This Magical Tree Produces 40 Different Types of Fruit

I have never heard of such a thing being possible but evidently this is a true tree story !!

I remember when I first took my wife to America and how amazed she was that with all the plants and trees in our neighborhood nothing was eatable !!

Almost every tree or plant at our farmhouse has something to eat upon a few times a year.. Just about as easy to take care of as some kind of decorative plant with little benefit except for the looks.

I for one think this kind of tree is amazing and wish I had a few dozen !!
www.sciencealert.com...

After about five years and several grafted branches, Van Aken's first Tree of 40 Fruit was complete.

It actually looks like a normal tree for most of the year, but in spring the plant reveals a gorgeous patchwork of pink, white, red and purple blossoms, which turn into an array of plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines, cherries and almonds during the summer months, all of which are rare and unique varieties.

a reply to: 727Sky

I remember seeing a farm in upstate New York that goes Apple's and leads and thought that was amazing.

Roses are often grafted onto sturdy rambler rose stock.

The Tree of 40 Fruit is Exactly as Awesome as It Sounds!
In food and cooking.

a reply to: 727Sky

That sounds cool as
I live in a neighourhood with tree lined streets and I always wonder why they planted horse chestnut trees those hundred odd years ago instead of sweet chestnuts, maybe walnuts etc
Was the game of conkers really that popular back in the day?!
I'd love it if every year I could eat the spoils of a sweet chestnut tree instead of sweeping conkers up and throwing them in the bin.

My grandfather had a tree with four different types of pears and a quince tree that gave quinces and pears.

He once grew a carnation on a cabbage.

a reply to: ArMaP

Cool story
I have bean plants growing that are from a 60 year+ generation that my mates dad grew.
It makes him smile that I keep his dads legacy alive each year.

Great, thanks, now I have a new lawn project.

Man that is cool!

originally posted by: Sillyolme
a reply to: 727Sky

I remember seeing a farm in upstate New York that goes Apple's and leads and thought that was amazing.

Roses are often grafted onto sturdy rambler rose stock.

Amazing what you can do with grafting. I remember seeing a tree in a seed catalog a few years ago that grew several types of fruit--I think it was peaches and plums and apples all in one but can't remember for sure--and thinking it was amazing. And all the fruit trees you buy have been grafted onto the root stock of some other type of tree with a sturdier root system. Amazing. I didn't realize roses tended to be grafted too, though. Thanks for the new knowledge

Very neat effort. Although it is possible to graft many many cultivars of a fruit type on a single tree, it is inherently a high-maintenance novelty to keep going. You have to continually prune very carefully so that more dominant varieties (or the rootstock) don't take over. Even with normal apple husbandry for example, a tree with dozens of grafts would quickly dwindle to 4 or 5 without very careful pruning. Additionally, it is one tree, so you will obviously only get a few of each type. It can certainly be done, but more than 3 or 4 types on a tree is a difficult thing to maintain and be worthwhile.

Interesting other grafts are in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. You can graft tomatoes on potatoes, peppers, eggplants and most combinations. Of course, if the potato has to expend energy making tomatoes, it will limit storage to the tubers.

Most cultivars of fruit trees, many roses, flowering fruit trees (cherries, plums, pears), many weeping trees (except a few like willow and birch) are grafted. The rest are cloned from rooted cuttings or tissue culture. Very few ornamental shrubs and trees are grown from seed any more except when developing new varieties.

In most cases, grafting is used to control mature plant size (dwarfing rootstocks), disease resistance, or maintaining a true type where a seed grown fruit will not have the same exact characteristics and flavor as the parent due to genetic variety.

a reply to: 727Sky

Remarkable!

My grand father had grape vines with a few different types of grapes, he grafted them himself,
We had a tree, I forget what it was but the bottom third and roots were one tree and the top was a completely different tree .
I remember the scars from the grafting looked kind of like it was stitched together.

a reply to: 727Sky

I’m a professional landscaper these days and thought grafting only worked on similar species, plums, apples, pears, cherries ok but almonds? Guess it’s back to school for me.

Very, Very Cool ! We have a tree that's half plums and half nectarines, it's awesome. The fruit also comes in two waves, so it's nice for a small yard and family. The mix of pink and white blossoms is sooo pretty in early spring too , but the Magic tree you posted is Amazing !!!