Seed grown versus grafted trees
Recently I have been getting some questions about whether it is best to grow trees from seed or graft using known rootstock and scion wood. This debate has been an extremely polarizing one in recent years. Lets break down the pros and cons of both and try to decide what method if any works best in your particular situation.
What are Seed Grown Trees and what are Grafted Trees?
Seed grown trees are exactly what they sound like. You take a seed and plant it, that seeds grows from a tiny seedling into a larger tree, eventually. This process can take years or longer for the tree to ripen fruit. Grafted trees are a little more complex but lets break it down into 2 pieces. There is a rootstock which is the part of the tree that tries to determine the trees mature size, vigor, and disease resistance if any. The rootstock is what it sounds like, it is the roots of the tree plus a little extra that will eventually protrude above the soil surface once planted. The scion wood is what gives the tree its variety (i.e. what type of apple the tree will be: gala). The scion wood is taken from a previously grafted Gala apple tree and grafted on to the rootstock, this is essentially clonal reproduction.
To do this the rootstock and the scion wood must be similar diameters, both are given a diagonal cut with a knife. They cambium layers are lined up and both pieces are adjoined to each other with grafting tape. The graft can take a few weeks for the cambium layers to grow into each other, once this happens the two pieces will grow together as one tree.
Benefits of Seed Grown, Benefits of Grafted
The benefits of seed grown trees are variety. Each seed, like things that are reproduced naturally, can have a huge amount of variety. You might get some large apple trees, some small trees, trees with small fruit, trees that have large fruit. Some trees might only bear once every 2-3 years, some might produce a sizable crop every year, the bottom line is you just can’t predict a seed grown tree.
Grafted trees are a known commidty. A grafted Fuji apple will produce Fuji Apples. You wont get Gala apples or any other kind of apple. Depending on your rootstock you might get a dwarft or full sized tree but you chose that ahead of time. Your maintenance will determine the fruit quality but everything else is already genetically built into your graft Fuji apple tree.
Cons of Seed Grown, Cons of Grafted
Seed grown trees can be a crap shoot. You just don’t know if the tree you tended for 3 years will produce the type of fruit you are desiring. You don’t have any certainty that you will get fruit after the first year of planting, or the 5th year. Generally seed grown trees on average produce fruit faster than standard sized grafted trees, but there are no guarantees.
Grafted trees are predictable, you aren’t going to discover the next great apple variety with your grafted tree. Your grafted apple tree is the same beacon for pests and disease it has been for the last decade or century or for however long it has been grown.
Conclusion
So which tree wins? I think both seed grown and grafted trees have their place, after all I do grow both seed grown trees and grafted trees. Seed grown trees are great options for people who want to end up with a lot of trees. Seeds are cheap and each seed can eventually produce a full sized tree. While all the fruit might not be the best tasting, produce the fastest, or have the longest shelf life, they all can serve a purpose.
Seed grown trees that aren’t what you imagined can be grafted onto. Yes that’s right you can transform your seedling tree into a grafted tree by following the grafting techniques we talked about earlier. Seed grown trees make great livestock feed and wildlife fodder/attractant. Growing from seed is a great option if you have plenty of space and feel like experimenting.
With grafted trees you know exactly what to expect. You can pick both the rootstock and the varierty of the tree. That means if you have a small space you can chose a dwarf tree that will fit right along your backyard fence. You can plant your tree knowing once you do finally get fruit that you like the flavor and texture of the fruit growing in your yard. This is an important factor for those you don’t have a ton of room and know exactly what they want.
The bottom line is whether you go with a seed grown tree or a grafted tree we all can benefit from growing some of our own food. Whether you chose grafted or seed, chose to plant a tree in your yard this season and enjoy a perennial food source that will feed you and your family for decades.