Growing a new tree from the seeds of an apple you purchase from the store is a worthwhile long-term project.
The idea that the seeds in the apple you just purchased at the store can develop into an apple tree is not a myth. However, you cannot simply toss them around your yard and call it a day.
But if you work hard and take good care of it, you can have your very own fruit-bearing tree. Just keep in mind that you should purchase the seeds or a small tree for your preferred store-bought apple variety if you want to grow it.
This is so that apple trees can produce fruit because all apple trees, including crabapples, have the ability to produce pollen that can be used to fertilize other apple trees. Because the seeds’ DNA originates from two distinct types of apples, don’t anticipate that the tree will bear apples of the same variety.
Can refrigerated apple seeds grow?
Since they won’t grow true from seed, most apples are grown from grafted trees. Although the fruit may develop into thriving trees, it’s possible that they won’t look exactly like the fruit you originally purchased. Hundreds of apple seeds are sown each year using controlled crosses created by apple breeders.
If you refrigerated your apple before eating the fruit and taking out the seed, it would still do well, just like any other apple seed. Except the fruit is a product of mutation or has gone through several chemical changes.
Before apple seeds start to sprout, they need to be chilled, or stratified, so put the container in the fridge for at least two to three weeks—or perhaps up to a month or more. Watch and wait after that. Carefully move the sprouted seeds into pots with quality potting soil once they have started to grow.
How do you germinate apple seeds from store?
It was fun to eat the whole crisp, juicy apple you bought at the store. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just walk outside and grab a similar thing from a tree in your yard? You might ask what would happen if I planted these small, smooth, dark seeds and grew my own apple trees. The quick reply is “Yes, but…”
Due to the fact that apples do not breed true to type, many apple varieties found in grocery store bins are hybrids. Commercial apple farmers ensure that the types they supply are genetically similar from one year to the next by growing grafted stock on trees that bear clones of the hybrids.
If you want to try something new and see what you might get, you can grow your own tree from the seeds in each apple you buy at the store. All you need are a few things and a lot of time.
- Take an apple that you like and carefully remove the seeds from the core without cutting or nicking them.
- Wash the seeds to get rid of any leftover apple pieces or fruit juice. Then put each seed in a small container with potting soil.
- Apples do best in temperate climates, so the seeds need to be stratified (kept cool and damp) for a few months before they will sprout.
- Set the pots in an unheated garage and perhaps a refrigerator, and cover them with a nylon bag to keep moisture in.
Since you are trying to recreate the conditions the seeds would face in nature over the winter, it is best to do this in the fall instead of when it is the coldest. This way, the plants can be moved outside in the spring, after the danger of frost has passed and the seedlings have grown.
How long do apple seeds need to dry before planting?
For two reasons, it’s likely that the apple seeds you save won’t germinate, whether you plant them in soil or in a terrarium.
After a period of drying out, the seeds must stratify. You’ll probably have trouble getting your apple seeds to sprout if you omit these two steps. Apple seeds taken from an apple should first be allowed to dry out for three to four weeks before planting.
Roll the seeds over every day or two after placing them on a sheet of wax paper or similar material. The seeds begin to lose their black luster after about a month and begin to seem lighter and dryer. The seeds have dried effectively if they look like this.
How do you dry apple seeds for planting?
When they are moist, seeds are supposed to germinate; when they are dry, they are supposed to hibernate. It’s crucial to dry your seeds off after harvesting them. The optimum method for drying seeds is open air, and there are a number of ways to use common household items to create the ideal drying environment.
Spreading seeds out so that the air can reach each one and allowing them to dry naturally in the open air are the best ways to dry them. But provided that the seeds are dispersed thinly so they may dry rapidly, plates, wide dishes, pie containers, baking trays, and serving pans are all suitable containers.
In an effort to save space, piling the seeds 4 or 5 layers high is typically a terrible idea, because the bottom seedlings can’t get any air contact and can’t dry very quickly, which causes them to either mildew or sprout before they can dry.
How long does it take to grow an apple tree from seed?
Apple seeds can be sown like any other seed after at least 6 weeks in a damp paper towel in the refrigerator. If it has been since the last frosts and the ground can be cultivated, they can be directly seeded outside.
We often sprout them in pots because they have low germination rates and early infestation by squirrels, rodents, and small birds can be a problem.
In fact, apple seeds germinate rather quickly after six weeks of cold stratification.
A large portion of the seeds will have already begun to sprout on the paper towel in the fridge, and those will pop up from the ground first after planting. The seeds should pop out of the ground in a week or two, presuming soil temperatures are warm (about 75 degrees F).
The apple seedlings are then cared for in containers until they are at least 4–6 inches tall. This makes it less likely that they will get lost where they are moved, but staking them is also a great idea because at this point, one careless step could kill a young tree.
Can apple seeds sprout inside an apple?
Finding seeds that have taken root within an apple is exciting. The sprouting of seedlings while they are still affixed to the mother plant is a situation known as vivipary.
Vivipary happens when a fruit is fully ripe before it is picked, which weakens the hormone abscisic acid’s ability to regulate seed dormancy. When this occurs, if there is enough moisture around the seeds, they may sprout.
How many apple seeds does it take to grow an apple tree?
Nothing compares to the satisfaction of growing your own tree from a seed, so let’s get started. Collecting 5–10 mature apples, preferably from 2–3 different varieties, is the first thing we need to do.
The apples are split down the middle, and the seeds are removed. Since just one in four apple seeds will typically germinate and eventually grow into a young tree, we need at least three dozen apple seeds. We gently wrap every two to three seeds with a moist cloth after first allowing the seeds to dry.
You must be aware of a few factors if you wish to develop an apple tree from seed:
First off, apple trees raised from seeds (and not later grafted) won’t likely bear fruit for the first 7–10 years of their existence. Some of them might not ever bear fruit in their entire lives.
Second, if you collect ten apple seeds of a particular variety and plant them, you will end up with ten distinct trees that bear ten distinct varieties of apples.
Thirdly, apple trees propagated by grafting are substantially less prone to diseases than those developed from seed.
Can you grow an indoor apple tree?
Most of the apple varieties we have today are the result of random gene changes that happened when breeders tried hundreds or even thousands of seedlings to find something unique in taste, shape, color, or stability.
Most of the choices we have now came about because people planted a few seeds. Today, plant breeders use science to do the same thing.
An apple tree can be grown indoors, yes. If you want to grow an apple orchard on your porch, pick an ultra dwarf apple variety. When these potted fruit trees reach a height of 6 feet (0.9 m), they can adorn a light interior space or patio.
After about three years, if the apple tree hasn’t started producing apples, you might need to move the pot outside. A self-pollinating variety is ideal if you can find one.
How long do apple seeds take to germinate in the fridge?
If the apple fruit has been kept in cold storage for long enough, the seed will be tricked into growing. If not, the apple seeds need to be taken care of. For stratification, cold storage at around 5 Celcius or 40 degrees Fahrenheit for two to three months is needed.
Apple seeds need to be chilled, or stratified, before they can sprout, so put the container in the fridge for at least two to three weeks, or maybe even a month or more.
When the apple seed coat splits and a sprout starts to grow, it needs light and warmth, unlike when it is germinating. Once the chilling period is over, you must move the seeds to a new growing medium that drains well, like vermiculite, and take them out of the original growing medium and the refrigerator.
How do you germinate apple seeds in paper towels?
The procedures for collecting and sprouting seeds are simple. One method involves carefully removing the apple’s core, rinsing the seeds, and setting them aside to dry. Beginning the project with as many seeds as possible will increase the likelihood that at least some of them will begin to grow, even if not all of them do.
Place the seeds between two moist paper towels or tissues in an airtight container. Put the container in the refrigerator for at least two to three weeks, and possibly up to a month or more, to let the seeds stratify, or chill, before they sprout.
Once seeds start to grow, carefully move them into pots with good potting soil. Make a small hole in the soil, put the seed in the hole, cover it with soil, and then give it a lot of water. Keep just a little bit of water in the soil, and when the first leaves appear, move the pots to a bright window.
Plant the strongest seedlings in the ground when they are a few inches tall. The best conditions for an apple tree to grow are full sun, well-drained soil, space from other trees, and a spot that isn’t too low so that cold air doesn’t gather into a “frost pocket.” If you plant two or more trees, which is recommended for better pollination in the future, space them 8 to 15 feet apart.