Breeders all over the world are doing a great job of breeding hybrid varieties of flowers, vegetables and fruit trees. But most of all, Sam Van Aken, an American scientist, surprised. Through long and hard work, he managed to create a unique fruit tree on which 40 different varieties of fruits grow.
The professor gave the appropriate name to his creation - "Frankenstein tree", as he collected it into a single whole literally by twigs. The tree makes it possible in summer to enjoy the taste of various fruits ripening one after another, and in spring - a riot of colors and the aroma of a blooming garden.
History of creation
Work on the "Frankenstein tree" began back in 2008. Sam Van Aken, observing the gradual flowering and wilting of flowers of various fruit trees, decided to create one tree that combines different types of fruits. For this, an experimental station in New York allocated 12 square meters of land to his team, on which the first attempts to create a tree of "40 varieties" were carried out.
Initially, the professor used 250 varieties of different types of fruit trees, which were meticulously grafted onto the donor tree. The work on the creation of this miracle lasted for five years. Not without failures, when instead of a magnificently blooming tree, only one side of it blossomed in the spring, and the other remained pristine.
Used varieties
Through numerous errors and trials, with the help of carefully thought out and drawn flowering and fruiting schedules of different varieties, Sam tried to find the perfect combination of fruits that would fit comfortably on the same trunk.
As a result, the professor settled on 40 different species that can be grafted onto a donor tree without damaging future flowers and fruits. Preference was given to those crops that are characteristic of the area and have pitted fruits.
The grafting is carried out in a copulation way (connecting the stock and the cutting, from the Latin Copulo - I connect), so the tree has a holistic look.
To the delight of people
To date, a team of scientists has managed to remove 16 trees that are planted in the parks of major American cities (New York, California, Massachusetts and others).
Sam Van Aken does not abandon his dream of creating an open-air tree museum, where he will present to people not only the most beautiful "Frankenstein trees", but also many other creations of breeders, which are also worthy of public admiration.
A gardener's dream
Many land owners dream of having trees that produce different fruits at the same time. The most popular and easy to care for are apple-pear trees.
In the Michurinsky Garden in Moscow, you can see a tree that bears 86 varieties of apples at once.
Stone fruit trees get along best with each other, and pome trees grow harmoniously with their own kind.
Scientists have succeeded in breeding a citrus tree that can simultaneously harvest lemons, oranges and tangerines.
-
- Tangerines and lemons.
-
- 86 varieties of apples.
Friendship tree
In the popular resort city of Sochi, you can find the unique "Friendship Tree". It all started with the fact that in the distant 1934 the scientist-breeder Zorin F.M. planted a wild lemon tree, to which he grafted about 45 varieties of other citrus fruits. Scientists who came there left their scions.
Since then, a good tradition has developed - new branches are grafted onto the tree by famous Russian and foreign prominent personalities, politicians, artists, scientists. Today the tree has over 620 grafts.
