Apple trees from seed.

Discussion in 'Fruit and Nut Trees' started by rxmacdon, Jun 15, 2004.

  1. rxmacdon

    rxmacdon Member

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    Location:
    Courtenay, B.C.
    I have two heritage apples trees on the property. I would like to know the method of propogating from seed. Last year I placed a few cores in potting soil and nothing happened( I left them outside during the winter).

    Does anyone offer a course in grafting and where to find root stock(in the Vancouver area)??

    Ross
     
  2. raichael

    raichael Member

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    North Columbia, California
    I have had much better luck with apple seeds extracted from the core (I eat the core) placed in the open bed in my greenhouse. They take about 3 or 4 months to come up. None of the whole apples or pears that I have planted (i.e. buried) in pots outside or in the greenhouse bed came up. I think that they may need light to germinate?

    There is one other thing if you open the core of apples -- especially not particularly fresh apples -- you will often find that some of the seeds are sprouting, this come up really fast, in a week or two.

    I do not know about grafting classes and root stalk availablity in the Vancouver area, however I have taken grafting classes and my best advice is to buy any grafted tree (apple in this case), take a look in a few books, and dive in. The three biggest things are to do it at the right time of year for the type of grafting or budding you choose (budding is particularly easy), to line up the cambium layers (and not touch the cadmium with your fingers directly) and lastly not cut yourself too badly with the grafting knife.

    If you cannot find any good resources about grafting, let me know, I will type up my notes from the classes I took, and take a look around. The next "good" time of year to graft is not until late fall, but you can practice on weedy trees to get the hang of it.

    Good luck and have fun,
    raichael
     
  3. mr.shep

    mr.shep Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 7, 2007
  4. dmurchie

    dmurchie Member

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    Wellington BC, Canada
    I used peat pucks in a sunny window inside a moist terrarium. 4 out of 6 seeds sprouted. The apples were from a store, and likely came from cold storage. Put into the ground as soon as the plant is sturdy. (Even in a 5 galleon pot my trees roots were cramped the following spring, and growth was diminished significantly in the trees which I had in smaller pots.)

    However, if you like your apples and the tree as they are, and you want a clone, I would recommend growing roots on one of your branches. Seeds won't give you the same apples and grafting a possibly uncommon apple variety to a root stock of indeterminate potential will created varied results. Unless your trees are root grafted themselves, you already know how they grow in your area, so growing roots on a branch will give you not only a clone of the tree, but one with the same growth habit you are used to. (grafting may result in more/less growth than your old tree.)

    I have used a kit for this before. It was very easy. It comes with instructions, but a summary is: Girdle the branch, put some root hormone on it, snap a container over the location you girdled, fill container with water every so often to keep the wound and roots moist. A few weeks/months later you can cut the branch off below the container, remove the tree from the container, and plant in the ground. (staked). Lee Valley may still sell them through mail order or from their stores.

    And don't be shy about the length of the branch (diameter can't be too thick). If you have a nice straight 6' leader, you have a good chance of ending up with a 5' whip in just a few months.
     

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