Many Reasons to Grow Seedlings ... They Can Produce New/Great Fruit Varieties

[LEOOEL]

Growing seedlings is like the lottery. Although it's not guaranteed that you're going to win, you could, and someone always does.

There is also good money to be made in growing fruit seedlings, as I've learned from others who've grown avocado fruit seedlings.

'South Florida - Winter Avocado Void' (S.FL-WAV') Update:
Today I spoke with the person who Dr. Balerdi said was able to come up with a new avocado cultivar that produces mature/ripe fruit in the 'S.Florida - Winter Avocado Void' ('S.FL-WAV') months in South Florida (February, March, April, May).
This person (whom I'll call T.P. to respect his privacy) said to have sold the patent to another individual, and because it was a legal matter, couldn't go into details.
When I told T.P. that he probably planted hundred(s) or thousand(s) of seedlings, to accomplish this feat of filling the 'S.FL-WAV' with a cultivar that produced ripe/mature avocados during this time, surprisingly, T.P. replied "None of that," T.P. said that it was "just a luck of the draw." T.P said that he just grew a seedling avocado that produced ripe/mature fruit during the 'S.FL-WAV.'
Planting a seedling(s) is a valid means to develop a new avocado cultivar that 'fills-in' the 'S.FL-WAV.'
The only problem is, that when an individual solves/fills-in the 'S.FL-WAV,' by the 'Seedling Method,' he/she immediatly realizes that a lot of money can be made and patents the cultivar, effectively removing it from the general population.

I have 118 potted avocado fruit tree seedlings (I guess I'm a Capitalist  ), about half are Catalina, and the other half are Simmonds. Since I do not have the space to plant all of them, I guess the smart thing to do is to graft their budwood onto my producing/in-the-ground trees. I see the future, I see myself, I'm doing a lot of grafting. 

I suspect that growing other type of seedling fruit trees, such as mango, can be just as rewarding. In South Florida, USA, there are no mangos to be found during the months of most of December, but especially during January and February.

I used to think that it was silly to grow seedlling fruit trees, since they usually take longer to bear fruit. And the fruit quality, well, like Forrest Gump said, 'it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.' But now I've made a 180 degree turn, I just love growing fruit tree seedlings. Even if I don't win the seedling fruit tree lottery, it's OK, I just love watching them grow. Some grow fast and tall, some die... it's exciting because/since they each have a different DNA, there is that potential for a great new fruit tree variety/cultivar.

[huertasurbanas]

I agree, I enjoy it a lot, just watching them grow

[edzone9]

I love growing Mango,Cado , and guanabana seedlings ..
I have approx 100 Guanabana seedlings ..

[jordiet]

I agree too, I love growing seedlings  though my space is limited and can't grow those big numbers you guys have. 

One beautiful and surprising thing I discovered not many days ago is that one of my new Avocado seedlings (Bacon variety) has "variegated leaves"; never seen that before and I do hope she survives our Winter as I don't have a greenhouse and most of my plants and trees are in the outside area facing the real weather, live in zone 10a in Spain and so far so good and not many plants get  damaged during winter but you never know ...

Have a nice day everyone!!

[LEOOEL]

Argentina, Florida and Spain, wow, I love this Forum.

huertashurbanas, it's great to be part of the Seedling Freak Club. 

edzone9, wow, 100 guanabana (soursop) seedlings, that is just awesome. Good luck, we sure need new, quality, cold hardy guanabanas here in S. FL. A cold winter killed my (producing) last one. Now, I've got a grafted, new one, growing in its place, but I'm afraid that one day the same thing will happen all over again. I guess the problem is that it's a tropical fruit, and this is a sub-tropical area. Quality guanabana seedlings are needed that will thrive in our subtropical area.

jordiet, good luck with your Bacon avocado seedlings. I also hope that they survive the winter, and that you win the seedling fruit tree lottery. 

[edzone9]

Hello Leo;

The Guanabana seedlings will gi into a 12x7 GH for the winter , i do have afew large guanabana trees in the ground that i will be covering and hope for the best.

where did you get the Grafted Guanabana ?

[LEOOEL]

Pine Island Nursery

[Tropicdude]

If you are not planning on letting them get big, it really does not take much space.

1st large batch I did was with Acai palms, I bought a 100 seeds, which I planted all in a seed bed, the healthiest ones, I transplanted to 1 gallon pots,  I sold some, gave some away, and did trades with the others.  I basically introduced this palm here, as the local botanical garden, did not have them I donated some.

2nd batch, was Moringa,  I planted 100 in poly bags,  was going to sell them at an event, but that even got cancelled, so I have all these moringa trees getting leggy, I gave some away, let some die off, and planted one in my front yard,  which is not about 7ft tall.   of course I have consumed the leaves from some of the others, good thing about moringa, you do not have to wait for it to mature, to harvest from them.

I will start stuff from seed , and most of the time just give them away as gifts.   next seeds, will be Sugar Apple, and Canistel, which I will give to a raw food eater that has a few acres of land, and was interested. 

[Future]

I am transplanting about 50 jackfruit seedlings today.  These sit next to about 50 mangoes, 50 rollinias, 50 soursop, 24 abiu, custard apples, cherimoyas, sapodillas, guavas, sugar apples...all seedlings.  Backyard is looking like a mini nursery.

[CTMIAMI]

One beautiful and surprising thing I discovered not many days ago is that one of my new Avocado seedlings (Bacon variety) has "variegated leaves"; never seen that before

Jordie can you post pictures of the variegated leaves of the seedling?

[LEOOEL]

Tropicdude, so that's what you're up to, that is amazing, you're likea modern day Johnny Appleseed. With all due respect, I love what you're doing. And, you're right, I've also noticed that seedlings do not take up that much space. Since I can't plant all of them either, I keep naively wishing that I had a futuristic supercomputer that could analyze all the seedlings' DNA, and then tell me which one(s) will produce quality fruit and tree. I tell 'ya,' future generations are going to be so lucky (God willing).

Future, wow, it's like you're constantly bringing lots of new plant babies into the world. That is an amazing amount of seedling activity you've got going there.

Carlos, I had no idea, this is a lot of excitement, there are so many people churning out seedlings, like if in a mass production factory. It sure looks like there is going to be more than one winner in the seedling fruit tree lottery. 

[Felipe]

I am transplanting about 50 jackfruit seedlings today.  These sit next to about 50 mangoes, 50 rollinias, 50 soursop, 24 abiu, custard apples, cherimoyas, sapodillas, guavas, sugar apples...all seedlings.  Backyard is looking like a mini nursery.

Wow! You must have a big piece of land... Good luck with all your seedlings. Maybe you develop some new super-cultivars

I would grow much more seedlings if my irrigation costs weren't so high...

[edzone9]

Hey LEO i bought one from PI , i dont think there Guanabana Trees are Grafted , they guy told me they where all seedlings..

Thanks Ed..

[LEOOEL]

edzone9, LOL, that is freaking unbelievable, I thought the guanabana that I bought from them was grafted! No wonder it died, it was a runt! 
Thanks for the information, I think that I may soon be growing guanabana seedlings also, and I'll be saving money!

[jordiet]

Here you have them Carlos,  not the best photos but it was just too late when I took them this evening!!





















Any advices in how to properly take care of it??  Thank you.
Good day,

Jordi

Jordie can you post pictures of the variegated leaves of the seedling?

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Keep that variegated avocado in some shade (about 30-50%)..as it gets older it might be able to withstand more light.

and don't over water.

also, I'd be sure to give it micro nutritional feedings, by spraying the foliage.

good luck!

[jordiet]

Thank you very much ASaffron, I will follow all your advices!!
Regards,

Jordi

Keep that variegated avocado in some shade (about 30-50%)..as it gets older it might be able to withstand more light.

and don't over water.

also, I'd be sure to give it micro nutritional feedings, by spraying the foliage.

good luck!

[LEOOEL]

jordiet, that's a very unusual looking 'avocado' seedling. It would be interesting to find out what kind of mature fruit the tree will produce one day.

When it comes to advice to take care of it, I like to keep it simple, four things: water, nutrition in the soil, sun and location. The one that I'm at a loss is 'location.' Although I once spent 6 months living in Madrid, Spain, I have no idea about how to grow avocados there. But, I know that it is possible, several members in this Forum grow avocados in Spain and Portugal.

[jordiet]

Thank you Leooel for your advices and help.

I live in a good mediterranean area in Spain and Avocados trees grow well here, planted three or four last year from seeds ---just for trying and fun--- and they survived the winter in the outside with no major problems.  Perhaps this special avocado variegated seedling I will put it in the greenhouse during the colder nights in January or February; we will see.

Many thanks once again, have a good day there!!

[LEOOEL]

That is just absolutly awesome, like I've said, I lived for six months in Spain, and only recently did I learn that you can grow avocados there too, near the Mediterranean.
If your rare, hard to find, varigated avocado seedling ever produces a reliable good production of quality fruit, then you'd have a valuable/patentable beautiful avocado tree, that everyone would like to buy. I'm amazed at the fruits that can be grown in Spain, like olives, apples, grapes..., it really is an amazing place to grow fruit. I have fond memories of the time that I lived there, knowing this brings a smile to my face, thanks for posting.

[Tao2]

I have an avocado seedling that's all white leaf..............not sure if I'd call it variegated as it has no green in its leaf........its only about a foot high...........I assumed it lacked chloroform and would die when the food from the seed is exhausted..................I know with coloured ornamental cacti............when they are red or yellow..that they need to be grafted on to a green rootstock otherwise they die ...can't do photosynthesis..........................I have grown a lot of trees from seed over the years..................over all they tend to fare better..............particularly if grown in-situ .............some species do better at producing quality fruit than others...............slightly off tropical topic for a moment.............70% of apples produce quality fruit... 20% plums ...20 % pears  ....99% peach......etc ...so I guess tropical fruit will also vary between species..............

[LEOOEL]

Albino avocado? Interesting! Maybe it's a genetic mutation produced by the cold weather. You'll be worldwide famous if it were to produce white avocados.

[Tao2]

white avocado's.............that would be something..............don't think its the cold ......could market it as 'snow avocado'...................I dourt it will survive the season

[KarenRei]

As a general rule, albino plants, lacking cholophyl and protection against UV, die relatively quickly.  One notable exception is "white redwoods", which can parasite their parent tree and live for decades.

I love seeing the diversity of seedlings.  For example, I was transplanting sequoias the other day.  I move them when there's more than one growing in a tray and they reach a certain size visible above-ground.  As a general rule, at this stage, all have only a simple taproot.  But one that I was moving came up with a majorly bisected root system and had 4-5 times the net root mass as other trees with the same amount of visible growth above-ground in the same tray.  Whether it's genetics or unseen environmental factors, I have no clue.  Whether it'll have an affect on it later in life or not, I have no clue.  But I love the thought that every new seed is a new roll of the dice, for better or for worse. 

[micah]

One of my chempajak in a tray of seedlings in variegated also! Maybe I will plant it and see.

[LEOOEL]

white avocado's.............that would be something..............don't think its the cold ......could market it as 'snow avocado'...................I dourt it will survive the season

I hope it does, but whether it does or not, I'm sure there's an avocado seed 'outthere' with what I like to call the 'Ice Age Gene.' An avocado fruit/tree with such a genetic makeup, should be able to survive the New Zealand winter, it's just a matter of finding such a seedling(s).

As a general rule, albino plants, lacking cholophyl and protection against UV, die relatively quickly.  One notable exception is "white redwoods", which can parasite their parent tree and live for decades.

I love seeing the diversity of seedlings.  For example, I was transplanting sequoias the other day.  I move them when there's more than one growing in a tray and they reach a certain size visible above-ground.  As a general rule, at this stage, all have only a simple taproot.  But one that I was moving came up with a majorly bisected root system and had 4-5 times the net root mass as other trees with the same amount of visible growth above-ground in the same tray.  Whether it's genetics or unseen environmental factors, I have no clue.  Whether it'll have an affect on it later in life or not, I have no clue.  But I love the thought that every new seed is a new roll of the dice, for better or for worse. 

Yes, it never ceases to amaze me either, can you imagine the gratification of growing/finding a new excellent quality fruit seedling!

One of my chempajak in a tray of seedlings in variegated also! Maybe I will plant it and see.

Maybe you should.

[AlexRF]

I love seeing the diversity of seedlings.  For example, I was transplanting sequoias the other day.  I move them when there's more than one growing in a tray and they reach a certain size visible above-ground.  As a general rule, at this stage, all have only a simple taproot.  But one that I was moving came up with a majorly bisected root system and had 4-5 times the net root mass as other trees with the same amount of visible growth above-ground in the same tray.

Six months ago, I have sprouted seeds of Argania spinosa. One of the seeds consisted of two sections. Each compartment had its own germ. These two seedlings have developed completely differently! One was a short stalk and a long root, and the other vice versa short root and a long stem.
Even the two halves of the seed did not produce twins! This polymorphism!

[Tao2]

I recall from my bio days that a man and a women can create more genetic diversity (offspring) between them than all the stars in the known universe............sorry the pic is side ways........

[LEOOEL]

Seeing is believing! I like the great name that you've given this seedling, 'Snow Avocado.' I've never seen anything like it. I sure hope it survives the winter, please take care of this beauty.

[Sanddollarmoon]

Here is my Haas avocado seedling, which I have dubbed ‘Nalu’, on account of it's perfectly curled leaves.

Showing the curl on a younger leaf:


From Leo:

Wow, that sure seems unusual. I've never seen anything like it. I suppose that's why they call it the genetic roll of the dice.

I assume that most, if not all, organism genomes are affected by epigenetics, in other words, the relationship between genes and their surrounding environment. Perhaps some of the genes in your seedling may have been activated in order to best adapt to the environment in Tennessee, which is somewhat different than where I'm at in South Florida. This process that you're doing, is how many new fruit varieties are introduced to new locations where they were not available before. To increase the chances of success in obtaining a fruit variety with quality characteristics, fruit seeds are planted about a hundred at a time, or by the hundreds, or even thousands.

Good luck with your avocado seedling. I hope you get a positive outcome/experience from it.

[LEOOEL]

Patrick, I've personally come to the conclusion that 'Hass' avocados have good genetic adaptations to the environment. Who knows, I believe that it's entirely possible that your 'Nalu' seedling (or another) will have that genetic edge that will let it thrive and produce fruit in Tennessee, that would just be terrific/fantastic.

[MassSpectrum]

I used to think that it was silly to grow seedlling fruit trees, since they usually take longer to bear fruit. And the fruit quality, well, like Forrest Gump said, 'it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.' But now I've made a 180 degree turn, I just love growing fruit tree seedlings. Even if I don't win the seedling fruit tree lottery, it's OK, I just love watching them grow. Some grow fast and tall, some die... it's exciting because/since they each have a different DNA, there is that potential for a great new fruit tree variety/cultivar.

Yeah, tell this to this guy who called recently and after learning I dont have a whole nursery full of fancy expensive grafted trees he asked "well wants the point of your business then?". Wow, if thats not the rudest question all year.

[LEOOEL]

I understand, a more apt question would be: Have you had any good genetic surprises from the seedlings so far?

For example, Forum Member TropicDude is involved with hundreds of seedlings. Common sense dictates that something unique/good has to come out of that. His method incorporates watering the plants daily. His methods are very interesting, which I've learned from his posts and are very much appreciated.

In my case, I started with over 100 avocado seedlings and I'm aware that fruit production will take much longer than if they were grafted. My method is different from TropicDude's, for a lack of a better word, my method is naturally brutal. All the seedlings are in pots and I don't do anything with them, no water, no fertilizer, no nothing. It's all up their individual genetics and the environment that they are in, to survive. After having put them through this sort of natural survival of the species for several years, quite a few a died, others are hanging on, and a few have thrived under the brutal conditions. Now, if one of these survivor seedlings become a hard to kill avocado tree that will survive under the harshest conditions and is a reliable, productive producer of quality fruit, then the desired goal will have been reached.