Gardening thread

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  • Did you know these are likely to be crab apples as the pips usually produce what the rootstock tree is, apple varieties are produced by grafting onto standard rootstocks.

  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,811

    I did not. I knew about grafting but assumed it was usually similar varieties.

    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 13,268

    Not necessarily rootstock. Unless is a self pollinator, unlikely, the apple fruits come via cross pollination from others (in groups n-1, n, n+1) so the genetics will be mixed. And usually takes best part of 10 years for a seedling result to get to fruit bearing stage.

  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,811
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 20,696

    Apparently in France they don't graft apple trees onto rootstocks... I was mentioning some (what were) beautifully trained espalier apple trees near me to a keen gardening friend there, and over the past three years they've had no pruning and have just gone berserk... and she said that to keep espaliers manageable they need to be on dwarf rootstock to stop them just growing vertically up, as these French ones have done. Rather sad to see.

    Incidentally, if you're ever in Devon, do go to Rosemoor near Torrington, not least for their espaliers in the fruit garden... but the whole pace is fantastic, at any time of year.

  • I've got a bit of that "lazy gardener" vibe myself. Sometimes I just let things do their thing and see what makes it. But yeah, when I started adding a few things, like some raised beds and a stone path, it actually gave the place some structure without a ton of upkeep.

    A buddy of mine went all in and got some pros from a hardscaping company Ottawa to help set up a few key areas, like a nice patio spot and some pathways. Now it looks like a real garden but doesn’t need constant fussing. Keeps it low-key but still nice to hang out in.