My son came home from school one day last month and emptied out three apple seeds from his jeans pocket. He saved them from his lunch. He asked to plant them so he could grow his own apples. Be still this gardener’s heart!
However, I was in a pickle. I knew that the chances of the apple seeds growing, thriving and producing apples were slim. Why is growing an apple from seed challenging?
For starters, apple seeds need a period of cool, moist conditions, also called stratification, before they will germinate. Usually, seeds are placed in moist potting soil and then put in the fridge for 90 to 120 days.
Second, apples are cross-pollinated so the seed will not grow apples that are the same as the original tree. In order to get the same tree, you would have to take vegetative cuttings from the original tree.
That brings us to a third point, apple trees are commercially produced through grafting. A scion (top of the tree) is grafted on rootstock.
Rootstocks have a big impact on the way the scion grows, and there are many different types of rootstocks for apple tree growers to pick from. Some characteristics determined by the rootstock are cold hardiness, disease resistance, fruit quality, how long it takes the tree to fruit, and mature tree size. In addition, some rootstocks can improve the strength and growth potential of a less-robust scion.
Source: ndsu.edu
Photo Credit: GettyImages-dionisvero
Categories: North Dakota, Crops, Fruits and Vegetables, General