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nafex - Re: [nafex] Seedling trees

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  • From: Melissa Kacalanos <mijwiz@yahoo.com>
  • To: nafex mailing list at ibiblio <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] Seedling trees
  • Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2012 13:15:31 -0800 (PST)

I haven't read all the emails on this interesting topic, but I'm chiming in
anyway. Forgive me if my remarks are redundant.

This seems to be about grafted trees vs seedlings, or is it actually about
grafted trees vs own-root trees? If someone wants to plant a known good
cultivar, without the hypothetical evils of grafting, there should be ways of
getting scionwood to grow on its own roots. Planting with the graft below the
soil might do it, or it might be possible to get cuttings to root, or
propagate with tissue culture. Would that make everyone happy? Then I'd
challenge people to a blind taste test of the same cultivar of fruit, grown
in the same location, on either its own or grafted roots.


I don't see any particular reason to believe that seedling trees would
necessarily be any better than grafted ones just because the roots and top
share the same genes. When discussing cultivated varieties, there isn't
necessary any natural harmonious metabolic balance there to preserve.
Cultivars have generally been selected for their tendency to have an
unbalanced metabolism, allocating a lot more resources to fruit production
than any reasonable wild plant would. And they're grown in environments quite
different from the ones their ancestors came from. I have a peony plant, on
its own roots, with flowers that are much too heavy for the stems to support,
so they flop over unless I stake them. There's nothing balanced about that.
There are plenty more examples of non-grafted cultivated plants, and animals,
that nonetheless have absurdly mismatched characteristics.

I strongly encourage everyone who has the space to grow seedling trees,
however. If you luck out and get something good, send me scionwood.

Melissa




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