Anybody Else Planting Apple Seeds?

I don't know if this counts. I had a Dolgo seedling tree that held onto a bunch of crabapples until the new growth pushed them off this spring. This summer I noticed some seedlings coming up beneath the tree's canopy and put old fence wire around them. Today I counted 14 crabapple seedlings growing there. They range from a few inches tall to over two feet tall. I'll probably let them grow another year before I do something with them.
 
I don't know if this counts. I had a Dolgo seedling tree that held onto a bunch of crabapples until the new growth pushed them off this spring. This summer I noticed some seedlings coming up beneath the tree's canopy and put old fence wire around them. Today I counted 14 crabapple seedlings growing there. They range from a few inches tall to over two feet tall. I'll probably let them grow another year before I do something with them.

I wonder if they are seedlings or root suckers. My oldest chestnut crab throws our rootsuckers up to about 15 feet from the tree. I have transplanted some of those and the fruit is about 1/2 the size of a normal dolgo. I have no idea what type of rootstock it is.

This spring, three of those suckers that I transplanted were about ten feet tall. I cut off the central leader and grafted one Big Dog and 2 Buckman crabs to it.

If they survive the winter, I will start removing more lateral limbs.

Pull one of the little ones up and see if it is a rootsucker.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Same deal around here, old area commercial nurseries, every farm had an orchard and waste apples fed to cattle; The old pastures are full of wild apple and crab trees.

Sad part is with the loss of the family farms and fewer and fewer pastured cattle those old pasture trees are disappearing fast.

I think those old wild apples and crabs are gems and would be planting some seeds if you have the room.

I have several seedlings from wild apples and crabs in this years plantings. I should probably collect some seeds from Grandmas seedlings which have undergone 60 plus years of natural selection in this area.

I think this is a great idea if you are near the northern limits of the present range of wild apples and crabs.

I have some internet friends in Alberta that are planting lots of seeds and letting nature weed them out for hardiness. Survivors will be used for rootstock or be allowed to fruit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I think those old wild apples and crabs are gems and would be planting some seeds if you have the room.

I have several seedlings from wild apples and crabs in this years plantings. I should probably collect some seeds from Grandmas seedlings which have undergone 60 plus years of natural selection in this area.

I think this is a great idea if you are near the northern limits of the present range of wild apples and crabs.

I have some internet friends in Alberta that are planting lots of seeds and letting nature weed them out for hardiness. Survivors will be used for rootstock or be allowed to fruit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You can graft those proven survivors too - antonovka is cheap and hardy ... i did a bunch a couple years ago and am always looking for more
 
Have an Arkansas Black planted next to a Yates in the orchard plot. Hopefully a few of these AB seeds will be Yates x Arkansas Black View attachment 50504

Being AB is a Triploid, could they be a 3 way cross? Not sure how that works..hopefully someone smarter than me can explain.
 
It would still be a ONE X ONE cross, triploid refers to the number of chromosome sets, triploid = three. For the most part they are pollen sterile. Triploids were selected because they usually produced vigorous and disease resistant trees, something I didn't know until recently.
 
Last edited:
Top