Question:
I want to replace a dying plum tree. Several volunteers have sprouted up in my backyard. Should I take the time to dig one up and put it in a pot or not bother with it and plant a new one?Answer:
- It's always a gamble to cultivate volunteer deciduous fruit trees.
- Trees starting from a pit such as plum, apricot, peach, or apple seed are always unpredictable when it comes to fruiting.
- You have no idea what you'll get. Also, there are no guarantees it will produce fruit in the first place. Plant genetics is the controlling factor.
- Now, those trees started from vegetative parts will produce fruit that is a mirror image of the original or parent tree.
- The problem with the volunteers is that most fruit tree varieties do not grow on their roots. So, the shoots, suckers, or volunteers will not be clones of the desirable variety but that of the rootstock.
- Fruit trees are budded onto different types of rootstocks to restrict their growth or to make a variety more tolerant to soil conditions or pests.
- So, cultivating a vegetative volunteer is not worth it if you want to replace an existing tree. Your expectations will likely not be fulfilled; however, exceptions can exist.
- Also, it will be at least two years or more before you see fruit if it fruits.
- The next issue is that there is no guarantee the fruit will taste like the original tree.
- If you are curious, I would dig a volunteer up, transplant it into a pot, and wait to see what happens. You can always graft or bud a desirable variety at some other time.
- Otherwise, look to plant a new tree from a favorite garden center. You'll find a new selection arriving this month.
Question:
Why are some of the leaves on my strawberry plants turning a maroon color while others remain very green? They are planted in raised beds with good drainage.Answer:
- It is not unusual for strawberry plants to turn a maroon color during winter. This same thing occurs on Star Jasmine, Algerian Ivy, and other plants.
- The color change is brought about by the change in the season and cooler temperatures.
- Although evergreen, strawberry plants are not growing now. They are in a rest or dormant period. The dominant leaf color is green, produced from chlorophyll when actively growing. When inactive, the other leaf pigments are visible.
- With strawberries, it is a dark red or maroon color. Those plants with no other color pigments remain green. The leaves turn green again as the days get longer and warmer.
- You have a nitrogen deficiency if the leaves stay red or turn a brilliant orange-red color come spring.
- Strawberries are not heavy feeders, but they like a spring application of a complete fertilizer before flowering. I'd apply an organic vegetable fertilizer in late February or early March.