Rootstock is the base and root portion of a grafted plant. It's grafted onto the scion, which is the flowering or fruiting part of the plant, in order to create a new plant with superior qualities.

What does the word rootstock mean?

1 : a rhizomatous underground part of a plant. 2 : a stock for grafting consisting of a root or a piece of root broadly : stock sense 7b.

What is a plant rootstock?

A fruit tree rootstock is the stump of a related species which already has an established, healthy root system, and to which a separate fruit tree is joined by grafting or budding.