zxcvbob wrote:

sherwindu wrote:
Bill,
I am not trying to be a 'smart alec' or a 'mister know it all', but this father does have
other easy choices. He can plant a stone fruit seed, which has a much better chance
of coming out with decent tasting fruit. He can plant a raspberry shoot from one of his
neighbor's bush. Giving the kid the false hope that he will get a tasty apple after nurturing his
tree for many years will most likely disappoint him.

He just needs to set the kid's expectations for a nice big tree that
will bear yucky apples eventually. The entire top of the tree can be
replaced later by grafting/budding the scaffold branches later if they
want to.

Why bother? If he wants to graft something, he can buy a rootstock
and get several years headstart on getting his first apples.



If he "wins the lottery" he might get a good apple and he can name it.

If the fruit is small and sour, it might make good jelly, pickles,
and/or pies.

Now the kid has to learn all about canning and baking.



The tree is unlikely to survive the first year anyway, why not give it a
chance?

If he takes care of it, the tree has a good chance of surviving the first year.
That's why people take the trouble to plant stone fruits from seed. From
a plant standpoint, this seed is very capable of reproducing another tree.



If he has room for it, he can also plant a good semi-dwarf grafted tree
and it will bear in about 3 years.

Why not do it right the first time.



Bob