Last December (2017) and January (2018) I was enjoying my Goldrush apples so much that I just started saving the seeds.
Over the two month (±) period I just put them in a plastic sandwich bag with a pretty moist paper towel and I just put them in the back of the fridge. I forgot about them so there they were until last week totally ignored.
When I found them I saw that practically all of them started to sprout and those had the tiny little rootlet sticking out of the seed. So this may be a good way to start apple seeds because now ll you plant are the ones that sprouted.
I had a package of those 2 1/4 inch Jiffy pots and I filled them with plain Miracle Grow potting mix ( no specific recommendation- that is what I had lying around). I used tweezers to place the sprouts ever so gently on/in the soil and watered. I actually didn’t think it would work and I had so many sprouts that I put two and three sprouts into each pot.
Within two days I knew I had a problem. I think I have ninety-eight (98%) percent takes on my South facing window sill. I think I fell into a way to sprout apple seeds, at least.
I now have close to 100 two inch GOLDRUSH seedlings and (1) I don’t know how soon I can take them outside or how to acclimate, (2) how to protect them outside. I guess I’ll plant them in the peat pot but I don’t know how close together can I squeeze them and when and how to separate them as they grow and I don’t know what to expect as to growth rate.
wow, that’s a lot of seedlings…I’ve started a few pink ladies from seed, you can see my thread here. We’re in vastly different climates so I couldn’t really tell you when to put yours outside, as mine have been out side since they sprouted. I’d imagine you’re far enough into spring that they should be ok…as far as how they’ll grow, you’ll find variability even among the same seeds, I’ve got one that is growing much faster than the other two.The other thing to keep in mind is that these are going to be standard size trees unless you plan to graft them to other rootstock.
do you have any plans for them? looking to start your own orchard?
I did this a couple years back, I’ve had excellent luck doing the exact same “seeds on the wet paper towel in the fridge.” I planted them in red Solo cups, and put them into a large, deep, clear plastic tub with a lid. It’s really windy here so I needed to protect them from the wind. I’d start with the lid on, on the north side of the house and gradually take it off and move it around until it was nice enough to put them out in the garden. I had them about 2’ by the end of the summer most times.
Just a suggestion: go to Lowe’s or another similar home store. They usually have a bunch of those black nursery pots you can get for free. Fill them with the cheapest decent soil you can get. Like, a load of topsoil you mix with a few bags of perlite and a bale of peat? Again, whatever you can get without paying too much. Then put the seedlings in, one to a pot. Keep them in the pots all summer, then plant them out in the fall after they’re dormant. That should at least allow them to get strong and big enough to plant in the ground. That is, assuming you want to keep all 100!!
I was thinking of growing them out for a year or two and then grafting two year old wood onto established trees and waiting to see what the fruit look like.
I don’t think I can trial 100 trees to fruitfulness on their original roots.
boy，that are lot of apple trees. Since they grew from seeds, they don’t necessary grow goldenrush apples and have same diseases resistance as their parents do, right?
We don’t know what will be produced. Could be anything. Its probably not the next Honeycrisp killer but I think there is a fair chance that there is something quite good for personal use.
There are many successful “chance seedlings” out there. Gold or Yellow Delicious ( I don’t know which) is one of them.
You wouldn’t happen to have any extra seeds you’d be interested in sharing, would you? (Or failing that, is there any possibility of mailing a dozen or so seedlings?)
Why? You can buy a Fuji or Ervercrisp or whatever…plant the seeds.
I have 15 Fuji seedlings…just for the heck of it. Not that I need to do a Fuji lottery with unknown father.
But, will provide gift apple trees to friends, or rootstocks for grafting standard sized trees.
Been there, done that. Skilcult’s too. I presume seeds from apples that have been refrigerated have already been exposed to enough cold to sprout pretty quickly. Does anyone know if apples picked directly from a tree and sown will germinate without stratifying? I haven’t tried.
Yes, it doesn’t work. They need 45-90 days of damp cold, which is our main trouble in germinating seeds in Africa where there’s no refrigeration. We’ve heard all kinds of tales on how to get around this, none have worked so far. We sure would like to find a workaround for large scale, we have a lot of seeds to germinate and we keep losing our refrigerator.
Understood. I have dozens of one year old Antonovka.
And I am betting my Bud-9 roots where I chopped off a piece before grafting them…and stuck that in wet soil…will turn into free rootstocks for next year. Even if they die later, it’s fun trying…some have one inch long leaves at present.
Hi Mike: I plant them directly into beds from the flats. They are quite hardy and can survive light freezes no problem. I usually try to keep a little dirt on the roots, but if you shade and care for them well, they should do okay unless you really abuse them. I put them on 6 inch centers approximately for the first season, after which you can graft them to trees or onto dwarfing stocks. Most of mine are on dwarfing stock (bud 9 and similar sizes) in rows 6 feet apart and 12 inches apart in the row. I think that is about as close as a person should probably try to get away with. The ones I’ve put on larger trees tend to overgrow the tree a lot and are, if anything, slower to bear fruit for some reason. It’s a fair sized project to grow out that many seedlings. It’s worth considering doing intentional cross pollinations. Imagine choosing the second parent for every one of those seedlings! I have some pollen available this year if your bloom season hasn’t started you can contact me if interested.
As far as germinating and chill go, I prefer small ziploc baggies or small containers with a little damp sawdust. I’ve had some trouble with paper molding, the same reason I don’t use it with scions. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t, but paper doesn’t have the antimicrobial compounds that wood has. Also, very little moisture is needed. For chill, refrigerating after eating always seems to be enough. Apples that are out of cold storage or hanging on the tree late into the winter usually seem to be chilled enough as well.
Firstly, I crazy enjoy your Youtube vids. Very informative and the way you explain what you are doing and why is is a value multiplier
Thanx for the idea. I did not realize that I might be able to graft them onto another tree after only one year.
I can easily plant them in a row 6 inch on center and let them grow out a year. I have room for that.
I have access to pollen from my own orchard, but these seedlings won’t be ready for that for another year at least.
( I HAVE THE FOLLOWING PLANTED)
ASHMEAD’S KERNEL
ARKANSAS BLACK
AUTUMN BERRY( A/K/A/ Wild Berry)
BLUSH ROSETTE
CHEHALIS
CALVILLE BLANC D’HIVER
CANDYCRISP
CHENANGO STRAWBERRY
COX ORANGE PIPPIN
DAYTON
EGREMONT RUSSET
GIBSONS GOLDEN DELICIOIS
HUDSON’S GOLDEN GEM
HONEYCRISP
GALA
GRAVENSTEIN
GOLDRUSH
GRENADINE
HORSE
KARMIJN D’SONNENVILLE
KING DAVID
KIDDS ORANGE RED
LIBERTY
MELROSE
MACOUN
NEWTON PIPPIN (Also known as Albermarle Pippin)
ORLEANS REINETTE
PRISTINE
PINK PEARL
RABELLA
RUSSIAN RASPBERRY
ROXBURY RUSSET
SANSA
SUNCRISP
SPARTAN
SCARLET SURPRISE
THORBERRY
WINESAP
YELLOW DELICIOUS
ZESTAR
If you happen to end up with any extra trees and may be interested in swapping for other plants, please feel free to let me know and I can send you a list of items I have available. (I’m assuming you may graft scions onto rootstock or start from seed on the theory that some will turn out fine even if others are inedible.)
