Plant Propagation: Seeds

Plant propagation using seeds is one of the most common and simplest ways to grow food. It is mainly used to grow grains, herbs, vegetables, and fruit trees.

However, it is not the preferred method to grow fruit trees because it doesn’t produce fruits that are true to type (exactly like the fruit you got the seed from). In addition, some fruits may have no seeds, especially if they are self-fertile and did not receive cross-pollination.

 

Advantages of propagation with seeds

 

1. 1. They are cheaper and easier to ship or transport.
   2. They require relatively little skill to plant unless some scarification is involved.
   3. You can store them easily without using much space, unlike plants.
   4. They are readily available by buying your favourite fruits and collecting the seeds to plant in the garden.

 

Disadvantages of propagating with seeds

 

1. 1. They do not have the same advantages as the original seeds if they are a hybrid. However, heirloom seeds may not be exactly like the parent seeds, but they may remain useful.

1. 1. They may need to be planted shortly after collection to avoid losing viability. Older seeds may not germinate, especially if they take too long in transit.
   2. They are not true to type, so they may show signs of either parent contributing to the seeds. It is a gamble, with the result rarely producing the expected fruit quality. There may also be challenges in finding appropriate pollinisers for certain fruit tree varieties.
   3. Some fruit trees have no seeds.
   4. They may have diseases that are not perceptible and spread into the rest of the garden.
   5. There may be a high rate of plant mortality when the fruit trees bear fruit, which may offset the cost savings of using seeds to start an orchard.
   6. The fruit trees take a very long time to bear fruit. The seed-grown plants may take three to twelve years to bear fruit, depending on the fruit tree and variety.

Alternatives to seed propagation

Fruit trees may be propagated from cuttings, grafting, suckers, marcotting and air layering. The advantage of these methods is that the fruit trees are true to type and are likely to bear fruit sooner.

 

Find out how the fruit trees you buy are propagated so you know what to expect.