Apple seeds

1151 Views 10 Replies 8 Participants Last post by james dilley, Apr 25, 2004

gnatgnome

Discussion Starter · Mar 24, 2004

Has anyone ever grown an apple tree from seeds? I bought some apples and when I cut them open I noticed that the seeds had begun to sprout. I planted them in little starter pots and most of them are about 2 inches tall with the beginnings of their 3rd set of leaves. Roots are beginning to show out the bottom of the pots so I am going to transplant those into larger pots. I live in zone 4 in NE Iowa. The little sticker on the apples said the brand was Washington and the apples were pink lady. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks Denise

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HermitJohn

· #2 · Mar 24, 2004

They wont be identical to either parent. Still might give you a good apple. Thats how many present apples came about. Somebody found an exceptional seedling and then grafted wood from it to propogate its qualities exactly. Even if you get a not so good apple with a seedling, you can graft on wood from a known variety so the tree is still productive.

If somebody hasnt destroyed them, there are some seedling apple trees that I planted on place where I used to live in northern Michigan. Regretted that I'd never have chance to see what they produced.

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jfriendly

· #3 · Mar 25, 2004

I heard an expert say the apple seedlings will grow a little the first year, then seem to do nothing more. It's because the plant needs to go through a winter before it really starts to grow. The 2nd year, the tree will really start to grow.
Apple seeds that haven't sprouted can be put in the refrigerator for a few weeks before planting, then they will continue to grow throughout their first year.

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Nancy in Maine

· #4 · Mar 25, 2004

I don't have any advice to share yet, but my parents have a crab apple tree that my great great grandmother planted. It's starting to show its age, so I've been trying different ways to keep it going. I'm trying a graft onto a mature cortland tree this year, and I also started a tree from one of the crab apples. I have no idea what it will end up being, but I stuck some of the apples in the ground and one seedling came up. I transplanted it to the backyard for the winter and as soon as the ground thaws, I've got a nice spot to plant it permanently. It's about 4" tall.

I don't know the name of the crab apple, but it has fairly good sized apples for a crab, and when they mature they are a purple color. They make a beautiful jelly!

Good luck with your tree!

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· #5 · Apr 20, 2004

Even if they don't produce good fruit, the blossoms are a great show.
What's with these Pink Lady apples? Every one of them that I eat has seeds that are already sprouting.
Dara

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cowboy joe

· #6 · Apr 21, 2004

My daughters and I planted an apple seeds in a dixie cup when they were little. I eventually transplanted the tree out near the horse pasture. That was 7 years ago. I don't live there anymore but the kids tell me the tree is doing well.

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james dilley

· #7 · Apr 22, 2004

just a related peice of trivia did you know apple seeds contain cyanide.

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Cindy in IL

· #8 · Apr 22, 2004

just a related peice of trivia did you know apple seeds contain cyanide.

Yep. I have sugar gliders and although they eat apples, the seeds are poisonous to them because of the cyanide.

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· #9 · Apr 22, 2004

this is a darn good question.
first apples dont come true from seed- but second- many orchards of a few years ago had the practice of placing a 'pollinator' (crabapple tree to be a 'male' tree) every few trees to give a good set.
then they would spray with sevin to drop most of the fruit.
i think they dont plant 'pollinators' that are crab apples as much anymore, but what do they do in washington state?
anyone know the growers up there? i think your 'pink lady' is called 'chipps pink' but am not sure- it is a new variety and as such- should be interesting to grow out- i wished to do this, many years ago in michigan, but moved away as all my fruit trees began to flower.
i did have beds of fruit tree seedlings, various types, and they are pretty variable from seed- and very interesting.
i would look for crabapple traits in the seedlings and pull those specimens up.
also- that jelly crabapple- i would graft the parent onto its own seedling- at least make a branch or two of the old parent- they should be very compatible.

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