"K. Kly" wrote in message
...
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?

It is my understanding that all apples grown for eating come from grafted
trees. The apples do no pass on a clone of their own genes and the apples
that come from seeds are inferior. "Johnny Appleseed" apparently planted
trees to bear fruit intended for the production of hard cider. You may have
a tree from the seed, but it could be one that is prone to disease and
produce inferior fruit.

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http://www.pollinator.com/appleseeds_faq.htm

Apples From Seeds FAQ

In a message dated 10/6/00 2:55:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time, name
withheld writes:

can anyone tell me about planting apple seeds? I saved seeds from
especially
good apples this year, that were growing nearby. Do I need to chill the
seeds, or do anything before planting them? Should I pot them this year, or
wait till spring? If I should wait, how should I store the seeds till then?


Before going on with this, I want you to first ask you to make a choice:
1. Do I want to spend many years of my life looking for that "needle in a
haystack," trying to develop new and worthwhile apple varieties? OR
2. Do I want to do something educational for the kids, but don't care about
the end results (in terms of fruit) OR
3. Do I want to raise fruit in my backyard? Your saving from "especially
good apples" makes me think that this is your real desire.

If your answer is 1: Plan on planting large quantities of seeds (and
having the place to grow them). Apples that are grown from seed bear little
resemblance to the parent (the fruit that you ate), they are crossed between
varieties and the tendency is for them to revert to apple types that are not
so good for our purposes. Consider that the "daddy" for your apple may well
be a crab apple, as these are widely planted in orchards for pollenizers.
Chances are that your apple, after all the years and the work of growing it
will be only suitable for food for wildlife, or maybe to add to the mix for
cider to give it some zing. You may get one in a thousand seedlings that is
a really good apple, and one in a million that is worth propagating as a new
variety. If you are interested in developing new apple varieties, then
consider joining the North American Fruit Explorers.

If your answer is 2: Chill your apple seeds for at least six weeks in a
baggie of damp peat in the fridge. Then plant them on a sunny windowsill, in
paper cups for the kids to watch, or outside in the spring. Throw them away
when done.

If your answer is 3: Buy good nursery stock on dwarf or semidwarf stock
from a good nursery like Cummins Nursery: It is well worth the investment.

If you grow from seeds, you will wait 6-10 years to get a serious crop of
apples that you may well find to be worthless. If you grow from good stock,
properly cared for and pollinated, you should have a decent crop of quality
apples in three to four years. I have planted apples on full dwarf stock and
had a few apples the year I planted them. Cummins Nursery will also help you
come up with compatible pollenizer pairs (never plant lone apple trees,
unless you have lots of blooming crab apples in the neighborhood).

Seedlings and grafts on seedlings have a major disadvantage of being huge
trees. Consider yourself at age 60 or 70 trying to climb a 20 foot ladder
with a picking bag, and you will see the wisdom of trees that do not need a
ladder. Take a delightful look at "Gene's Backyard Orchard" to see what can
be done.

Finally, you can find a WEALTH of info on fruit growing thru The
Pollination Home Page. Check on home horticulture for a lot of links, even
how to grow fruit organically....