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| I've heard of fruit growers removing fruit from young trees in their orchards to promote the growth of roots and branches instead of fruit. I wonder if removing the seeds from young ornamental trees would provide a significant benefit. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Tue, May 15, 12 at 17:59
| Yes it would Bob, but it would also be quite a tedious undertaking! For example, the big silver maple I used to have in my back yard produced 4,982,671 seeds annually. BTW, that's a lot. Also, it would be key to pluck them off just as they begin forming, before much energy is spent on their creation. Now a little shrimpy tree-yes you could do that if you are so inclined. +oM |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, May 15, 12 at 18:58
| i have no doubt about the premise.. but trees have a predictable annual growth rate.. and that would include seed production.. so i really dont know what difference it would make ... and i am not sure on your premise that fruit is thinned for root and branch growth .. fruit is thinned to produce less.. but better and larger FRUIT ... and a tree .. will not attain sexual maturity.. aka flower /fruit.. until it is established.. which would mean root growth is done .. or sufficient ... the tree is no longer 'young' as you say ... [and that would be setting aside the thought of taking off the 3 fruit on a recent transplant] and branching is a result of pruning.. not fruit reduction ... i understand ... what you are considering.. but i am not sure it works the way you are suggesting.. there is a fruit forum.. and those peeps do things really differently than us tree peeps.. you might want to try the same post over there.. and see what they have to say ... ken |
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| Bob is definitely correct about bud/early-stage-fruit removal allowing the tree to put more of its resources into growth. However, the effect varies from species/type to species/type. Some trees put considerably more resources into producing seed/fruit than others. I think most ornamentals probably put quite a bit less resources into seed/fruit production than many edible-fruit trees and plants do. Keep in mind that many edible-fruit plants have been bred to produce "super fruits" compared to their natural ancestors. Removing flowers or early-stage fruit might be of some use on small, newly-transplanted specimens, but would probably make next to no difference on well-established or larger trees. |
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