Master Gardener: Grafting can help grow fruits, pecans
BY BILL SEVIER Ask a Master Gardener
Saturday, December 22, 2012
12/22/12 at 4:56 AM
Q: I have an old apple tree that
is on the decline. Can I plant apple
seeds to get a new one? What
about pecans? L.B., Bixby
A: You can grow a new
tree from fruit seeds under
certain conditions, but they
will not “grow true” from the
seeds. That is, the tree may
look like the parent, but the
fruit probably will not look
nor taste the same.
When seeds are formed on
most plants, they are a combination
of genetic information
from the male (pollen)
and the female (ovule) parts.
This produces a mixture of
genes and will produce a
hybrid, or mixture, of two
plants. This is true for fruits,
as well as pecans.
Due to the unpredictable
results from planting hybrid
seeds, fruit and pecan trees
are reproduced by one of
the various types of grafting.
Grafting is when the roots
of one plant (rootstock), is
joined with the cuttings (scions)
of another plant. When
the two are joined successfully,
the scion will be an
exact copy of the parent tree
and produce fruit with desirable
characteristics. Another
benefit of this procedure is
that the selected rootstock
may benefit the tree by having
an advantage of better
pest and weather tolerance.
How to actually graft is
beyond this discussion, but if
you decide to graft fruits or
pecans, OSU has many fact
sheets with detailed information
about the types of
grafting and how to perform
them.
The scions for pecan and
fruit trees may be purchased
or collected from your favorite
tree from mid-December
until late winter. They
should be obtained before
any buds begin to open up in
the spring and stored moist
in the refrigerator.
Should you decide to plant
a seed or a pecan to grow a
new tree, the fall of the year
is the time to begin the process.
Seeds from fruits and
pecans must be “stratified,”
or exposed to colder temperatures,
to prepare them
for growth. The duration of
exposure and temperatures
needed varies widely from
species to species — some
may need up to four months
of cooling before being ready
to plant.
Whether you plan on grafting
or planting seeds, you
will need to do some homework
to understand the conditions
needed for successful
propagation. Master Gardeners
at the OSU Extension is a
good place to start for useful
information.
If you have a garden-related question
for the Master Gardeners to answer
in a column, call 918-746-3701.
Original Print Headline: Grafting can help grow fruits, pecans
Garden tips
Houseplants recently moved indoors grow more slowly and often lose leaves. This is an adjustment to indoors and is a rest stage related to shorter days and reduced light. During this time plants need less water and little or no fertilizer. Water only when the top 1/2 inch of the potting soil is dry, then irrigate until water drains from the bottom. Discard this water; it has undesirable salts in it.
Indoor plants should be placed away from drafts of heating vents. Most plants grow best at 65-75 degrees and humidity of 50 percent to 60 percent. Some plants sensitive to low humidity may benefit from either a humidifier or placing pots on a tray of moist gravel. If more humidity is needed, the plant and tray may be covered with a clear polyethylene bag.
Associated Images:
Trees grown from a seed of their fruit will bear fruit that probably doesn't look or taste the same as the original fruit. BILL SEVIER /Courtesy
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