Tree can produce many different fruits
By Diego Flammini, Farms.com
Want apples? Plant an apple tree.
Want peaches? Plant a peach tree.
Want cherries?
Well, you get the idea.
Until recently, the growing tree-fruit seemed pretty one dimensional, but that could change.
Sam Van Aken, an artist and art professor from Syracuse University used his love of art and experiences from growing up on a farm to produce a tree capable of growing up to 40 varieties of fruits including peaches, plums, apricots and cherries.
“I can design and essentially sculpt a tree and how it blooms,” Van Aken said to CTV News.
He uses a technique called sculpture through grafting. Van Aken uses a small sliver of a branch from a fruit tree and grafts it into a hole on the host tree. He tapes the branch in place to help the two branches connect over the winter.
He keeps a detailed log of each tree, recording when the branches flower and its yields.
It can take about five years to create each tree and ensure the 40 varieties of fruit are established on the tree. Once completed, the trees are put in museums and community gardens.
Van Aken, an artist first and foremost, sees the trees as art.
“I want the tree to interrupt and transform the everyday,” he told Epicurious. When the tree unexpectedly blossoms in different colors, or you see these different types of fruit hanging from its branches, it not only changes the way you look at it, but it changes the way you perceive (things) in general.”
Join the conversation and tell us your thoughts about the tree capable of producing up to 40 fruits. If it were made available to farmers and the agricultural community, would you have one on your farm?
What types of crops would you like to be seen grown on the same branch or from the same plant or bush?