As a rule, fruit trees for the private garden are already grafted and bought when they are about five or six years old. In principle, however, you can also grow an apple tree yourself from a core as an exciting experiment with enough patience.

Select suitable apple seeds for cultivation

In principle, all cores from apples bought in the shop are suitable for growing an apple tree with a little luck. However, with a view to the future, a variety that suits the local climate should be chosen when purchasing. If you or your neighbor already have a corresponding apple tree in your garden, you can use the seeds from its fruit so that you don't experience an unpleasant surprise in later years. In Central Europe, such varieties would be, for example, the following:

  • Jonagold
  • Elstar
  • Alcmene
  • Berlepsch
  • boskoop
  • gold parmesan

Apple trees made from seeds have surprises in store

If apple trees are propagated by grafting a branch onto a suitable growth substrate, this is referred to as vegetative propagation. If, on the other hand, apple trees are grown from cores, the result can vary from core to core. In the commercial cultivation of apple varieties, apple trees are grown from cores in a series of experiments in order to obtain new species crosses. In the home garden, this can lead to surprises, since a small apple tree grown from seeds can develop a huge treetop over time.

The nuclei must be stratified for germination

In nature, the apple seeds are treated with natural sprout inhibitors in such a way that they do not start the germination phase until after winter. Unless you use seeds from must production that have been pre-treated by fermentation, you have to simulate winter to use the seeds immediately. To do this, put the apple seeds between two damp layers of kitchen paper in a box, which you put in the fridge for about two to four weeks. After this period you should be able to see the first signs of germination on the seeds.

Be careful when planting the seeds

The pre-germinated apple seeds are still very sensitive. Therefore, plant them very carefully in pots with loose garden soil. Leave enough space for each individual core for the first year of growth. Cover your apple seedlings with a layer of substrate about one centimeter thick and water it well. The pot should be in a bright and warm location and have drainage holes to prevent waterlogging.

tips

Sometimes nature will help you grow an apple tree from a seed all by itself. If you know places where rotten and overripe apples are composted, you can search the ground there for young apple trees.

Category:

Trees