Grafting is an advanced orchard man
agement skill that many of you likely use to some degree or another. Artist Sam Van Aken takes it to the extreme in his Tree of 40 Fruit project. He creates beautiful fruiting trees – seeing is believing. Check out the link below for additional photos of his work and descriptions. Van Aken provides his working lists of bloom time for more than 100 cultivars for others who wish to explore this art form. He has trees across the country, but none in Wisconsin, even though the USDA hardiness map indicates we have conditions comparable to his other sites.
http://www.treeof40fruit.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/343/2014/04/Tree-of-40-Fruit.pdf
If any of you are so inclined, I would care to bet that a tree like this in your orchard would draw people to it likes bees to a blossom. If you have a wedding clientele, who wouldn’t want to be married under such a tree?
“The Tree of 40 Fruit is an ongoing series of unique hybridized fruit trees by
contemporary artist Sam Van Aken. Each Tree of 40 Fruit is a single fruit tree
that grows over 40 different types of stone fruit including peaches, plums,
apricots, nectarines, and cherries. Sculpted through the process of grafting, the
Tree of 40 Fruit blossom in variegated tones of pink, crimson and white in spring,
and in summer bear a multitude of different fruit. Primarily composed of native
and antique varieties the Tree of 40 Fruit are a form of conversation, preserving
heirloom stone fruit varieties that are not commercially available.”
