Apple seeds from grocery store apples

[Jordan Selsor]

Doing a little project with the kids. Saved some honeycrisp and pink lady apple seeds to germinate and grow in the garden this yr. These worth using as grafting rootstock for 2020? Would I end up with hardy standard rootstock trees or they likely to be disease stricken and hopeless? Is their a preferred variety for this type project? I see you guys talk about dolgo seedlings as rootstock. I want to plant a good handful of standard trees, at some point, just in case these mm111’s an b118’s Peter out.
Please give me some feedback gents. This project worth the effort?

 

[Prof.Kent]

Projects with the kids are ALWAYS worth the effort. You usually learn more from a failure than a success anyway.

 

[sandbur]

I could get you some dolgo seeds next fall if you wish. Dolgo seedlings are used as rootstock here.

Lots of other trees around my dolgo, so you never know what you get.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

A few years back I planted a bunch of seeds from store bought apple trees and kept the best growers. The first one to fruit had a crabapple about an inch in diameter.

If you are planting the trees for deer I think that would work well. Definitely a fun experiment and worth a try.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I planned to graft to them. Treat them just like rootstock.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

So I guess I am curious how they will perform as rootstock? Would Inget similar results as antonovka?

 

[BuckSnort]

I did the same thing last year. My thought was to graft them to get a variety I want but then plant above the graft and grow some standard size trees on their own roots. Who knows, maybe it won’t work, but I’m not out anything but a little time.

 

[yoderjac]

Jordan,

As you know, I love to experiment. Here is what I did starting apples from seed: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/starting-apples-from-seed-indoors-how-to.6613/

My findings:

- Use seeds from Diploid apples, not triploid. (Both Cripp's Pink (pink lady) and Honeycrisp are diploid according to Orange Pippin).
- Some seedlings will be large enough to graft the following spring, others will not.
- I found many of mine were prone to disease. I got a heavy infestation of powdery mildew. This was actually kind of good because it was easy to see some seedlings were very susceptible and others next to it simply didn't get it. Great info for culling.
- I ended up with a fraction of the number of grafted seedlings in the field thank I started with. So far, none in the field show signs of powdery mildew.

One of the reasons I did this experiment was that I wanted some genetic diversity. I want to see what kind of fruit some seedlings would produce. Some seedlings I planted in the field and let go. Some I top-worked after they were in the field for a year or so leaving one nurse branch to see what kind of fruit the seedling would produce below the graft. The rest, I bench grafted just to get full size trees.

I hope that link helps giving you an idea of what to expect.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[SmallChunk]

You could buy Antonovka seeds online and switch them without you kids knowing? Haha. Then you would know the rootstock...

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Jordan,

As you know, I love to experiment. Here is what I did starting apples from seed: http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/starting-apples-from-seed-indoors-how-to.6613/

My findings:

- Use seeds from Diploid apples, not triploid. (Both Cripp's Pink (pink lady) and Honeycrisp are diploid according to Orange Pippin).
- Some seedlings will be large enough to graft the following spring, others will not.
- I found many of mine were prone to disease. I got a heavy infestation of powdery mildew. This was actually kind of good because it was easy to see some seedlings were very susceptible and others next to it simply didn't get it. Great info for culling.
- I ended up with a fraction of the number of grafted seedlings in the field thank I started with. So far, none in the field show signs of powdery mildew.

One of the reasons I did this experiment was that I wanted some genetic diversity. I want to see what kind of fruit some seedlings would produce. Some seedlings I planted in the field and let go. Some I top-worked after they were in the field for a year or so leaving one nurse branch to see what kind of fruit the seedling would produce below the graft. The rest, I bench grafted just to get full size trees.

I hope that link helps giving you an idea of what to expect.

Thanks,

Jack

Thank You Jack! I appreciate your feedback!

 

[Jordan Selsor]

You could buy Antonovka seeds online and switch them without you kids knowing? Haha. Then you would know the rootstock...

Hmmmm lol

 

[NE PA QDM]

I try to grow a few seedlings each year from seeds. Some are from grocery store apples but most are from local crabs. I have grafted to at least one or two of those seedlings after a year or two and I hope to do more in the future. A fun project indeed, especially a good family project if your goals are for a bigger tree and for family fun.

 

[PoorSand]

You could always just put them in the ground some place where you have space and see what happens. Back in 2005, I helped a guy plant 100 seed grown Malus Domestica Conservation Grade 18+" from Lawyer Nursery. They were 54 cents each. (I'm looking at the receipt right now.) I went back and looked at them a couple weeks ago. It turned out that nobody had ever come back to fence them, and they were planted in one of the high deer density parts of the state. Three were about 12' tall. One I estimated to be 18' tall. That one still had an apple hanging on it.

 

[Charles Clear]

My son would bring home apple seeds from school when they had apples. We stratified the seeds in the fridge and grew them. I think of the dozen or so trees 2 are still in existence. They are about 7 foot tall and really healthy. I think its been 6 years. I believe they will fruit this year. Pretty cool knowing my son and I will always be connected by those trees. I think it was well worth the effort and time

 

[Bowsnbucks]

This is no big experiment, but a few years back I tried stratifying some seeds from local orchard apples. 3 of the seeds grew pretty well the first 2 years in pots. I planted them in our orchard at camp in the spring & caged them. After 3 more years, 2 of the 3 trees hadn't grown much at all - pretty much stagnated. The other one grew and produced red 1" crab apples. I pulled the other 2 that weren't doing anything & replaced them with known DR apple trees.

It was worth the attempt. We now have a producing seedling crab apple. They hang on into winter too !!

Question - would the seeds from that seedling crab fruit produce similar apple trees, or could I get some totally different apple ….. maybe bigger fruit ??

 

[Native Hunter]

This is no big experiment, but a few years back I tried stratifying some seeds from local orchard apples. 3 of the seeds grew pretty well the first 2 years in pots. I planted them in our orchard at camp in the spring & caged them. After 3 more years, 2 of the 3 trees hadn't grown much at all - pretty much stagnated. The other one grew and produced red 1" crab apples. I pulled the other 2 that weren't doing anything & replaced them with known DR apple trees.

It was worth the attempt. We now have a producing seedling crab apple. They hang on into winter too !!

Question - would the seeds from that seedling crab fruit produce similar apple trees, or could I get some totally different apple ….. maybe bigger fruit ??

They would be like Forrest Gump's mom said = "Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what your gonna get..." They should have some attributes of their parents just like a human does, but be totally different and individual creations.

A guy from Indiana on the other forum did an experiment a few years ago. If I remember correctly, he planted 100 seedling crabapples and out of those, there were five that he named and kept. The other 95 had some kind of negative attribute (such as poor fruit, bad DR, etc.) and/or died.

 

[Mortenson]

I remember that thread NH. I think "Lemondrop" was one of his top two. When someone showed him the NWC trees he probably half jokingly said that they have his Lemondrop tree. I think he was referring to the Droptine.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I must've really lucked out with 1 good one out of 3 tries. Long odds !!

 

[Native Hunter]

I remember that thread NH. I think "Lemondrop" was one of his top two. When someone showed him the NWC trees he probably half jokingly said that they have his Lemondrop tree. I think he was referring to the Droptine.

Yep, that's the same guy.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

So let me make sure I understand correctly in reference to the trees stature? Will they all likely produce big 20ft + standard trees if grafted to? Or is that similar in fruiting quality in that you just don’t know? So I could get shrimp dwarf type trees possibly?