Apple seeds sprouting in the fridge (what to do?)

[Telemark]

Should I just go ahead and plant them in small pots?

 

[H20fwler]

You can pot them but then they will need to be babied for at least three months and probably repotted before the last frost if that is what you were wanting to do.
Some enjoy messing around with them all winter but many things can happen if your not set up right and have the time to grow indoors in a mono culture, to wet/to dry/bugs/to cold/not enough light. It can be a real joy of a project when it all works out and you can look at the planted tree years from now and know that you did that yourself from seed through the winter....again if your wanting to start them right now. They may keep in fridge fine until closer to spring if your not wanting to start them yet, looks like there might have been a little to much moisture in your bag.

 

[Telemark]

Too moist!? Darn. Can they get too dry? Or can they stay in the fridge dry? Does it help them stay dormant if I dry them our first and then put them in the fridge?

I will probably just plant them in small pots and baby them, like you said. There are a few spare fluorescent lights laying around, and I can set them up somewhere out of the way, under the stairs, maybe. I would hate to let them die. I feel like if they do their part, I should do my part to help them along.

They are growing FAST. The longest one you see there was just poking out of its shell a few days ago. None of the others had sprouted. The fridge is 2 degrees Celsius, which is quite cold.

 

[H20fwler]

I'm pretty sure you have time to get set up right if your wanting to start them in pots now, don't get rushed on it just because a few have sprouted the seeds should keep for weeks.
There are a lot of guys on here that know way more about starting apple trees from seed than I do, give it a few days and see what they have to say about it.

 

[Big Snow Man]

Yes they were kept to moist

 

[Telemark]

Ok I will take the paper towel out and put a dry one in.

Would it help to dry the seeds first, or would that kill them?

 

[H20fwler]

Swap out the towel and the bag, poke a couple holes in bag with toothpick...I wouldn't dry the seeds they are fragile, sort out any that look to light colored or that have any mildew look to them at all, they do need a little moisture then put them back in fridge and wait for better responses than mine.

 

[yoderjac]

Ok I will take the paper towel out and put a dry one in.

Would it help to dry the seeds first, or would that kill them?

No, it wouldn't help and it wouldn't kill them. Apple seeds need cold stratification and that is exactly what you gave them. If you store seeds in the fridge with the right amount of moisture, they cold stratify and germinate. Nothing will make them stop or go backwards. It is a balancing act. If you store them with low moisture in the fridge you can put them into suspended animation of sorts. They won't cold stratify if the moisture content is too low and they won't germinate well. So, if you want seeds to germinate in the spring, you need to start by storing them with low moisture content and then 60 days or so before you want them to germinate, you need to add the right amount of moisture. Too much moisture and the seeds will get mold. Too little and cold stratification will slow or stop. Some seeds/nuts that are high in carbs like chestnuts are more susceptible to mold.

Your next problem. Just before a seed produces a root radicle, it decides up verses down based on gravity. When you check seeds and change the orientation, it takes a bit of time, but the seed will reorient up and down. The root will then change directions. You can get a tap root that has major kinks in it. That won't matter when the tree is young, but these sharp kinks can constrict the tap root as the tree ages. It is similar to the problems you get with j-hooking and circling when growing trees in non-root pruning pots.

One option at this point would be to start the trees indoor under lights in a root pruning container system. Unless you are planning to do this as a winter project for a number of years, the setup cost is probably not worth it, especially for apple seeds.

The option I would consider is vernalizing them. Take a relatively deep container and fill it with medium (promix or something similar). One of those long window seal flower pots would work. Plant your seeds an inch or so apart. Then place the container some place dark and cool like a fridge but make sure it does not freeze. The seeds will germinate and produce root radicles. The radicles will grow down but no top growth will start because it is dark and cold (winter). The tender roots won't freeze because you keep it above freezing. Over the winter, the root radicles will grow slightly. You can't do this with chestnuts because the nut has so much energy the tap root will grow too deep and hit the bottom of the container. You should not have this issue with apples. Next spring you can remove the seeds from the medium and plant them where you want them with the appropriate protection and such.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[BuckSnort]

I just started some Antonovka seeds in the fridge today after soaking them in water for a few days. This is my first attempt with this, but I was worried they would sprout too soon so that’s why I held off until now.

 

[Telemark]

Ok I will plant them and try to get them to grow. They can sit outside all summer, and then I will plant them in fall. Will cull the weaklings along the way.

 

[yoderjac]

Ok I will plant them and try to get them to grow. They can sit outside all summer, and then I will plant them in fall. Will cull the weaklings along the way.

That is probably not the best plan. Once top growth start, you will get significant tap root growth. You will have circling or j-hooking issues in regular containers. If you put them in the ground, unless you have a special bedding area with appropriate medium, you will end up cutting a lot of roots extracting them. They will then act like bare root trees when you plant them with a year of sleep, a year of creep, and finally the year of leap. You would be better off planting them in the spring as soon as the weather breaks and protecting them appropriately.

I don't know what your long-term objectives are. but keep this in mind. Apples grown from seed are really pot luck in terms of fruit. You may get tiny apples for birds that are ignored by deer, a great eating apple, or anything in between. If you plan to let them grow out, it will be many years before they produce fruit. I would want to cull apples based on fruiting, not vegetative growth vigor like chestnuts. Chestnuts are much truer to seed in terms of nut bearing characteristics.

If you plan to use them as root stock and field graft to them, I'm not sure how much culling will by you. In either case, I would probably direct seed them unless you plan to use a root pruning container system to keep them for a season or two at home. When you plant from a root pruning container system, the root ball is completely undisturbed and they don't act like bare root trees when planted. This approach lends itself to vegetative vigor culling but that is not necessarily important for apples.

Just some things to consider...

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Telemark]

Ok I will plant them in Spring.

I want them for rootstock to field graft to. Some of them will be used to grow apples, and some will be used to grow scions. The apples will mostly be for wildlife, but a few will hopefully become long-term cider trees.