Question 1)
I have a peach growing from the seed, I don’t know what kind. I generally toss peach seeds to the garden letting them take chances. This peach seeding started spring of 2013, went through the record cold winter of 2013/2014. It just went through mild winter 0f 2014/2015. it looks grow very well. So One thing I am sure of this seeding is that it can handle cold chicago winter. Now I have to decide what to do with it, graft another variety to it, or let it just grow its own fruit. If graft, can I graft J. Plum, Apricot, onto it as well? If I let it fruit, how many years it might take?
question2)
I also have a apricot seeding growing in a pot from last year. Unknown variety, but should be from a tasty apricot fruit… I generally don’t bury a seed into a pot. I want to move it to the ground when ground can be worked. My questions are how many year it takes to fruit and how true the fruit to its parents’? If the fruit quality turned out not great, can I graft peach, plum or else onto it?
I would definitely graft it. Not only will you know what kind of peach you’ll be getting you’ll also be seeing fruit far sooner than you would with a seedling.
Anything else I can graft besides the peach? Can the seeding branches and grafted branches grow together without interfere each other? I am curious , maybe the seeding is a good variety as well, So I want to taste its fruit too. How thick is the branches should I use to do grafting?
I’ve read on this forum, and from one other source, that peach seedlings are generally more winter hardy than grafted peaches, so your seedling may not perform as well if grafted.
I think it would be fine to graft an apricot to it. Apricots (and J. plums) are regularly grafted to peach rootstocks.
There is always the “middle of the road option”…graft onto it to be assured a viable and useful variety and let the other go. Hell, at least let some of it go to see what you get.
You are probably already aware that you can, and often times do, get good peaches from seedlings…right?
I would keep the peach until it fruits. Peach seedlings fruit in only a few years, they are not like apples. Also many of them produce reasonable peaches. If its no good you can topwork it and with the strong stock you can often get fruits the year after you graft.
Apricots are not used for rootstocks, but for a home grower I expect it will be OK.
I intentionally grew a seed from a “Last Chance” peach (Farmer’s Market) because I could not find the variety to purchase (now the Arboreum has it). It took about 3 years to fruit and was I pleasantly surprised! The same year my Mid Pride fruited in abundance for the first time and those peaches were practically inedible, they were so astringent. But the peaches from my “Last Chance” seedling were excellent!
This year I grafted some wood from the seedling onto my August Pride (which flowered for the first time). If nothing else, I have at least one peach that produces good fruit in my low-heat climate.
Peaches and apricots both are good gambles for seedlings, although the apricot roots may not be best for some climates and soils.
Thank you Speed, Olpea, BTW, my 4 years old nectary is still about 4-5 feet tall, following your instruction of growing it low, thanks!, Apple, Scott, and Steve for sharing your thoughts. I will let them grow to see what I finally get.
We have a lovely apricot my hubby grew from a seed. The seed came off a large old tree, not sure what variety.
The seedling tree seems better adapted to this climate, blooming a couple weeks later then the parent tree, and makes larger apricots too.
I would say give it a chance. You can always graft it over later.
And @joleneakamama so - its been 9 years
… i just came across this. What’s the updates??
I have had some luck grafting onto apricot root with Italian Plum, Nectarine, and Elberta peach. All are growing with good vigor. Grafted onto peach root this year and had success but less vigor for sure. I know vigor isn’t the only thing looled for in a rootstock though. But because of my success im going to grow out a number of additional apricot root this year and see what i get.