Native Plants
![](../_images/smarty_plants.gif)
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
![](../_images/mr_smarty_plants_logo_web_200w.jpg)
rate this answer
![](../_images/star_00.gif)
Wednesday - May 07, 2008
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Edible Plants
Title: Fruit trees from seeds
Answered by: Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
Will fruit trees (primarily peach) produce fruit if grown from a seed?ANSWER:
Good question. The short answer is yes. The long answer is a little more complicated. The fruits you buy in the store are from cultivated plants that have been selected for their superior qualities - size, flavor, color, shipping and holding characteristics being among the most notable. All of these qualities are determined partially by the skill of the fruit growers, but primarily by the fruits' genetic blueprint. The seed within the fruit, however, has a different set of potential characteristics owing to the union of the genes from both the female and male parents. In practical terms, it means that most seedling fruit trees grown from commercially grown fruit is often vastly inferior in size, flavor, color and other characteristics to both its maternal and paternal parent trees. In other words, you have to grow a lot of tree seedlings, as a rule, to find a winning fruit producer. This is exactly what some commercial and many amateur fruit growers do; always looking for a superior cultivar to produce and market. Most peach seedlings produce very small, hard and knotty fruit that is scarcely useful, if edible at all. Occasionally, a chance seedling from a discarded fruit pit or core will produce a special and commercially successful tree. The McIntosh apple is a good example of such a cultivar. The McIntosh apple is among the most well-known and produced apples in production today. But all McIntosh apples are direct descendants of a single chance seedling found on an Ontario farm in 1811.More Edible Plants Questions
Looking for a supplier for Mustang Grape vine in Austin, TX>
April 02, 2012 - I'm looking for a supplier in Austin that will have a Mustang Grape Vine seed or plant for purchase. I found Natives of Texas in Kerrville, but if you know of a supplier in Austin, that would be pre...
view the full question and answer
Native Fruits for Texas Hill Country
March 31, 2009 - Can you recommend a species of blackberry for San Antonio or any other fruit that will be compatible in my garden? (mostly Hill Country Native, thanks to Ladybird). The local store has raspberries, bu...
view the full question and answer
What variety of Opuntia is best for eating in Boerne, TX.
September 26, 2011 - Which variety of Opuntia, is best for eating the pads and which are the ones best eaten for fruit?
view the full question and answer
Is the Texas mesquite, Prosopis glandulosa, toxic to cats?
September 08, 2009 - Hi Mr. Smarty Pants!
Regarding Texas mesquite tree, I know that rabbits and deer etc eat the seed pods, but my cat every time he goes outside starts munching on the pods, and I can't find any info o...
view the full question and answer
Edible native plants in New York
July 29, 2013 - In your plant database- which is great by the way- it does not say whether or not the plant is edible. Do you have any way to search for edible plants? Or do you have a separate database?
Thanks!
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |