Content
- Pull an apple tree out of a core yourself
- Choose suitable apple seeds for cultivation
- Apple trees made of seeds have surprises in store
- The cores must be stratified for germination
- Take care when planting the seeds
- Tips
Pull an apple tree out of a core yourself
As a rule, fruit trees for the private garden are finished and bought at the age of about five or six years. Basically, however, an apple tree as an exciting experiment with enough patience can even be drawn from a core.
Choose suitable apple seeds for cultivation
In principle, all cores from apples bought in the shop are suitable, with a little luck, to grow an apple tree. However, with a view to the future, a variety should be selected right from the point of purchase that fits into the local climate. If you or your neighbor already have a corresponding apple tree in the garden, you can use the seeds from its fruits, so as not to experience an unpleasant surprise in later years. Such varieties would be in Central Europe, for example, the following:
Apple trees made of seeds have surprises in store
If apple trees are propagated by grafting a branch on a suitable growth pad, this is called vegetative propagation. If, on the other hand, apple trees are grown from seeds, the result can vary considerably from one core to the next. In the commercial cultivation of apple varieties, apple trees are pulled from cores in test series in order to obtain new species crosses. This can lead to surprises in the home garden, since a small apple tree pulled from pits can certainly form a huge treetop over time.
The cores must be stratified for germination
In nature, the apple kernels are set with natural germ inhibitors so that they begin with the germination phase only after the winter. Unless they use fermented cores from must production, they need to simulate winter for immediate use of the cores. To do this, place the apple kernels between two moist layers of kitchen paper in a box, which they put in the fridge for about two to four weeks. After this period, you should already be able to recognize the first signs of germination on the nuclei.
Take care when planting the seeds
The pregerminated apple kernels are still very sensitive. Therefore, use them very carefully in pots with loose garden soil. Leave enough room for each single core for the first year of growth. Cover your apple seedlings with a substrate layer about one centimeter thick and pour them well. The pot should be in a light and warm location with drainage holes to prevent waterlogging.
Tips
Sometimes nature helps you to grow an apple tree from a seed. If you know of places where foul and overripe apples are composted, you can search the soil for young apple trees there.