Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2025 May 15

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May 15

Age of grafts

Does a plant graft have the same age as the original plant? In other words, will it get old when the "donor" organism becomes old? Thanks in advance for the answer! 62.73.72.3 (talk) 21:01, 15 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Well, the original Granny Smith apple is from 1868. It's propagated by grafts. The Roxbury Russet is from the mid 1600s. Abductive (reasoning) 21:10, 15 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The original Granny Smith apple is from 1868, but that doesn’t mean the grafted tree is 157 years old.  The newly grafted Granny Smith apple plant you purchase from garden center or supermarket may only be a few years old because it was cut from a new growth that occurred one or two years ago and that had been joined to a rootstock of a few years old. Stanleykswong (talk) 07:05, 17 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That was the point of my response. Abductive (reasoning) 16:46, 17 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Plant senescence of perennials is not well understood. Some clonal tree colonies appear to keep living indefinitely, as long as environmental conditions remain good.  ​‑‑Lambiam 08:52, 16 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This depends on which part of the plant is being grafted.  If you cut off the main trunk (which usually doesn't happen), the grafted plant will be the same age as the original plant.  However, if you cut off a branch that grew two years ago, the grafted plant will only be two years old. Stanleykswong (talk) 06:52, 17 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder if grafting a small piece of an ancient bristlecone pine onto a young pine tree would work. If it did, the graft would be a couple thousand years older than its host. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:41, 17 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Most (though not very) likely to work with a stock of Pinus nelsonii. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.1.170.37 (talk) 16:12, 17 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Why that species? Abductive (reasoning) 16:48, 17 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Because according to both phylogenies in the Pine article, that's the species most closely related to the three Bristlecone pine species, though it's also described in its own article as "not closely related to any other pines in either morphology or genetics", hence my "Most (though not very) likely".

Apparently, although from a very small and remote natural range, P. nelsonii seeds are so edible and tasty that they're sold in Mexico City markets, and the tree is sometimes cultivated elsewhere out of curiosity, so it should be available commercially if anybody wants to try the experiment. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.1.170.37 (talk) 00:36, 18 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]