Arkansas
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Apples Trees from store bought apple seeds

I think I've heard some discussion about grafting process, etc.

Anyways, a few years ago I planted a number of apple seeds from store bought apples. The largest trees are now over head tall but most of them have thorns. Will they produce edible fruit?

Will the seed from Granny Smith type apples possibly be better to plant? I have planted those and they are about 3 feet tall without thorns thus far.

JONA
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When you plant seeds Arkansas you can never know more than one of the parents.....the variety of Apple you got the seed from. The other parent could have been any malus species.
If your tree has thorns...then it has a gene In its makeup that suggests it's other parent was from something like a crab. Apple seeds can only grow into like trees if they are from self pollinating trees.
So......no matter what seeds you use it will always be a hit or miss possibility that the tree that grows will be good or bad.
Breeders do this on a more carefully monitored way ..often deliberately pollinating known varieties to known varieties. They will then plant hundreds of resulting seedlings and over many years slowly discard most of them through one fault or another until they finish with perhaps just a handful that look worthwhile passing on for trial work.
So, just persevere with your trees. You never know you may finish up with a great new variety ....or maybe not. It's all luck and hope....but..good luck.

tomc
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OK I will offer the counter to Jonas's thoughtful reply. First by saying I think if you look at what the modern orchard is in search of the perfect and beautiful apple deliberate breeding is probably in order.

If you stretch the envelope even a little, to say what was a keeper in the nineteenth century, most of your saved seed-trees will be worth your effort.

Apple-crabs were intentionally breed to make canned desert candied apples. Your great grandmother got one served as a garnish until the close of WW-II. Her mother was delighted with and peeled at the table a russet apple. Neither would pass supermarket muster today.

If you are striving to win at the desert-apple breeding sweepstakes, I agree with Jona. Your odds will be long.

If you intend to use your new apple babies as the rootstock of collecting apples that are locally yummy. I can guarentee your judgement will be upheld in the surviving grafts. if you follow folks like Turkeysong who are busy breeding new apple, you'll get about one good apple in four. Which is good enough odds for me.

JONA
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Following Tomc's encouragement .

You only have to look at a list of apple varieties to see how successful growing from pips can be.
Any Apple that has the word pippin or seedling ( eg. Bramley seedling...Ribston pippin etc ) , denotes that it was grown that way.
The lovely Coxs Orange Pippin was grown from a pip of a Ribston by a retired butcher in 1825. So that was a seedling from a seedling and was considered for many years the best apple in Europe. ( many of us think it's still the best in the world).

Arkansas
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Many Thanks for the advice!

Taiji
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In keeping with the topic, I recently discovered what I think is a seedling under the big old apple tree on my property. The only other possibility would be that it sprung up from the roots of course. I didn't notice it for long time, I just thought it was part of the main tree, only about 6 feet from the trunk. It is actually about 4 feet high and has pretty good structure, but I don't think it will do well if I leave it there. So, I think I will try to transplant it in late winter. The trunk is pretty thick though, about 2 inches in diameter. I guess it might not make it, but will dig down with a long spade and prune the roots as best I can. I don't know if an apple tree has a taproot or not?
This seedling doesn't have any thorns. Do you think I might have success with transplanting it?

Arkansas
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@Taiji - just offhand, from my experience, I'd say your chances of successfully transplanting the tree will depend upon the amount of work you are willing to do. A 2 inch diameter tree is going to have a pretty good root system, plus it may be entangled around the roots of the parent tree. It could be a real challenge. If you are young and wiry, it might not be such a chore - won't hurt to try. A pencil size diameter would have been plenty to dig for me. At very least, you can chalk it up as a learning experience. Hope it goes smooth for you.

Taiji
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Thanks for your response! I don't think it will hurt to try, I don't think the seedling has much of a chance under this old tree.

Not really young or wiry, :) but can do a little at a time. They say 60 is the new 40; that may well be, but what they don't tell you is that 64 may well be the new 75!

tomc
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Taiji you can also dig your volunteer tree in stages, say one quarter of its circumference at a time and refill the hole with the dirt sans roots.

Taiji
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I'll probably do a bit at a time. I should try to find someone to help lift it out I suppose!



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