David E. Ross wrote:
BlackThumb wrote:

Hello. I was wondering how 'old' a cutting from a plant would be. As an
example:

Imagine you have a five year old plant, that is old enough to produce
fruit. If you took a cutting from this plant, would you have to wait
five years for that cutting to produce fruit?

The reason I am asking is because I am buying a Coffee Arabica which is
one year old. However, they don't produce beans until four-five years
and was wondering if producing a couple of cuttings from it would be
make them a year behind.

Generally, a new plant started from a cutting has its clock reset. The
issue is not the age of the parent plant. It is the extent to which the
new plant's roots and top growth have become established. Thus,
cuttings from a plant that was already producing fruit will experience a
delay in maturing.

I have seen this with rooted cuttings of grape vines. The parents had
been producing grapes for a few years already. The rooted cuttings,
however, delayed fruiting for about three years, which is what I
previously experienced from grape vines bought at a nursery.

righto,

the roots have to be in balance with the
leaf area and leaf area has to be large enough
to generate enough extra energy to create a fruit
and fill it with carbohydrates.

the size of the cutting (cross section) will
be the age of the plant, but it also has to play
catchup in developing roots to support the
leaves, so subtract a year or two for that.

for smaller fruits on bushy plants it isn't
so terrible. like a bog/wild blueberry, those
can have berries within a year or two given the
right setting and conditions.

most grape-vines take a few years to grow
out from a transplant, not because the stem
is young, but because the plant needs to be
properly pruned and shaped to fit a trellis
or arbor. two to three years isn't unusual
for the first light crop. for dwarf fruit
trees already in a large pot i've had tiny
oranges on a twig, but it fell off shortly
after forming.


songbird