What are the differences between the sentences below?
- I was glad to see the tree that I had grown for years
- I was glad to see the tree that I had raised for years.
If I say the second sentence, does it sound wrong to you?
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2 Answers
'Raise' doesn't sound wrong, but it's likely not the choice a native speaker would make. I looked up the collocate words for 'raise' on https://www.wordandphrase.info/frequencyList.asp (just type in "raise" and click on the verb form of the word; unfortunately they don't provide links to specific queries). The list wasn't well filtered (using 'raise' to mean 'bring up' is one of many definitions, and a lesser used one overall); however, the pattern I noticed was that it is most often used to talk about humans. Note that from personal experience, I would also say it is common to use the word raise to talk about animals.
I would recommend the word 'cultivate' as a better plant-specific alternative to raise. Its most common collocates are almost all plant-based (though I have often heard it used to describe increasing a personality trait or interest in something, e.g. 'cultivating a love of music'). However, 'cultivate' will sound more formal, as it most frequently appears in academic settings. 'Grow' is a less precise, but less formal alternative.
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1"Raise" can be used with crops, I think it's just not typically used with individual specimens. For example Those who raise trees in and out of North Carolina should apply as an in-state grower. or "In addition, growers who raise Fraser Fir in North Carolina..." (from the same page). Another example How to raise organic vegetables– ColleenVSep 29, 2017 at 3:19
Yes, the second sentence sounds odd. Normally you would use grow words when referring to plants.
Strictly speaking I don't see any reason why you couldn't have raised a tree, but you wouldn't hear it from a native speaker to my knowledge.
