Growing Apple trees from seed.

 Hello.
I am going to tell you how to grow apple trees from seed. This is a lot more complicated than just throwing a few seeds in the ground, but with my help I can show you how.

Step 1 Materials needed

 You will need:
An apple
Compost
Pots
Paper towel
plastic bag
Knife
Later On:
Grafting tape or Cling film
Grafting Wax or Masking tape

Comments

[Soulsbane]

(removed by author or community request)

[Soulsbane]

I was wondering, how long does it take the apple tree to grow to 30-60 cm?

[GerminationGrower]

To be honest, I don't care if my apple seed grows to a crab apple tree. I would be just happy that I grew a tree. I germinated my seed much differently, and It grew in 2 weeks. A 1 and a half inch tall plant in 2 weeks. I took a small bowl,about 2 inches wide and, 1 and a half inches long. I put soil and pushed down the seed. I rapped water aroudn my fingers for about 3 mintues and dripped tiny droplets of water in the bowl until it was moist, with the soil in the bowl, and seed pushed in. Then I took a sandwich plastic baggy and rapped it around the bowl and it left the bag upwards about 3 inches over the bowl. I took a rubber band and put it around the bag part that was around the bowl. Then I put it in the sun. It started growing and condensation filled inside of the bag and it kept the soil moist. My plant looks like how yours did. With the 2 round leaves and the 2 narrow leaves going diagnally upward. This method of growing seeds is much better and promising then the method of germinating in a paper towel. I have tried the paper towel germination 4 times with no luck, and the bowl with the plastic bag and rubber band in the sun once, and that succeded far more and faster. My plant grows taller each day I see it. Thank you for reading.

[rickharris]

Because pollination is random most apple seeds won't produce the original apple, often a crab apple results which is inedible.

The majority of grafted apples are grafted on to crab apple root stock as this is usually a more vigorous grower. Often modern apples can be found grafted onto dwarf root stock to limit the eventual height of the tree.

Growing apples is fun, drinking cider is much more fun!!

[Bown86]

Crab apples are delicious!! They are, indeed, edible. They make wonderful pies, and other desserts, and are yummy just to chew on. :)

[Hengrachna]

Dear Bown,

I would like to ask you where can i buy apple seed to grow, can you introduce me some seller or supply.

Thanks.
Rachna

[Bown86]

I guess a store that sells trees and shrubs? Or a gardening supplier.

I have never bought apple seeds before, so I am not really sure, sorry.

Personally I have always just planted seeds from apples I have bought and have hoped for the best. Being from Newfoundland many of the apples that I buy are local the seeds always seem to grow nice trees. Also, you do not need to graft your tree to grow edible fruit, none of my trees have been grafted and almost all of them have regular apples.

[caruhh]

Grafting is necessary to get the genes of the parent (tasty apples) and so its already mature, making apples, otherwise you'd have to wait years for fruit to produce (mature) on your immature sprout

[Hengrachna]

Hi caruhh,

I would like to ask you where can i buy apple seed, can you introduce me some supplier or sell, thanks in advance.
Rachna

[Hengrachna]

Hi!

I would like to get some advise from every one, who know where can i find apple seed suppliers or seller.
I would like to buy apple seed, If you know please kindly advise.Thanks.:)

[Terri1ND]

crab apples are edible & in fact I have 2 crab apple trees & my husband loves a Dutch Crabapple Jam I make. They also are wonderful for animals. I caught my chickens chasing a squirrel and a pheasant away from the crabapple trees.

[bwilliams-1]

I do not understand what the white plastic bag does in the step 3 photos. Can you explain please? Thank you. Nice tutorial.

[bowow0807]

yay now i can start making some cider! I have some other grafting techniques from a cider making book

[getyourshoes]

I have heard that red tip photinias can be used as root stock when grafting apple trees but haven't found it in print anywhere. Does anyone know if that is possible or has anyone tried it for themselves?

[JcBeaver]

If you have to graft it to make apples, then how are apples made in the wild?

[geoslim13]

grafting isnt really necessary it only is if you want to make different breeds of apples

[JcBeaver]

apple growing seems too complicated for me, so i'll just stick to pears... :)

[potato wings]

Grafting is necessary as if you do not graft you will get a crab apple

[carlos1w]

Very interesting.  Pardon my ignorance, but could you tell me why grafting is required?  If you planted the seed of a desirable apple, wouldn't that work without grafting?  Thank you for the instructable.

[georion]

if you want EDIBLE apples you have to graft otherwise you may not live long enough to grow EDIBLE apples----apples are an amazing genetic Universe --research is an amazing Process !!!!!!!!!!!!

[potato wings]

 I graft because if you just left the apple tree to grow from the seed it would cross polinate with another tree and there would be an almost impossible chance of it ever producing apples.

[jtobako]

Watch your tense on your verbs-would is future tense, had or has is the past tense you are looking for. 

[jtobako]

Most variants of apple are hybrids, and don't breed true.  The ones that do are crossed to create apples, not good rootstock, and so aren't as hardy.  There is also a matter of aging-a tree won't produce until it is a certain age (oaks don't produce acorns until they are about 50 years old) but the graft thinks it's as old as the original tree, not as old as the rootstock or graft.

[ironsmiter]

I don't think you put enough emphasis on this part

" the graft thinks it's as old as the original tree, not as old as the rootstock"

That's the MAJOR reason for "not getting flowers" on the grafts. Apple Trees, most varieties anyhow, take 6-10 years before they are mature enough to produce flowers/fruit, when grown from a seedling.

Another concern is, the rootstock of most of the "good fruit" is inferior to hardy, native crabapples.

My family apple tree(died 12 years ago @nearly 100 years old) was crabapple stock. Infact, about 20% of the tree continued to produce crabapples till the day it died. The grafts where Johnathon and McIntosh. All three varieties of fruit formed every year on the same tree.

[lemonie]

W/ref grafting - if you're growing your own rootstock, what are the best apples to use?

L

[potato wings]

 Which ever apple you like best, it doesn't really make a difference

[lemonie]

What is the point in grafting then?

L

[georion]

Point of grafting is to get EDIBLE Apples !!!!! Research is an amazing thingy!!!!!!!!!!!!

[potato wings]

 You graft because if you don't there is a 1 in a million chance your trees will produce apples because, say you have a granny apple seed it won't pollinate properly it will pollinate with some other tree, and you will get no apples or crab apples at best. That's why you graft.

[lemonie]

Pollination happens with the flowers. What difference does it make whether it's a single tree, or a grafted part-of?
I know at least 5 non-grafted apple trees that do produce apples, that's not a 10³⁰ lucky chance...

L

[potato wings]

just trust me if you don't graft you won't get any flowers because it is a cross pollination

[lemonie]

Other trees, bees?
I know non-grafted trees producing their own producing fruit. The purpose of grafting is to get the variety you want on a good rootstock. Good tree: right flavour at the end of the branch.

L

[jtobako]

Potato wings has his tenses wrong-he means that you don't know the 'father' of your seed.  He's also following the rule that 73.6% of all statistics are made up   ; O

[lemonie]

-on the spot.

Yes

L

[gilleseg]

Any suggestions on planting depth or if doing something like this would work?  Thanks, I am going to try and do this with honeycrisp apples!

[gilleseg]

Should the part growing out of the seed be out of the ground? Facing up? Down?  Thanks I am very excited about this.

[potato wings]

 Up, and i'm glad to hear your excited it's great

[Weissensteinburg]

 Where should I get the scion?

[potato wings]

 You get the scion wood from any other apple tree you can find. If you ask nicely at a garden centre they might let you take a few cuttings

[Kozz]

Something to keep in mind is that while growing, the apple tree will be an attractively delicious plant to all sorts of critters well before it fruits, from rodents to rabbits to deer!  You'll want to take some kind of precautions to protect your investment.