Create Your Own Apple Tree by Mari Hackbarth

1909 Illustration of a "Colorado Orange" Apple,  USDA

What kind of apple trees do you think Johnny Appleseed planted as he sowed swaths of seeds to establish orchards across the Midwest?  It turns out that every seed he planted grew into a unique apple tree!  Planted apple seeds will not produce a tree or fruit exactly like the original fruit or tree the seed was collected from.  If you grow an apple tree from a Macintosh apple seed, you will have an apple tree, but not a Macintosh apple tree.  Apples are an example of a plant that can only be reproduced exactly by a technique known as “grafting”.  Grafting is the process of joining two plants together.  The upper part of the graft (the scion) becomes the top of the resulting plant, and the lower part provides the root system.

Tulips Emerging Early by Donna Duffy

Late season tulips emerging in February, photo by Donna Duffy

This recent surge of warm weather has created conditions for some spring-blooming bulbs to emerge early. You’ve probably noticed crocus blooming, especially if they are near a wall or rock. Crocus are tough, low-growing flowering bulbs, and can tolerate snow and cold. I also noticed that some of my late-season tulips  have just broken ground, and that is more unusual. Here are some tulip tips for late winter from Ron Smith, Horticulturalist at the North Dakota State University Extension Office.