Growing Apples From Seed

 

• Ideal Soil pH: 6 to 7

• Ideal Climate: Temperate climate (cold winters, moderate summer temps)

• Daily sunlight: Full sun (at least 8 hours a day)

• Watering: Soak soil around base once every 10 days

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Before we dive into growing your own apple trees, I want to make you aware that this is not the easiest fruit to successfully grow. If you are growing from seed you can expect to wait 5 to 10 years before the tree begins to bear significant fruit and often times this fruit is not very tasty. This is because almost all trees grown from seed do not produce the same fruit as the parent that the seed was taken from (You can never be certain what variety of apple you are going to get). Also, most apple varieties are unable to self-pollinate so they rely on insects, like bees, to pollinate them. Often time bees will pollinate your tree with crabapples which results in sour or inedible fruit. So there is a very small chance that you get a tasty apple of the variety you are anticipating if you leave it all up to nature. With that being said, there are some methods that can increase your chances of getting the apple you desire, but it is going to take a little extra work.

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How do you get your desired fruit then? The key is GRAFTING, but we will get to that later.

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Step 1: Where to Get your Apple Seeds

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Many people might think that you would need to do some research to get high quality seeds of the apple variety you are interested in growing, but the reality is that the seeds you start with don't really matter. Later on if the growing process we will utilize grafting to get the apple fruit you desire (if you don't know what grating is that's okay, I'll explain later). You can take the seeds right out of a apple you buy at the store, but I recommend that you get your hands on multiple seeds (8 at a minimum) because on average, only 30% of apple seeds germinate. The tree that grows from your seeds is what we call the "rootstock" which will be like a base to grow your desired fruit off of (through the use of grafting which we will get to later).

 

Step 2: Germinating Apple Seeds

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Rinse any seeds taken directly from an apple and then let them sit in cold water for about 3 hours. Next wrap the seeds in a damp paper towel, and put the paper towel in a plastic bag (I use zip-lock 1 gallon bags) getting it as tightly sealed as you can. Stick the bag in your refrigerator and check on your seeds every week making sure that the paper towel stays moist (just moist, don't want the paper towel soaked or any sitting water in the bag). Your seeds can take anywhere from 1 to 2 months to germinate, but remember that not all of them will. You will know a seed has germinated when it has a white sprout coming out of it.

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Step 3: Plant Germinated Apple Seeds in Pots

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Each germinated seed will need its own pot, the size of the pot doesn't matter all that much if you plan to transfer to the natural ground outdoors when it is ready, but I would recommend using at least a 12 inch pot. Fill your pots with good compost and make a hole about 1 to 2 inches deep in each pot. Drop one germinated seed in each hole, cover with compost, and let it grow into a seedling.  Once your rootstock seedlings have grown to be between 1 and 2 foot tall trees, you are ready to move on to the next and most important step, grafting.

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Step 4: Grafting Apple Seedlings

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As I have mentioned throughout, this is the most important step in getting the apple variety you desire so pay close attention and be aware that it will likely take a couple tries to get it right. Obtain a 1/4 to 1/2 inch diameter branch with at least three buds, which is called a "scion", from the variety of apple fruit you wish to harvest. I recommend getting your desired scion from a local nursery or online, but if you want to try your hand at cutting your own scion and have access to apple trees that grow the variety you are after, then see the harvesting your own scion section. Once you have your scions place them in a large freezer bag with moistened sawdust or peat moss and keep them in your refrigerator until it is time to graft.

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**Before making any cuts on the rootstock seedling or the scion make sure your shears or knifes are sanitized with rubbing alcohol and then dried.

 

Once one of your rootstock seedlings is between 1 and 2 feet tall, cut the trunk at an angle that exposes a section that is approximately 2 inches in length. Make this cut where the trunk diameter is closest to the diameter of your scion (note you are cutting all the way through the trunk and then disposing the top part of the rootstock seedling). Next cut the bottom few inches off of your scion that is dead and keep cutting off little bits until it exposes fresh green cells. Now cut the scion at the same angle that you cut the rootstock seedling's trunk so that both cross-sections look almost identical (this may take a few tries). Next your need to cut tongues (interlocking grooves) in both the scion and rootstock. This cut should be made about 1/3 of the way up from the previous cut and go about an inch to and inch and a half deep into the branch/trunk. Once you have similar looking cuts on both the scion and the rootstock, interlock them so that all (or almost all) of their green fresh cells are touching and wrap them together with grafting tape and then paint over all the tape with grafting wax. Cut the scion (that is not joined to the rootstock trunk) at a 45 degree angle above the top bud and paint the exposed area from this cut with grafting wax as well. I would recommend labeling the tree with the variety of the scion so you remember what it is. Do this process with all of your rootstock seedlings and expect some of them to be unsuccessful, especially if this is your first time grafting.

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This explanation of grafting without pictures may be quite hard to follow so here is a link to the steps of grafting with illustrations: Steps to Grafting. 

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Step 5: Post Grafting Care and Transplanting Apple Trees

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Keep the trees in their pots after they have been grafted in a cool moist area (between 35 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 3 weeks. Move the pots to an area of full sunlight but keep a close eye on them. Once their new scion branches start to blossom or leaves start to grow on the scion (above the graft) you can replant the tree into your garden when ready. The best time for planting outdoors is usually between mid-April and mid-May for young apple trees. Make sure to remove any branches or leaves that form below the graft (growth off of the rootstock) for the life of the tree, as this will help encourage more growth on the scion portion of the tree that will bear the fruit you desire.