Can’t you just grow full size apple trees without rootstock?
I would guess by improved pecan they mean a named cultivar and not a seedling. Like I said our nursery are known to markup up common cultivar and then say buy local. I have mentioned this problem for years. In my experience tree size can depend on company and even some companies send different sizes. I bought 2 JT-02 persimmon last year and 1 was a good foot taller than the other one. Some places just send small plants like when I bought from hidden springs nursery their persimmon trees did not even finish grafting. I got hardy kiwi from them and while it came small it did great during the summer (still have to see green on it before calling it good after winter though) but their persimmon literally still had grafting tape on it and when I took off the tape the scion fell off it was so young. I think the grafting standard is at least 2 years from what I have heard. 1 year for the graft to work and 1 year for the grafting tape to be taken off and have the tree grow out making sure there is less failures. How many years it is depends on the plant though. There are many people selling 1 year asparagus crowns.
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Pecans are not true to seed so over the past century or so, new improved varieties have been grafted to rootstock. Better nut quality, diseases resistance, scab resistance, precocity, Bud break, and harvest time are many of the traits growers and breeders are seeking. There are about 1000 improved varieties with about 15-20 being popular to the area that you might live. I’ve got several books that cover that one subject. Cheers!
100%.
Asian Persimmon trees are like $60, but my state forestry sells american persimmon 10 for $35 or 50 for $55. I can get budwood for $5 a stick, and even clumsy me can get 2 grafts out of 1 stick most times. So i could make 10 trees for $60, or buy 1 for the same price.
I only buy the first tree, after that, I use the seeds to make my own rootstock, and multigraft the first tree. Then sell a few to friends to make pocket money and to have a backup in another location…
I don’t grow peaches or apples, but Peaches you could grow with the pits from your store fruit, and graft over. Apples you may want a fireblight resistant rootstock for…
Actually this year, I have rootstock from fallen fruit I saw at the zoo last year…And the variety of scionwood you can buy online is multiples more than the variety you can find locally imo…
And the selection locally is pitiful here. The box stores sell pears, apples and peaches that have the wrong chill hours, and need a complicated spray protocol. They stock Northern Highbush blueberries that struggle down here. Isons is under an hour away, and they at least have suitable trees, but the variety isn’t great. They only have Li and Lang Jujube, and no named Feijoas.