In article ,
Dave Poole wrote:
On Mon, 12 Dec 2005 23:29:23 -0000, "Swiss Tony"
nd3toiande wrote:

I saw an Oak with a Silver Birch rootstock at a Nottinghamshire Garden
Centre and was wondering if anyone can fill me in with info on a rootstock
of this nature, the growth changes etc...
I asked at the centre and they did not give much info apart from a reduction
in size.

Unless I've overlooked some monumentally ground-breaking developments
in recent years, I'm sure you've been misled. An oak grafted on to a
silver birch root-stock would be the horticultural equivalent of
transplanting a lion's head onto a bear's body - ie. impossible
without continuous chemical intervention to prevent tissue rejection.
As with transplants in mammals, a successful graft can only take place
when both components are compatible and genetically close.

Grrk. A nice analogy, but stretched to the point that it has been
damaged beyond repair. The imunological mechanisms of the mammals
and vascular plants are wildly different.

That doesn't negate your point that it is highly implausible, of
course, nor that even grafting an oak onto a beech would be a damn
fool idea (from a horticulural perspective). As every decent book
says, any tree that can be grown from seed should be, with a mere
handful of exceptions. Even the grafting of fruit trees is kept
within the genus (sometimes tribe), and even then can be a problem.

A grafted oak is a demented idea.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.