AboutTom Alonzo Expertise I have been growing plants from seeds for at least 20 years. I have grown literally hundreds of different kinds of vegetables, trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, tropicals, some cacti, water plants, iris, rose, lilies, cannas, etc. I enjoy starting from seed.
Experience I've been growing my own seeds for 20 years with indoor propagation equipment I built myself. I am also an Allexperts volunteer on the perennial forum. I have completed the Master Gardener course through the Kansas State University Extension. I have experience with a wide variety of seeds and I have also read through Norm Deno's books on seed germination.
Expert: Tom Alonzo Date: 6/23/2008 Subject: Apple trees from seeds
Question I had a golden delicious and a gravenstein 15' apart from each other. I tossed all of the downed fruit into a compost area. The next spring, I had a ton of apple seedlings growing. I saved a few and planted them into buckets. This was in the spring of 2000. I have 8 trees and 2 have fruit on them. Each is a different color. Neither of which are from what they were originally. They appear to be the same size as my other "real" apple tree apples are at this time. What would they be? Or will they stop growing now and just be crab apples? Thanks, Scott
Answer Hi Scott,
Thanx for your question. Many, many people ask, time-and-time again about growing fruit trees from the seed of the fruit they have eaten and here you are with your own private orchard! Your description of your apple trees' fruit is exactly what I try to explain to folks. Because of the intense hybridization of American and European fruit, when one attempts to grow fruit trees from seed, the resulting plants will very, very, very, rarely produce a fruit similar to that from which the original seed came. Many seedlings will have reverted to a previous parentage of lesser quality although the fruit will still be quite good and edible. Your apple trees should continue to grow and produce fruit as long as they receive adequate water and fertilization. Use fertilizer rated for fruit trees and follow the directions on the package. Apple trees will not turn into crabapples except if the apple tree was grafted onto a crabapple rootstock and somehow the graft dies and the root stock grows over it. I hope this helps.
Tom
