Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
5
F R U I T T R E E S
Selectingfruittrees
Always buy a grafted fruit tree that is a named
cultivar. Seedling trees are an unknown
quantity. They will fruit eventually (possibly
after many years) but the produce could be
not worth waiting for. Seedlings are a bit like
children - you never know how they are going
to turn out, or know which set of genes they
are going to express (see page 21 on seedlings
and sexual propagation).
feathered
maiden
whip
desired
plant
(scion)
A grafted tree is a clone. The piece of wood
(scion) that is grafted onto the rootstock is a
piece of the original cultivar. For example, a
Beurre Bosc pear tree bought in a nursery
today has the aboveground parts identical to
the original tree selected in 1807 in Belgium.
It is a tree in at least two parts, the scion
wood, a bit of Beurre Bosc wood in this case,
grafted on to a rootstock (see page 23,
'Asexual propagation', for general principles).
rootstock
Figure 5.1
When planting your new tree prune to buds/
small branches that are facing in the direction you want
growth to occur.
sometimes disease resistance of your fruit
tree.
It is best to start with a young tree, a whip or
a feathered maiden. These two rather
contrasting terms mean an unpruned plant
with either just one stem (and pretty whippy
they are) or a plant that has developed small
side branches (see Figure 5.1).
Dwarfing rootstocks reduce the vigour of
your tree making them easier to manage by
growing more slowly. Generally trees on
dwarfing rootstocks fit better into the 21st
century lifestyle of less space and less free
time. It will not be necessary to chase them
with the secateurs, cutting out unwanted
vegetative growth. The overall size of the tree
is reduced without reducing the size of the
fruit. If you chose to espalier your trees you
Rootstocks
Rootstocks provide the root system of your
tree, influencing the growth rate and
