On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 10:27:12 -0600, John DeBoo
wrote:

Not trying to be a smart ass but, since it would seem that such
trees start from a pit somplace, so whats the problem? Are they a
weaker tree, and if so then where does a stronger one come from? I
would think for example that a pit from Apricot variety 'A' would
in-fact produce a tree of Apricot variety 'A' as opposed to variety
'B' or 'C' etc.

Well, it would (barring hybridization - I don't know if any
fruit trees are hybrids or not). Hybrid seeds will not
'come true' - the child plants may or may not resemble the
parent plants.

Just trying to understand as I have planted a few
Apricot seeds and am hoping they sprout, and if not maybe you can
assist in explaining why they will/did not. Thanx...


Most fruit trees are GRAFTED: a top from one type is
grafted onto roots from another type.

You might, for instance, want a dwarf or semi-dwarf tree
rather than a full-sized (30' or so) tree with good tasting
fruit.

You'd graft a top (called a 'scion') from a tree with - say
(this is just an example) - good tasting fruit to a bottom
(called a 'rootstock') from a semi-dwarf tree - that maybe
has lousy, hard fruit.

This way you'd get the good fruit qualities of the
[scion-parent] plus the semi-dwarf qualities of the
[rootstock-parent].

Pat