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#1
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apple trees from seed
I found a couple of old apple trees that produced the best apples I had since a child. I have always wanted to try planting apple seeds and now with these two wonderful apple seeds, I did just that. I have two apple trees (same tree) that grew almost 3 ft in one year! I'm ready to plant them in the ground as soon as the weather cools. The other apple seeds that I planted, are just now popping up in my make-shift hot box. My question....will these trees produce anything near to their mother plant? I have other dwarf apple trees and I'm not worried about pollination. But I don't know what if any type of apples these trees will produce. Is a seed a seed and will it keep growing and be like the mother seed from which it came? Donna in WA |
#2
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apple trees from seed
On Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:43:49 -0700, "DEM" wrote:
I found a couple of old apple trees that produced the best apples I had since a child. I have always wanted to try planting apple seeds and now with these two wonderful apple seeds, I did just that. I have two apple trees (same tree) that grew almost 3 ft in one year! I'm ready to plant them in the ground as soon as the weather cools. The other apple seeds that I planted, are just now popping up in my make-shift hot box. My question....will these trees produce anything near to their mother plant? I have other dwarf apple trees and I'm not worried about pollination. But I don't know what if any type of apples these trees will produce. Is a seed a seed and will it keep growing and be like the mother seed from which it came? Donna in WA http://www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/2...m_se eds.html |
#3
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apple trees from seed
DEM wrote:
I found a couple of old apple trees that produced the best apples I had since a child. I have always wanted to try planting apple seeds and now with these two wonderful apple seeds, I did just that. I have two apple trees (same tree) that grew almost 3 ft in one year! I'm ready to plant them in the ground as soon as the weather cools. The other apple seeds that I planted, are just now popping up in my make-shift hot box. My question....will these trees produce anything near to their mother plant? I have other dwarf apple trees and I'm not worried about pollination. But I don't know what if any type of apples these trees will produce. Is a seed a seed and will it keep growing and be like the mother seed from which it came? Donna in WA There are two reasons why you might not get a tree that you like. One is that if the original was grafted (and the seedling obviously isn't) the different root stock may change the nature of the tree and its hardiness, although it shouldn't have much direct effect on the fruit. The second is that when grown from seed there is a degree of genetic variation due to random recombination of genes from the parents, this is more marked if the pollinator is another variety. You mention dwarf trees, dwarfing is done by grafting good fruiting wood on to dwarf rootstock. Your seedlings will not be dwarfs unless from dwarf fruiting wood which is probably not the case. Commercially raised apple trees are grafted. The rootstock is a hardy one (eg resistant to root disease) and/or a dwarf one and the scion is cut from of a known good fruiting performer, you probably won't get either of these benefits but you might still get a nice apple tree, it's a matter of chance. David |
#4
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apple trees from seed
Thank you! the link was very informative and have it saved. My seeds grew so fast at first I thought them weeds or sunflowers. But they're apple. Six years is a long time but it'll be worth the wait. Donna in WA "brooklyn1" wrote in message ... On Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:43:49 -0700, "DEM" wrote: I found a couple of old apple trees that produced the best apples I had since a child. I have always wanted to try planting apple seeds and now with these two wonderful apple seeds, I did just that. I have two apple trees (same tree) that grew almost 3 ft in one year! I'm ready to plant them in the ground as soon as the weather cools. The other apple seeds that I planted, are just now popping up in my make-shift hot box. My question....will these trees produce anything near to their mother plant? I have other dwarf apple trees and I'm not worried about pollination. But I don't know what if any type of apples these trees will produce. Is a seed a seed and will it keep growing and be like the mother seed from which it came? Donna in WA http://www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/2...m_se eds.html |
#5
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apple trees from seed
On Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:43:49 -0700, "DEM" wrote:
I found a couple of old apple trees that produced the best apples I had since a child. I have always wanted to try planting apple seeds and now with these two wonderful apple seeds, I did just that. I have two apple trees (same tree) that grew almost 3 ft in one year! I'm ready to plant them in the ground as soon as the weather cools. The other apple seeds that I planted, are just now popping up in my make-shift hot box. My question....will these trees produce anything near to their mother plant? I have other dwarf apple trees and I'm not worried about pollination. But I don't know what if any type of apples these trees will produce. Is a seed a seed and will it keep growing and be like the mother seed from which it came? Donna in WA Maybe, odds are against it. You best bet is to get a branch of the tree which you enjoyed the fruit and graft it onto a well-established apple tree. You want a tree with an excellent root stock for starters, then you can graft (up to ~150) varieties onto it. |
#6
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apple trees from seed
On Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:38:04 -0700, "DEM" wrote:
Thank you! the link was very informative and have it saved. My seeds grew so fast at first I thought them weeds or sunflowers. But they're apple. Six years is a long time but it'll be worth the wait. Donna in WA "brooklyn1" wrote http://www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/2...m_se eds.html Six years is way too long on a maybe. Go to a local nursery and buy some fruit trees (they don't cost much), you'll have apples by the second year. |
#7
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apple trees from seed
Thank you! the link was very informative and have it
saved. My seeds grew so fast at first I thought them weeds or sunflowers. But they're apple. Six years is a long time but it'll be worth the wait. Donna in WA "brooklyn1" wrote http://www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/2...m_se eds.html Six years is way too long on a maybe. Go to a local nursery and buy some fruit trees (they don't cost much), you'll have apples by the second year. My semi-dwarf apple trees were bought by a local nursery as were my semi-dwarf cherries trees. I'm hoping to have some fruit next year on both. The seeds I planted and actually grew (not a natural green thumber) were all from decades old trees....at least 50 years old or older. They just don't make em like this any more and I'm old enough to know that....so since they're growing anyway, I'll just wait and see what happens. Who knows....maybe nothing. But it's worth the try. Donna in WA |
#8
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apple trees from seed
On Sep 16, 6:08*pm, "DEM" wrote:
My semi-dwarf apple trees were bought by a local nursery as were my semi-dwarf cherries trees. *I'm hoping to have some fruit next year on both. The seeds I planted and actually grew (not a natural green thumber) were all from decades old trees....at least 50 years old or older. *They just don't make em like this any more and I'm old enough to know that....so since they're growing anyway, I'll just wait and see what happens. Who knows....maybe nothing. * But it's worth the try. Maybe you should market those seeds, or seedlings? Karen |
#9
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apple trees from seed
"Karen" wrote in message ... On Sep 16, 6:08 pm, "DEM" wrote: My semi-dwarf apple trees were bought by a local nursery as were my semi-dwarf cherries trees. I'm hoping to have some fruit next year on both. The seeds I planted and actually grew (not a natural green thumber) were all from decades old trees....at least 50 years old or older. They just don't make em like this any more and I'm old enough to know that....so since they're growing anyway, I'll just wait and see what happens. Who knows....maybe nothing. But it's worth the try. Maybe you should market those seeds, or seedlings? Karen Not a bad idea. Was in touch with a company that wanted a branch from an old 75+ year King apple tree. Oh how I loved those apples as a child. I'll think about your idea....who knows! Donna in WA |
#10
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apple trees from seed
"DEM" wrote:
The seeds I planted and actually grew (not a natural green thumber) were all from decades old trees....at least 50 years old or older. *They just don't make em like this any more and I'm old enough to know that....so since they're growing anyway, I'll just wait and see what happens. Who knows....maybe nothing. * But it's worth the try. Actually it's not worth the try, it's a very poor investment, in a large block of wasted time and the wasted growing space, plus your hopeful expectations will ultimately be dashed... when you could have planted grafted true to form sapplings that would be productive in 2 years for like $15 each... Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, etc. sell potted fruit trees in season for cheap, the exact same trees sold at fancy schmancy nurserys for trice the price. And fruit trees require a lot of maintenence, not worth it for throw back fruit. I can see planting fruit pips from a tree you're sentimental about, for potted foliage if all you have is like one or two apartment windows, but odds of pips producing true to form fruit are slim to zero. If you live on rural acreage plant your seedlings at the edge of the woods where they can produce critter food, and probably beautiful blossoms. I wouldn't destroy them, planting trees is always a good deed, and will gift the planet same as any tree, but if it's apples you want then it's true to form grafted apple trees you need to plant. |
#11
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apple trees from seed
brooklyn1 wrote in
: "DEM" wrote: The seeds I planted and actually grew (not a natural green thumber) were all from decades old trees....at least 50 years old or older. *They just don't make em like this any more and I'm old enough to know that....so since they're growing anyway, I'll just wait and see what happens. Who knows....maybe nothing. * But it's worth the try. Actually it's not worth the try, it's a very poor investment, in a large block of wasted time and the wasted growing space, plus your hopeful expectations will ultimately be dashed... when you could have planted grafted true to form sapplings that would be productive in 2 years for like $15 each... Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, etc. sell potted fruit trees in season for cheap, the exact same trees sold at fancy schmancy nurserys for trice the price. And fruit trees require a lot of maintenence, not worth it for throw back fruit. I can see planting fruit pips from a tree you're sentimental about, for potted foliage if all you have is like one or two apartment windows, but odds of pips producing true to form fruit are slim to zero. If you live on rural acreage plant your seedlings at the edge of the woods where they can produce critter food, and probably beautiful blossoms. I wouldn't destroy them, planting trees is always a good deed, and will gift the planet same as any tree, but if it's apples you want then it's true to form grafted apple trees you need to plant. and how do you think new apples come into being? by grafting trees? nope. you have to start by planting seeds. some are ok, some are really really good. you won't get bad fruit from seed, and you might get something great. for old fogies like you, maybe planting fruit seeds takes too long, but (thankfully) we aren't all like you, willing to buy trash trees at WalMart. lee |
#12
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apple trees from seed
enigma wrote:
and how do you think new apples come into being? by grafting trees? nope. you have to start by planting seeds. some are ok, some are really really good. you won't get bad fruit from seed, and you might get something great. for old fogies like you, maybe planting fruit seeds takes too long, but (thankfully) we aren't all like you, willing to buy trash trees at WalMart. lee You might get something great, but it's a long shot. Most apple orchards plant crabapples for pollinators because they produce a *lot* of pollen over a long blooming season. Even an apple that is worthless for eating might be really good for making cider or jelly. If (when) your apple tree eventually fruits and they are nasty little disease-ridden crabapples, you can still graft a named variety (or two) onto the tree and convert it over in a couple of years to a grafted tree without totally losing all those years you waited. Or just enjoy your unique crabapple tree for what it is. Bob |
#13
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apple trees from seed
The seeds I planted and actually grew (not a natural green thumber) were all from decades old trees....at least 50 years old or older. They just don't make em like this any more and I'm old enough to know that....so since they're growing anyway, I'll just wait and see what happens. Who knows....maybe nothing. But it's worth the try. Donna in WA I'm jumping in late to this thread .. sorry. Can anyone say whether-or-not directly planting "branch-clones" of old fruit trees will produce the same fruit of the original tree ? "branch clones" being the result of girding & rooting a branch _ON_ a fruit tree - then cutting and re-planting it. ... or does this rooty-branch need to be grafted to a strong root stock ? later on. The property where I grew up has some ancient fruit trees - 3 or 4 apple and 1 winter pear - that might be worth preserving. John T |
#14
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apple trees from seed
hubops wrote:
The seeds I planted and actually grew (not a natural green thumber) were all from decades old trees....at least 50 years old or older. They just don't make em like this any more and I'm old enough to know that....so since they're growing anyway, I'll just wait and see what happens. Who knows....maybe nothing. But it's worth the try. Donna in WA I'm jumping in late to this thread .. sorry. Can anyone say whether-or-not directly planting "branch-clones" of old fruit trees will produce the same fruit of the original tree ? "branch clones" being the result of girding & rooting a branch _ON_ a fruit tree - then cutting and re-planting it. .. or does this rooty-branch need to be grafted to a strong root stock ? later on. The property where I grew up has some ancient fruit trees - 3 or 4 apple and 1 winter pear - that might be worth preserving. John T A simple Google search will lead you to numerous articles on just this question. You can also contact your state agricultural extension service for answers. Try this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit_tree_propagation |
#15
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apple trees from seed
hubops wrote:
The seeds I planted and actually grew (not a natural green thumber) were all from decades old trees....at least 50 years old or older. They just don't make em like this any more and I'm old enough to know that....so since they're growing anyway, I'll just wait and see what happens. Who knows....maybe nothing. But it's worth the try. Donna in WA I'm jumping in late to this thread .. sorry. Can anyone say whether-or-not directly planting "branch-clones" of old fruit trees will produce the same fruit of the original tree ? "branch clones" being the result of girding & rooting a branch _ON_ a fruit tree - then cutting and re-planting it. .. or does this rooty-branch need to be grafted to a strong root stock ? later on. The property where I grew up has some ancient fruit trees - 3 or 4 apple and 1 winter pear - that might be worth preserving. John T It should work. If you want to search for information, the technical term is "air layering". I air layered a magnolia limb when i was a kid just to see if i could. The resulting magnolia tree in my parents' yard is pretty big now. You could also harvest some "bud wood" or "scion wood" and graft it to another apple tree to keep the old variety going. HTH, bob |
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