An apple tree that grows from a seed is stronger and more resilient. It is usually more winter-hardy than the parent tree.
An apple tree from a seed has a long lifespan. It is true that it is unknown what result planting a seed will lead to. After all, you can grow a completely new and tasty variety, or you can grow a wild apple tree with bitter-sour and completely inedible apples. Therefore, such an annual apple tree is very often used as a rootstock, grafting some variety onto it.
Seed selection
Important! You should choose a variety that is adapted to your region, as the tree should grow well where you live. It is better if the selected variety is frost-resistant. The seeds should be dense, undamaged and uniformly brown in color.
The choice of seed begins with the choice of fruit.
In order to select seeds, you first need to select the best fruits. If the apples are underdeveloped, then so are the seeds. Full-fledged seeds are formed in apples growing on the periphery of the crown, since in this place there are better conditions for fertilization of flowers and better illumination.
Let's sum it up
Now you know how to grow an entire apple tree from tiny seeds, how to recognize a wild one, and what principles to follow when germinating seeds. Enough theory , now start practicing, following our algorithm of actions. Be confident in the success of your event, and you will achieve the desired result with a little effort and discipline. You can proudly tell your children in ten years that it was you who grew that gorgeous apple tree in your garden from a tiny seed.
Seed preparation
Washing
Seeds for washing and further cultivation must be recently removed from the fruit; they cannot be stored for several years.
The seeds must be removed from the fruit and immediately washed in warm running water to wash off the inhibitor (it interferes with growth).
To do this, place the seeds in a container with warm water , stir with a small wooden stick for 3 minutes, then move the seeds onto cheesecloth and drain the water.
Soak
- Place the seeds in a glass of water.
- Place the glass in a not very warm place in the room and wait 3 days, rinse the seeds daily and change the water , since otherwise the water will stagnate and the apple seeds may become moldy, and, therefore, they cannot be planted.
- On the 3rd day, a growth stimulator is poured into the water, for example Epin, sodium humate, on the 4th day you will see that the seeds have swollen.
Stratification
Important! In order to improve the chances of seed germination, stratification is used (this is the provision of the best conditions that imitate natural conditions in autumn and winter to accelerate the germination of an apple seed).
You can start stratification in different ways:
- You need to mix 1 part of seeds with 3 parts of peat and sand. You must not forget that the number of seeds is set in reserve , since not all of them germinate as a result.
- Afterwards everything is mixed and moistened. The seeds should not come into contact with each other, otherwise mold will not spread from one rotten seed to the others;
- Instead of peat soil and sand, mix wood sawdust and peat soil and soak the seeds in this substrate;
- You can make a composition from sand and sawdust by adding crushed activated carbon, which will prevent mold from forming;
- Water is added to the substrate until moisture appears on the surface. Next, wait 6 days for the seeds to swell;
- Then the resulting composition with apple seeds is placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator and left for 2 months.
Advice: Every 3 days you need to check whether mold has appeared, whether the substrate in which the seeds are placed has dried out, or whether they have hatched.
There is another method of stratification; it was used by the monks of the Valaam Monastery.
In August or autumn, they picked apples, took the seeds from them, then washed them and planted them dry in the soil.
Apple tree seeds are buried to a depth of 2 cm, keeping a distance of 10 cm. Usually after 2-3 months frosts begin and natural stratification . During the winter, the seeds swell and harden, and sprout in the spring.
Landing dates
Seed stratification is usually carried out in January - February, and they are ready for planting in early spring. If warm weather has not yet arrived, you can plant it at home and grow it until the end of April - beginning of May. After this, the seedling is transplanted.
You can plant seeds in the fall. To do this, they are extracted from apples in the summer, and after preparation they are planted in the ground immediately, bypassing the stage of artificial stratification. As a result, the seed swells in the ground and sprouts in the spring. The main thing is to plant them a month before the first frost.
Sowing technology, how to plant an apple tree from a seed at home
Take a pot or box, they should have holes in the bottom, and drainage made of broken bricks, pebbles, and crushed stone should be placed on the bottom. Pour soil into the box, taken from where you plan to plant the tree in the future .
For every 10 kg of soil add:
- 30 g superphosphate;
- 200 g of ash;
- 20 g potassium sulfate.
Next, the best and strongest sprouts are selected . The hatched seeds are placed in the soil to a depth of 15 mm, watered, but so as not to bury the seeds.
The strongest shoots are selected for planting.
Technology for growing apple trees from seeds at home
Plantings are placed on a southern windowsill; they need to be well lit. They need to be constantly moistened.
When the first shoots appear, they are transplanted into larger pots.
If the sprouts are planted directly on the bed , then leave a space of 20 cm from each other, and make a distance of 15-20 cm between the rows.
If the sprouts are powerful, then they can be transplanted to a permanent place.
Growing apple tree sprouts.
If the sprouts are frail , then first transplant them into pots, and then plant them in a permanent place in the country.
An apple tree grown from a seed needs to be replanted three times in 4 years:
- 1st time - from the bowl where the seed sprouted into a pot or box. This is necessary for the growth of the tap central root;
- 2nd time - then the apple tree grows in a pot for a year, and then it is transplanted into a larger pot. When replanting, it is necessary to cut off the central root (or bend the root at a right angle);
- 3rd time - planted in a permanent place.
Transplants are carried out so that the apple tree begins to bear fruit earlier, otherwise it will produce apples only after 15 years. And further competent care is very important.
After each transplant, the sprouts are thoroughly watered.
Watering is required after each transplant.
When the sprouts grow 4 true leaves, you can sort future apple trees by removing those that grow wild.
You can distinguish a wild apple tree from a varietal tree by the fact that the wild type has smaller and brighter leaves, thin and straight thorns on the trunk and short shoots.
Cultivated apple trees do not have thorns, their foliage is larger , its color is dark green or grayish, with pubescence below, the edge of the leaves is wavy or curved, their stem is thicker and the buds are located symmetrically.
Will the crop bear fruit?
Experts say that it is possible to grow a full-fledged fruit-bearing crop from a seed if you follow a certain technology. However, you need to wait for the harvest from 5 to 10 years. If the effort is worth it, you can start! You will have to take much more care of the tree than when planting a plant as a seedling. If you leave everything to chance, the fruits will not appear soon, they will be small and tasteless. Moreover, there is a high probability of getting game. The sprout obtained from the seed is planted in open ground or grafted onto an adult apple tree. The survival rate in the second case is much higher, as is the probability of obtaining tasty, high-quality fruits.
How to grow an apple tree from seeds at home: further care
Trees grown at home are transplanted to a permanent location from mid-April to the end of May and in September and October.
If the apple trees originally grew in open ground, then they can be replanted to a permanent place throughout the summer season.
Try to choose a place that is brightly lit by the sun, so that there are no other trees nearby.
Before planting, humus, ash and mineral fertilizers are incorporated into the soil.
ATTENTION! If fertilizers are not used during planting, then organic matter is added in the summer. But in the first year it is best to feed not with manure, but with an infusion of humus, rotted compost. Since fresh manure or chicken droppings can lead to burns on trees.
In addition, this organic matter is often the cause of bacterial infections .
In August, the seedlings stop feeding with nitrogen and are fed with phosphorus and potassium so that the shoots ripen by winter and the development of leaves stops.
Pour 15–20 g of potassium chloride and 30–40 g of superphosphate onto 1 m² of tree trunk circle, then loosen the ground and water it abundantly.
Water the tree every week in the first year of cultivation, and then loosen it shallowly.
If in the future you want to make a rootstock out of the seedling , then in October, dig it up, tear off all the leaves, and step back 20 cm from the root collar, cut off the central tap root, then the seedling will not grow so intensively and it will grow branched fibrous roots.
The seedling with its covered rhizome can be placed in a cool basement for the entire winter.
And in the spring you need to get vaccinated . It is best to graft the rootstock after 1-2 years of cultivation. After grafting, it is necessary to constantly water the apple tree so that the soil does not dry out.
Transplanting a seedling
It is recommended to plant apple trees in the place chosen for further cultivation in May or August-September.
Procedure:
- For seedlings, dig a hole 40-50 cm deep and the same width.
- Crushed stone or expanded clay is poured onto the bottom for drainage, then fertile soil is poured up to half of the hole.
- The seedling is placed in the center, making sure to drive 2 supports on the sides.
- The roots are covered with soil, without filling the root collar and the grafting site, if any.
- The tree is watered abundantly.
- The soil is mulched with hay and wood chips.
The correct layout of the seedling
Growing a columnar apple tree from seed
For planting, you need to use fruits grown on a columnar apple tree, but those varieties that are adapted to your area .
The best varieties of columnar apple trees include: President, Medok, Ostankino, Vasyugan, Moscow Necklace.
You can also grow an apple tree from a seed at home, like a regular apple tree: first, select it, soak it for 3 days, then stratify it.
To obtain a columnar apple tree with excellent characteristics, an apple tree grown from a seed can be used as a scion, grafting it onto a dwarf clonal (vegetative) rootstock.
Useful tips
The process of growing an apple tree from seeds is long and labor-intensive. The first harvest can be harvested after 5-10 years of growth. The germination rate of seeds when creating appropriate conditions is on average 50%. A third of them grow up to be wild. Before you start growing for such a long time, you need to decide for yourself whether the effort is worth it.
Currently reading: How to grow an apple tree from an apple seed
Gardeners recommend:
- plant seeds with reserve;
- remove weak shoots;
- grown in artificial conditions, then transplanted into open ground;
- select apple trees adapted to a specific area and climatic conditions;
- do not forget about fertilizing, watering, and proper care.
Apple trees grown from seeds subsequently produce the same yield as trees planted from seedlings. For greater endurance of the future tree and better survival rate, it is recommended to take the soil from the place where the seedling will be transplanted in the future for constant growth.
