I've also been thinking about permaculture lately, and realized that a bunch of the fruit trees/shrubs I'd most like to grow are extremely difficult to keep. Apples? Apple-cedar rust. Peaches? Parasitical worms, leaf blister. I suggested juneberries, and was told, well, maybe not, they're very susceptible to [name I don't remember] fungus.
Why? Because they're domesticated fruit! Because we've been breeding them all out of whack to get something sweeter and bigger and easier to harvest than the wild type, and that automatically brings in a whole host of problems. Domesticated plants are overwhelmingly more susceptible to disease than wild ones, and domesticated fruit trees in particular need a ton of care and prevention to survive right now, in this world, where they have free sun and water and good soil and hardy rootstock!
Backyard gardeners are often willing to commit to that care, but man, it's a commitment. The ornamental, wild-type, non-edible-fruit-bearing version of that tree is always going to be easier to keep alive.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2025-03-10 10:48 pm (UTC)Why? Because they're domesticated fruit! Because we've been breeding them all out of whack to get something sweeter and bigger and easier to harvest than the wild type, and that automatically brings in a whole host of problems. Domesticated plants are overwhelmingly more susceptible to disease than wild ones, and domesticated fruit trees in particular need a ton of care and prevention to survive right now, in this world, where they have free sun and water and good soil and hardy rootstock!
Backyard gardeners are often willing to commit to that care, but man, it's a commitment. The ornamental, wild-type, non-edible-fruit-bearing version of that tree is always going to be easier to keep alive.