yoderjac
5 year old buck +
I've been growing lot of different kinds of wildlife trees, starting them indoors under lights using the Rootmaker root pruning container system. Last year I started experimenting with apples.
For those that are new, keep in mind that apples are not true to seed. If you plant the seed from a Red Delicious apple, the tree you get will be a full size tree and won't likely produce apples similar to those of the parent tree. Some crabapples are somewhat true to seed like Dolgo.
Why grow apples from seed:
When I grow trees for wildlife, low long-term maintenance is import to me. I use mast trees to feed deer, not just attract them and feeding deer requires significant volume. I simply don't have the funding or time to maintain the number of trees I want. Because of the maintenance, apples are low on my list, but after talking to a number of the apple guys and doing a lot of reading, I think I can make apples work. Most commercial apples are grown on clonal dwarfing root stock onto which specific varieties are grafted.
I think crabapples which grow wild have a much more balanced set of genetics expressed than domestic apples. While the characteristics of the fruit may not be suitable for commercial use or even human consumption in some cases, there ability to resist disease and insects is generally much greater. Crabapples cover a very wide range. Some are really not preferred by deer or even eaten.
While it would be great to get fruit soon, for the long-term growing from seed will more likely yield a disease resistant tree. Keep in mind that I'm not all-in with this method. It is simply one of the strategies I'm using for adding apples to my management plan. I'm using some of these as rootstock, grafting known varieties (as disease resistant as I can find) to it in the field. I'm also grafting disease resistant apples to M111 (Semi-dwarf clonal rootstock appropriate for my area). So growing apples from seed is only one strategy.
Seed Collection:
First, it is important to know that genetically normal apples are called diploid (two sets of chromosomes) but quite a few of the best named varieties (and most disease resistant for domestic apples) are triploid having an extra set of chromosomes. Triploid apples are typically pollen sterile and may require several pollinating partners. While I'm experimenting with seeds from triploid apples, most are deformed because of odd genetic combinations. So, whatever apple you choose, if you want good germination rates, choose a diploid.
If you have access to a wild crabapple tree that produces well and deer like, you can take seeds from it. Wild crabapples are almost certainly diploid. Dolgo is a crabapple said to grow fairly true to seed so that is a candidate if you can find Dolgo apples.
Personally, I went to an orchard that is also a ciderworks. Crabapples are an important ingredient in hard cider production. The orchard I used does not sell crabapples but they do sell apples. After a discussion with one of the orchardists there explaining what I was doing, they were happy to sell me a few crabapples so I could collect seed. They happened to have Wickson Crab, so that is what I chose this year.
Another option is to buy seed commercially. There are several sites that sell them on-line. Last year I bought some Dolgo and Siberian Red crabapple seed on-line. Germination was very poor compared to this year when I collected the seeds myself.
Seed Storage:
I simply ate the apples, broke the core in half by hand, and picked out the seed. I washed the seed and placed it in ziplock bags with slightly damp long-fiber sphagnum and put the bags, half closed and folded over in the crisper. Apple seeds don't actually require cold stratification like chestnuts, but a short cold period does seem to improve germination rates. So, I really squeezed all the water I could from the sphagnum to minimize good conditions for mold.
After 30 days or so of cold storage, I took the seeds out to plant.
Planting in Mesh Flats:
I learned about starting trees in mesh flats from one of Dr. Whitcomb's papers. He would line a standard mesh flat with a single layer of newspaper and then add medium. He would put acorns in the flat to germinate. The flats were elevated so you can see below them. The tap root of an oak is strong enough to easily penetrate the damp newspaper. As soon as he would see a root radicle break through the paper, he would transplant it to a cell from a tray of 18s. This way you are not wasting 18s on nuts that will never germinate. I started doing a similar thing with persimmon seeds.
Instead of using newspaper to line my mesh flats, I use this shelving material: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Duck-Covers-24-in-x-10-ft-Black-Shelf-Liner/3137959 It is reuseable and works well for me as long as I don't let seedlings in the flats too long. I found that persimmons would generate a tap root so quickly it would get pruned and root branching would start in the flat.
So, after lining the flat, I filled it with promix and soaked it. I then placed each seed in rows in the flat. An inch or so separation between seeds is fine so you can get a lot of seeds in a flat. I then add a little more mix to cover the seed and water again. I make sure all the seed is covered lightly.
Transplanting to 18s:
Apples produce a tap root quickly like persimmons. The tap root comes out of the seed and uses gravity to grow down. The initial leaves are produced inside the seed. The plant then tries to lift the seed out of the medium. Normally enough mix will stick to the seed so the leaves pull out of the seed husk. Occasionally the seed husk stays on the leaves and is lifted out of the medium. Sometimes this will eventually fall off and other times it will deform the initial leaves and stunt the tree.
So, deciding when to transplant is a balance. If you take a seedling too soon, you may increase the likelihood the leaves won't pull free from the seed husk. If you wait too long, the tap root may prune in the flat. I would rather the tap root prune in an 18.
I simply fill an 18 cell with promix and soak it good. I then take an ice pick and poke a small hole in the middle of the cell medium for the tap root. I then take a plastic fork and stick it in the medium near the seedling. I wiggle it a bit and loosen the medium. I grab the seedling between my finger and thumb and pull it straight up. I put the tap root in the prepared hole in the cell and press the medium around it.
Finally, I sprinkle some Osmocote Plus on top of the cell. It needs to stay damp to release properly, so I then add a bit more promix over the osmocote and do a final watering.
In 12 to 16 weeks I'll transplant from these 18s cells to 1 gal Rootbuilder II containers but I'll provide details when I do that.
Transplanted seedlings.
Thanks,
Jack
For those that are new, keep in mind that apples are not true to seed. If you plant the seed from a Red Delicious apple, the tree you get will be a full size tree and won't likely produce apples similar to those of the parent tree. Some crabapples are somewhat true to seed like Dolgo.
Why grow apples from seed:
When I grow trees for wildlife, low long-term maintenance is import to me. I use mast trees to feed deer, not just attract them and feeding deer requires significant volume. I simply don't have the funding or time to maintain the number of trees I want. Because of the maintenance, apples are low on my list, but after talking to a number of the apple guys and doing a lot of reading, I think I can make apples work. Most commercial apples are grown on clonal dwarfing root stock onto which specific varieties are grafted.
I think crabapples which grow wild have a much more balanced set of genetics expressed than domestic apples. While the characteristics of the fruit may not be suitable for commercial use or even human consumption in some cases, there ability to resist disease and insects is generally much greater. Crabapples cover a very wide range. Some are really not preferred by deer or even eaten.
While it would be great to get fruit soon, for the long-term growing from seed will more likely yield a disease resistant tree. Keep in mind that I'm not all-in with this method. It is simply one of the strategies I'm using for adding apples to my management plan. I'm using some of these as rootstock, grafting known varieties (as disease resistant as I can find) to it in the field. I'm also grafting disease resistant apples to M111 (Semi-dwarf clonal rootstock appropriate for my area). So growing apples from seed is only one strategy.
Seed Collection:
First, it is important to know that genetically normal apples are called diploid (two sets of chromosomes) but quite a few of the best named varieties (and most disease resistant for domestic apples) are triploid having an extra set of chromosomes. Triploid apples are typically pollen sterile and may require several pollinating partners. While I'm experimenting with seeds from triploid apples, most are deformed because of odd genetic combinations. So, whatever apple you choose, if you want good germination rates, choose a diploid.
If you have access to a wild crabapple tree that produces well and deer like, you can take seeds from it. Wild crabapples are almost certainly diploid. Dolgo is a crabapple said to grow fairly true to seed so that is a candidate if you can find Dolgo apples.
Personally, I went to an orchard that is also a ciderworks. Crabapples are an important ingredient in hard cider production. The orchard I used does not sell crabapples but they do sell apples. After a discussion with one of the orchardists there explaining what I was doing, they were happy to sell me a few crabapples so I could collect seed. They happened to have Wickson Crab, so that is what I chose this year.
Another option is to buy seed commercially. There are several sites that sell them on-line. Last year I bought some Dolgo and Siberian Red crabapple seed on-line. Germination was very poor compared to this year when I collected the seeds myself.
Seed Storage:
I simply ate the apples, broke the core in half by hand, and picked out the seed. I washed the seed and placed it in ziplock bags with slightly damp long-fiber sphagnum and put the bags, half closed and folded over in the crisper. Apple seeds don't actually require cold stratification like chestnuts, but a short cold period does seem to improve germination rates. So, I really squeezed all the water I could from the sphagnum to minimize good conditions for mold.
After 30 days or so of cold storage, I took the seeds out to plant.
Planting in Mesh Flats:
I learned about starting trees in mesh flats from one of Dr. Whitcomb's papers. He would line a standard mesh flat with a single layer of newspaper and then add medium. He would put acorns in the flat to germinate. The flats were elevated so you can see below them. The tap root of an oak is strong enough to easily penetrate the damp newspaper. As soon as he would see a root radicle break through the paper, he would transplant it to a cell from a tray of 18s. This way you are not wasting 18s on nuts that will never germinate. I started doing a similar thing with persimmon seeds.
Instead of using newspaper to line my mesh flats, I use this shelving material: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Duck-Covers-24-in-x-10-ft-Black-Shelf-Liner/3137959 It is reuseable and works well for me as long as I don't let seedlings in the flats too long. I found that persimmons would generate a tap root so quickly it would get pruned and root branching would start in the flat.
So, after lining the flat, I filled it with promix and soaked it. I then placed each seed in rows in the flat. An inch or so separation between seeds is fine so you can get a lot of seeds in a flat. I then add a little more mix to cover the seed and water again. I make sure all the seed is covered lightly.
Transplanting to 18s:
Apples produce a tap root quickly like persimmons. The tap root comes out of the seed and uses gravity to grow down. The initial leaves are produced inside the seed. The plant then tries to lift the seed out of the medium. Normally enough mix will stick to the seed so the leaves pull out of the seed husk. Occasionally the seed husk stays on the leaves and is lifted out of the medium. Sometimes this will eventually fall off and other times it will deform the initial leaves and stunt the tree.
So, deciding when to transplant is a balance. If you take a seedling too soon, you may increase the likelihood the leaves won't pull free from the seed husk. If you wait too long, the tap root may prune in the flat. I would rather the tap root prune in an 18.
I simply fill an 18 cell with promix and soak it good. I then take an ice pick and poke a small hole in the middle of the cell medium for the tap root. I then take a plastic fork and stick it in the medium near the seedling. I wiggle it a bit and loosen the medium. I grab the seedling between my finger and thumb and pull it straight up. I put the tap root in the prepared hole in the cell and press the medium around it.
Finally, I sprinkle some Osmocote Plus on top of the cell. It needs to stay damp to release properly, so I then add a bit more promix over the osmocote and do a final watering.
In 12 to 16 weeks I'll transplant from these 18s cells to 1 gal Rootbuilder II containers but I'll provide details when I do that.
Transplanted seedlings.
Thanks,
Jack