I just wanted to ask if anyone has any infromation about seeding and starting fruit trees from the pits? Specifically peach, apricot and plum? Thank you for any info or even a good reference to find out more.
-- Christina
------------------------------------------------------------------------ posted via
Pat, I would add a bit to your reply. Because peaches are self-pollinating, the chances of introducing an unknown strain are much less than say an apple tree, which usually requires another tree to do the job. One dissadvantage of growing such a seedling is you don't have any control on the size of the resulting tree. For peaches, you will get a full size tree, unless the seed comes from one of these mutant miniature peach trees. By using a dwarfing rootstock and grafting the peach scion on to it, you will get a reduced sized tree (usually equivalent to a semi-dwarf for peaches).
Sherw>
It is very easy to do at least in the mid Atlantic US. Just pop the pits into good soil, I still stick a few in a flower bed from time. They will emerg the following spring. Note however that any resembalnce between the cultivar from which the pit was taken and the resulting seedling will be purely coincidental. Most commercial varieties are either hybrids or "sports" that have been propogated by grafting. I have gotten lots of cling stone peaches and miniature fruits from seedlings , some very good others not worth the space, but it is an interesting adventure.
Growing the trees from grafts gives control: if you graft an Elberta peach, you get an Elberta peach. If you plant the seed from that tree, you get a new variety. It could be the juiciest, most flavorful peach on Earth, or it could be bland and flavorless. Whether you're happy with your results or not is a complete crapshoot. How easy is it to do? I bought a plum tree that a peach sprang up next to, and the only thing I can figure is that somebody threw a peach pit into the pot at the store and it sprouted. Now, I can't allow it to live, because it will be a full-size tree growing under power lines. But you get the idea.
How high are the power lines? Peach trees do not get all that tall -- less than 20 feet. When I lived in Texas and had a bunch of peach trees, I *think* they topped out about 12 feet.
Bob
not to mention, most trees can be trimed to avoid the lines. the power company will probably even do it for you.
On the other hand, how tall do you want a fruit tree to get? prune it yourself. I wish someone had done that with the apple tree I inheritaed with the house... sucker is 30 feet tall, and I lose most of the fruit due to not able to reach it.
while we are talking about it... anyone know how to prune an apple tree?
Central IL small garden, but do my best!
email: daveallyn at bwsys dot net please respond in this NG so others can share your wisdom as well!
Not me, f'r sure. But a Google on "apple tree pruning" came up with a lot of hits. (The first one wants to sell you a book, but there are many other references.)
An earlier poster had mentioned grafting on to dwarfing rootstock. Dwarfing rootstock will produce a tree that is about 8 - 12 ft tall. Stardard rootstock produces a tree about 20-25 ft tall, semi-dwarf rootstock will get you a 10-20 foot tree. All of these are round about figures your mileage may vary. I have a neighbor with a 30 foot pear tree. I been grafting on to mini rootstock which will give me trees about 6 feet tall. But without pruning it could ge bigger than that.
Marty
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.