragon’s lifespan for an immediate evaluation. There are also those that choose to degraft after a first fruiting. Either practice is absolutely viable. However, for my circumstances, I prefer to degraft after a first fruiting. As I am evaluating many hybrids at once, this is a great way to weed them out early and make space for dragons with superior genetics.

Once degrafted, you should allow for no less than at least an entire season to pass, for a better idea of how your hybrid will react to weather conditions throughout the year. This will also give your new hybrid a chance to further mature. As the seasons go by, the fruit may and often times do change in size and flavor complexity. Some get better with age… though some do not, haha. But, this is why we are spending so much time evaluating in the first place!

If your goal is to create the best hybrids possible, it’s important to take the time to properly evaluate it on its own natural roots… in all its true glory… And degrafting is an absolutely necessary step to make that possible!

If you would like to learn more about creating your own dragonfruit hybrids, please give us a thumbs up, a subscribe, and be sure to join our Facebook group @Facebook/groups/HybridizingDragonFruit.

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