K. Kly wrote:

So one day my 4 yr old is eating an apple and asks my wife about seeds &
such. So they decide to do a little expirement and plant the seed. Low and
behold a seedling sprouts up and they cherish it and nuture it, etc, etc. 5
months later and the thing is only about 5 inches tall, but has a bunch of
leaves on it. They've got it in a little container(we live in Ohio).

Thing is, they both think they are going to plant it outside next spring and
my wife seems to think that in a few years we'll have an apple tree. And of
course she is telling my son this. Meanwhile, I'm skeptical of the whole
thing. First of all, we don't know what kind of apple it was, we don't know
if it'll survive in Ohio and we certainly don't know if it will bear fruit.
Doesn't their have to be some cross pollination or something for a tree to
bare fruit?

What's the fture of this 5inch apple tree?



I would plant it outside *now* and give it a little bit of protection
this winter. The dormancy should be good for it.

The fruit will be edible, but probably not very good. But you can
always graft a good variety (or 2 or 3) onto your tree *after* you know
that it's awful. ;-) It also might be a good cider or jelly apple even
if it's not good for eating.

It may take 10 years to get any fruit. You'll start getting fruit in 2
or 3 years if you buy a 1 year old semi-dwarf tree.

Good luck!

-Bob