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Retrograde

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12. Almost all fruit trees are grafted

Wed Jan 4, 2012, 03:51 PM

Jan 2012

Fruit trees generally don't grow true to type from seeds, so branches from the desired variety are grafted onto a known, vigorous, hopefully healthy rootstock. /horticulture_lesson.

I'm of two minds. Yes, it would be nice to have fruiting trees in a city, but they created their share of problems. There are a number of cities in the Bay Area that have fruiting gingko trees downtown: they're edible, and I have seen people collecting the fruit, but if they fall and get stepped on/run over they make a sticky, smelly mess. A park near me has a persimmon tree: the squirrels love it, but since the fruits are too big for them they eat about half of each one and drop the rest. If the trees were in a residential neighborhood where the locals could harvest the fruit when ready that would be great, but if they're on Market or another congested street I can understand why the city wants the non-fruiting kind.

BTW, if the grafters don't know what they're doing it can harm the trees.

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Guerilla Grafters strike in SF - grafting fruit producing branches on to trees. City don't like it. [View all] Liberal_in_LA Jan 2012 OP

I don't mind fruit trees in the city. RandySF Jan 2012 #1

"authorities" don't like the mess of real fruit bearing trees. Liberal_in_LA Jan 2012 #3

They also don't like the homeless people those trees would attract. GoCubsGo Jan 2012 #6

Or the slip and fall lawsuits that would sufrommich Jan 2012 #9

Almost all fruit trees are grafted Retrograde Jan 2012 #12

You can lead a horticulture Nuclear Unicorn Jan 2012 #20

How many years have you been waiting to use that one? Lochloosa Jan 2012 #25

My dad made that one a staple in our house, although he used the conventional spelling, speech-wise Nuclear Unicorn Jan 2012 #26

I grew up in fruit country and grafted trees all the time. Its awesome. roguevalley Jan 2012 #15

I would think fruit and nut trees in a city would be a good idea. Uncle Joe Jan 2012 #2

I would love seeing fruit trees everywhere. Liberal_in_LA Jan 2012 #4

The nuts? izquierdista Jan 2012 #21

Meh, I'd rather see them work with the city instead of just doing it. Brickbat Jan 2012 #5

Anyone who has been to Phoenix during the citrus season knows that. GoCubsGo Jan 2012 #11

I would think in a densely populated area, overproduction of fruit would be a minimal issue. Uncle Joe Jan 2012 #14

I like this. SpankMe Jan 2012 #7

You have to have fertile ground for that Aerows Jan 2012 #17

Back in the 1970s, I proposed that the city and county where I lived plant MineralMan Jan 2012 #8

Maybe city property away from pedestrian traffic sufrommich Jan 2012 #10

That's funny, considering that one of the main downtown streets MineralMan Jan 2012 #16

That was bad planning on someones part. There sufrommich Jan 2012 #18

The city was very proud of their olive trees. MineralMan Jan 2012 #19

It would be "impractical" izquierdista Jan 2012 #22

The idea was that people could pick it for themselves and MineralMan Jan 2012 #23

Then someone would have to spray those, or otherwise work to keep pests off. I have an TwilightGardener Jan 2012 #13

California's relatively pest-free Retrograde Jan 2012 #24

Why don't they just allow it where it obviously does no harm? This is a prime example of boneheaded yellowcanine Jan 2012 #27

More: Renegade arborists creating forbidden fruit in San Francisco Liberal_in_LA Jan 2012 #28