This proved difficult, since the majority of stone fruits are now grown in California. October 26, 2016: Soil arrived in preparation for planting in mid-November. "They have a plum that tastes like a banana with an apple aftertaste," Van Aken said. "And it's like, 'No, it won't. While the first was a massive success, Aken did not limit himself to a single Tree of 40 Fruit. Through grafting, one man has created Frankenstein’s Monster-like trees. The professor says his project has grown beyond expectation. All rights reserved (About Us). The leaves will turn red and yellow in fall and will bloom in spring. Grafted plants generally take on certain characteristics of the rootstock plant but will physically still be the scion plant. Fourteen are installed around the country, most in public places, like Van Aken's at the center of the Syracuse campus -- alive and edible. A single tree bearing 40 different varieties of fruits sounds like something out of science fiction, or maybe a fantasy novel. "I realized that for various reasons, including industrialization and the creation of enormous monocultures, we are losing diversity in food production and that heirloom, antique, and native varieties that were less commercially viable were disappearing. In addition, Aken had carefully studied the blooming patterns and fruiting timeline of each species and ensured they worked in cohesion after the grafting process. ", The result is not an entire orchard in one, but "a couple orchards in one.". "As the tree grows, I'll graft on peaches that will blossom and fruit at different times," he said. Van Aken chose 40 because it's a number that appears often in the Bible, he said. The piece is taped and then heals over the winter, becoming a part of the same tree as both fruits continue to grow. © Syracuse University. "When I started, it was a matter of essentially collapsing an entire orchard down onto one tree. He's also done battle with Japanese beetles. Syracuse University professor Sam Van Aken's design for a tree bearing 40 different kinds of fruit is getting worldwide attention. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Another piece, "Oh My God," grew out of Sept. 11. Gloria Wright / The Post-Standard. It's a number that represents bounty.". Note: Epicurious is owned by Conde Nast, an Advance publication, also the parent company of syracuse.com. © 2020 Advance Local Media LLC. But what it can do is, I like to think, that it can lead to that type of thinking.". I made a couple hundred of those," he said. Stay Safe The official source of information about Syracuse University's Spring Semester 2021. Sam Van Aken envisioned the Tree of 40 Fruit to be a piece of natural art. "To get to the 40, I'll return for three years after the tree is planted and keep grafting," he said, including the tree that will be planted at SU. Sam Van Aken's Tree of 40 Fruit design, as shared in 2011. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. "It's a ball propelled by its own sound," he said. Once the vascular systems of the plants fuse, they grow as though a single tree. "I saw somewhere on a website where somebody said that the Tree of 40 Fruit will end world hunger," he said. The artist's rendering of his creation is getting attention worldwide, CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor reports. He was eventually able to lease an heirloom orchard with grants he obtained from the University and Creative Capital. A sculptor himself, Aken deemed the Tree to be like a sculpture that would evolve itself over time if the transformation based on his grafting process was optimally controlled. Syracuse University Professor Sam Van Aken is the proud father of a single tree that grows 40 types of fruit. Van Aken acknowledges the biblical implications of his tree. ABC described the Tree of 40 Fruit as "something out of the future," CBS called it "fascinating food for thought," and Huffington Post imagined it being created in "laboratory of a mad scientist" like Dr. Frankenstein. An orchard renowned for producing various native American and heirloom stone fruits on the verge of existence at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station was shutting down due to lack of funding when Aken stepped in. ", According to the Daily Mail, the project began in 2008 when he discovered an orchard at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva that had more than 200 varieties of plums and apricots. "One day in July there was just like a swarm," he said. His tree project began five or six years ago, when he began playing with some plastic fruit in his studio, he said. Now his gorgeous design is getting even more attention. For more unusual stories & intriguing news follow STSTW Media on Instagram and Facebook. Research at Syracuse seeks to address pressing global needs and strives to involve students at every opportunity. Regardless of the diverse areas of interest he feels called to pursue, Van Aken says, creative impulse remains at the heart of all he does. He has a small orchard on the SU campus, near the Comstock Art Facility and Manley Field House. Sounds a bit like a Disney fantasy, but thanks to the labors and ingenuity of sculptor and art professor Sam Van Aken, the Tree of 40 Fruit is real, thriving, and setting down roots at locations across the country. There’s a nice little tree on the Shaw Quad, just outside Hinds Hall, that for most of the year looks much like any other tree. Stream CBSN live or on demand for FREE on your TV, computer, tablet, or smartphone. And then there was the groundhog who loved apricots. It also appeared as “Tree of 40 Fruit: A Spectacular Sight” in the issue of Syracuse University Magazine. "And a big part of the sermon was using The Tree of 40 Fruit as a symbol. Tree of 40 Fruit at Syracuse University campus, United States. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The Tree of 40 Fruit has been growing for nine years. But if nothing else, the tree is pretty fascinating food for thought. He also keeps diagrams and bloom charts of each tree. The British publication describes the process as taking a sliver off a tree, including the bud, and inserting it into another, similar tree with different fruits. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Come summer, it does some more showing off, bursting forth with an abundance of fruit, also in many varieties. And when it reaches full maturity, it will have the capacity to grow some 40 different kinds of stone fruit—plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines, cherries, and almonds. Also, join our live chat discussion on Twitter. All rights reserved (About Us). This story was first published on December 14, 2017 and last updated on September 18, 2018. He started by grafting vegetables together, but vegetables don't last. Sam Van Aken starts by growing a plum tree and then adds branches from peach, nectarine, cherry, plum and apricot trees to produce a single tree that will bear 40 varieties of fruit. Once the parent tree had reached the age of two, he proceeded to chip-grafting various species onto the tree branches. Several other trees, many of them donated, have been placed with art collectors, with individuals, or in museums and public settings, including a grove of six trees planted in Portland, Maine, in spring 2014. It's not very stable," he said. “And this one orchard in particular contained all the heirloom, native, hybrid, and antique varieties from this agricultural industry.”. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy. He ties or tapes the branches until they're grown together. So he set out to find a permanent home for seeds that trace back thousands of years. “The Tree of 40 Fruit really started as an artwork,” says Van Aken, who chose the number 40 for its historical and biblical significance as an amount that points to the infinite. (Sam Van Aken/Wikimedia Commons) A single tree bearing 40 different varieties of fruits sounds like something out of science fiction, or maybe a fantasy novel.
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