Just wondering - will an apricot seedling be OK as a tree? I know you can
grow peach trees & they reproduce, plums are OK, but "wild" cherries (i.e.
seedlings) don't... what about apricots? I just discovered one that's about
2 1/2' high underneath my tree in the backyard

Cathy

Xref: kermit rec.gardens.edible:55179

On Fri, 16 May 2003 21:29:04 GMT, "cb" wrote:

Just wondering - will an apricot seedling be OK as a tree? I know you can
grow peach trees & they reproduce, plums are OK, but "wild" cherries (i.e.
seedlings) don't... what about apricots? I just discovered one that's about
2 1/2' high underneath my tree in the backyard

Generally, NO. AFAIK, almost all fruit trees are grafted to take
advantage of the attributes of the root stock (that is one of the
factors that determines the tree's height). It is unlikely that a
seedling will produce well. I'm sure there are exceptions.

Jim

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.

Almost everyone will advise you not to start a good tree from a pit or seed.
The fruit will not be the same as the one it came from. However, I was
given several peach trees that grew when they were thrown into a compost
pile and left over the winter. In the spring, they started coming up, were
potted, given to me and I planted them.

After 3 or 4 years they started having fruit. One tree would ripen and
about a week or 10 days the second would ripen. The fruit tasted good, but
I didn't buy the basket of peaches initially and cant tell you what kind
they were.

Buying a tree will give you fruit faster, and you will know what you are
getting. Other wise, go ahead and get the seeds to sprout and plant the new
trees.

Dwayne






"Christina" wrote in message
s.com...
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 www.GardenBanter.co.uk

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. 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...

Dwayne wrote:
Almost everyone will advise you not to start a good tree from a pit or seed.
The fruit will not be the same as the one it came from. However, I was
given several peach trees that grew when they were thrown into a compost
pile and left over the winter. In the spring, they started coming up, were
potted, given to me and I planted them.

After 3 or 4 years they started having fruit. One tree would ripen and
about a week or 10 days the second would ripen. The fruit tasted good, but
I didn't buy the basket of peaches initially and cant tell you what kind
they were.

Buying a tree will give you fruit faster, and you will know what you are
getting. Other wise, go ahead and get the seeds to sprout and plant the new
trees.

Dwayne

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

Pat Meadows wrote:

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

If you are patient, you can plant the pits and wait and see how bad the
fruit is. Who know; you may get that 1-in-a-thousand good seedling, and
you can name it. When it sucks, convert the tree over to a good variety
by replacing the limbs through pruning, budding, and grafting.

It could be a fun 10 year project.

Best regards,
Bob

--
"Stealing a Rhinoceros should not be attempted lightly" --Kehlog Albran

Pat Meadows wrote:
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.

In what sense? Certainly they will retain the basic qualities of a
Apricot as opposed to a Peach or Lemon (for example). Or is this
where goos juicy vs lousy fruit might come to play?

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

Really - I had no idea they were derived this way. Thanx for the
explanation.

zxcvbob wrote:

snip

If you are patient, you can plant the pits and wait and see how bad the
fruit is. Who know; you may get that 1-in-a-thousand good seedling, and
you can name it. When it sucks, convert the tree over to a good variety
by replacing the limbs through pruning, budding, and grafting.

It could be a fun 10 year project.

If the fruit is lousy I'll cut that puppy down and turn the trunk on
the lathe into something useful & burn the rest. With my luck it
would probably stink tooG.

John DeBoo wrote:

zxcvbob wrote:

snip

If you are patient, you can plant the pits and wait and see how bad
the fruit is. Who know; you may get that 1-in-a-thousand good
seedling, and you can name it. When it sucks, convert the tree over
to a good variety by replacing the limbs through pruning, budding, and
grafting.

It could be a fun 10 year project.


If the fruit is lousy I'll cut that puppy down and turn the trunk on the
lathe into something useful & burn the rest. With my luck it would
probably stink tooG.


You can do that with the limbs. Use the trunk and the roots as a rootstock
for your grafting practice. You'll have a good tree in another couple of
years.

Bob

Hi Christina,
I'm following this thread with interest. Seems like most people
don't
understand about pollination. When you plant a seed or stone, the
resulting tree is a mix between the original tree and whatever tree
supplied the pollen to do the job. With fruit trees, like Apple, this
can
produce strange results, like a crab apple pollinating a Red Delicious.
However, with Peaches there is a better chance of good outcome because
Peaches are self fertile. This means that unless there are a bunch of
other Peach trees of different varieties nearby, the original Peach tree
will probably pollinate itself, thus preserving the characteristics of
the
original tree. What is lost in this process is the ability to regulate
the size of the tree. If you start with a semi dwarf Peach, the planted
stones from that tree will probably develop into a full size Peach tree.
The only way to control its size is to graft a piece of that tree
(scion)
onto a semi dwarf Peach rootstock. Well, that's the end of my little
tutorial on planting Peach stones. Hope it clears the air.

Sherwin Dubren
Midwest Fruit Explorers (MidFEx)

Christina wrote:

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 www.GardenBanter.co.uk

Sherwin Dubren wrote:

Hi Christina,
I'm following this thread with interest. Seems like most people
don't
understand about pollination. When you plant a seed or stone, the
resulting tree is a mix between the original tree and whatever tree
supplied the pollen to do the job. With fruit trees, like Apple, this
can
produce strange results, like a crab apple pollinating a Red Delicious.
However, with Peaches there is a better chance of good outcome because
Peaches are self fertile. This means that unless there are a bunch of
other Peach trees of different varieties nearby, the original Peach tree
will probably pollinate itself, thus preserving the characteristics of
the
original tree. What is lost in this process is the ability to regulate
the size of the tree. If you start with a semi dwarf Peach, the planted
stones from that tree will probably develop into a full size Peach tree.
The only way to control its size is to graft a piece of that tree
(scion)
onto a semi dwarf Peach rootstock. Well, that's the end of my little
tutorial on planting Peach stones. Hope it clears the air.

Sherwin Dubren
Midwest Fruit Explorers (MidFEx)



The peach trees' genes will recombine, and the seedling characteristics are
pretty much unpredictable.

Best regards,
Bob

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 20:59:34 -0600, John DeBoo
wrote:



In what sense? Certainly they will retain the basic qualities of a
Apricot as opposed to a Peach or Lemon (for example). Or is this
where goos juicy vs lousy fruit might come to play?

Characteristics that might be affected:

* good or lousy fruit
* resistance to disease
* size - dwarf tree, semi-dwarf or full size (these are the
three sizes that fruit trees come in)
* resistance to cold
* how attractive the tree is to various insects
* how late or early in spring the tree blossoms (this can be
important, we have late frosts in spring here and trees that
blossom early will have their blossoms killed by the late
frost - therefore no fruit that year)

In short: anything hereditary. Take a look at dogs:
chihuahuas and Newfoundlands, collies and dachsunds -
they're all the same species - all dogs. But what a
variation!

Well, all (for example) peach trees are one species:
_Prunus persica_ . But there can be, and is, considerable
variation within a species.


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

Really - I had no idea they were derived this way. Thanx for the
explanation.

You're welcome. I didn't think you knew it, that's why I
explained it. g

Pat

Bob,
You bring up an interesting point. I have never heard of this
concept
before. Can you direct me to some sources that explain it?

Sherwin Dubren

zxcvbob wrote:

Sherwin Dubren wrote:

Hi Christina,
I'm following this thread with interest. Seems like most people
don't
understand about pollination. When you plant a seed or stone, the
resulting tree is a mix between the original tree and whatever tree
supplied the pollen to do the job. With fruit trees, like Apple, this
can
produce strange results, like a crab apple pollinating a Red Delicious.
However, with Peaches there is a better chance of good outcome because
Peaches are self fertile. This means that unless there are a bunch of
other Peach trees of different varieties nearby, the original Peach tree
will probably pollinate itself, thus preserving the characteristics of
the
original tree. What is lost in this process is the ability to regulate
the size of the tree. If you start with a semi dwarf Peach, the planted
stones from that tree will probably develop into a full size Peach tree.
The only way to control its size is to graft a piece of that tree
(scion)
onto a semi dwarf Peach rootstock. Well, that's the end of my little
tutorial on planting Peach stones. Hope it clears the air.

Sherwin Dubren
Midwest Fruit Explorers (MidFEx)


The peach trees' genes will recombine, and the seedling characteristics are
pretty much unpredictable.

Best regards,
Bob

Hi Bob,
Well, I don't see any explanations of your last posting. There is no
hocus pocus about
genes recombining in an unusual way. Like with any other species, a
mutant variety may
arise, but on the whole, the resultant peach tree will retain the
characteristics of it's
parents. If those parents came from the same tree, it is almost a
certainty that the
offspring will carry the same genes as the parent tree. That's how
cloning is done in
other species.

Sherwin Dubren

zxcvbob wrote:

Sherwin Dubren wrote:

Hi Christina,
I'm following this thread with interest. Seems like most people
don't
understand about pollination. When you plant a seed or stone, the
resulting tree is a mix between the original tree and whatever tree
supplied the pollen to do the job. With fruit trees, like Apple, this
can
produce strange results, like a crab apple pollinating a Red Delicious.
However, with Peaches there is a better chance of good outcome because
Peaches are self fertile. This means that unless there are a bunch of
other Peach trees of different varieties nearby, the original Peach tree
will probably pollinate itself, thus preserving the characteristics of
the
original tree. What is lost in this process is the ability to regulate
the size of the tree. If you start with a semi dwarf Peach, the planted
stones from that tree will probably develop into a full size Peach tree.
The only way to control its size is to graft a piece of that tree
(scion)
onto a semi dwarf Peach rootstock. Well, that's the end of my little
tutorial on planting Peach stones. Hope it clears the air.

Sherwin Dubren
Midwest Fruit Explorers (MidFEx)


The peach trees' genes will recombine, and the seedling characteristics are
pretty much unpredictable.

Best regards,
Bob