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  Grafting is a breeding tool for plants and trees where you attach the top of one plant, known as the scion, onto the rootstock, or root system, of another plant. Grafting only works with plants that are compatible or of the same species. Although grafting may be a lot of work, it also offers a lot of benefits, according to the North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service website.
  
  

Speed

• Grafting the scion of a new plant onto established roots is quicker than growing a whole new plant. Grafting seedlings onto established plants greatly cuts down on the time it takes for the plants to flower and grow fruit. You can also graft several seedlings onto a single established plant, saving even more time, as well as money and space.
  
  

Change

• Grafting lets you change the variety of the fruits or other crops you're growing. If you find a new variety of apple, for example, that is more beneficial than your current apple, you can graft the scion of the new apple onto the rootstock of an existing apple tree. The existing roots will grow the new variety as long as the scion and rootstock are compatible.
  
  

Quality

• Certain rootstocks have a number of desirable traits, like hearty disease resistance or drought tolerance. Grafting lets you keep the desirable rootstocks while adding compatible scions to produce different plants with those desirable traits.
  
  

Repair

• Grafting lets you repair damage to existing plants or trees. Surround the damaged tree with several seedlings of the same species, then graft the seedlings onto the existing tree right above the damage. This particular practice is also known as bridge grafting.
  
  

Pollination

• Some trees need to cross-pollinate with another fruit tree or they won't be productive. Some holly trees need pollination from both the male and female plants to successfully fruit, according to North Carolina State University. Rather than ensuring the male and female plants are near each other, you can instead graft a male scion right onto the female plant.