The side graft is one of the techniques used in bench grafting onto pot-grown rootstocks. In this technique the scion is placed on the side of the rootstock, the cuts are made and matching done so that the scion arises at about a 30º angle from the vertical stem of the rootstock. This leaves a portion of rootstock stem that is referred to as the "sap drawer". The purpose of the sap drawer is to regulate the flow of sap past the union, preventing in this way the sap accumulation with the consequently loss of the graft by "flooding of the union".