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[Frog Pajamas]

Saw this on FB today and thought you all would enjoy it. New Wisdom was on to something with the potato/tomato graft. 

 http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/08/03/337164041/the-gift-of-graft-new-york-artists-tree-to-grow-40-kinds-of-fruit?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140803

3 Likes TBM, Seed Collector and Roze like this.

[AcaciaAve]

Oh say what

[TBM]

I wonder what tree he used as root stock for all those grafts... that's impressive....

[Specialty]

This is actually very very common practice. It makes the fruit produce within a season instead of waiting like 3-10 years respectively.  Alot of the time here people graft specialty apple trees too crabapple trees and many others. There was actually a local farm here about 8-10 years ago (apple orchard) that had a major fire in there store it obviously spread into the feilds after about 2 years they were fully functioning again by using this basic method. I honestly wouldnt be suprised too see what kind of concoctions people will create that could/would be successful too the general market.

[New Wisdom]

 There are many points to grafting.  I don't think that the purpose of this is for fast growth like most grafts, but as an artistic statement and the multiple fruits.  Supposedly he chose different fruits/nuts with his favorite blooms so it will bloom a specific color pattern as well.  Pretty awesome!

[Frog Pajamas]

My stepdad told me he has a friend who grafts different flower color adenium obesum branches to adenium obesum bonsais and sells them on ebay for $100! Seems a bit steep for a price, but I imagine they are beautiful and apparently there's a market.

[nobody]

Most show Adenium and Plumeria over here are have been grafted to a much older caudex. A few years ago I was at a show and the first prize winner sold for over 100,000 usd, the caudex was approx 6ft in diameter. Was pretty funny looking since it sat in a pot that was only 6 or 8 inch deep. The gentelman said he had been working on that one for about 30 years. If i can find the pics I took I will post them.

nobody

1 Like New Wisdom likes this.

[fairdinkumseeds]

Dude I do a bit of work for has a mango that has 30+ grafts on. Adds a couple every year, but a few drop and get rejected or get absorbed. The main tree was planted in the early eighties.
Big old turpentine/stringy stump rootstock, and branches going everywhere, but he keeps it trimmed at around 2m wide x 3m high.
Not very productive fruit wise at all, but a great way to store genetics for future grafting, which is all he does it for.
If your gonna have a crack I recommend using engraved aluminum or copper bands so you don't lose track of which wood is what when your pruning suckers.
He is getting on a bit now, in his early 90's and can't remember what half of the earlier ones are, just country of origin which makes marketing the fruit a hassle later when he sells on to the big city markets, due to trade mark/licensing issues.    Lots of "Thai special" "Indian special" "Philippine special" "Hawaiian special" heading down to Sydney/Brisbane markets each Christmas...

Bit off topic, but while I am talking mangoes, another old bloke I know has like a botanic garden of them, and used to do work for the DPI with their breeding program.
I reckon I have tried ~100varieties over the last couple years, and if your after a good one, you can't beat a "Bowen" or "Kensington Pride".
Best of the lot taste wise, and everyone I know that really knows mangoes agrees.   
You don't need a rootstock with them either, they grow fine straight from seed. Bowens/Kensington pride are 10/10 for taste, everything else is a 6-7 at best.

1 Like New Wisdom likes this.