Thanks for the update, interested tidbit on sugarwood. I am hoping to get some vanilla pink scion from @SkillCult store this year, but I’m in the lowest patreon tier. That’s cool you are getting into your own breeding - I plan to do so at some point but haven’t had much time with work, grad school, newborn, historic home remodel.
3 Likes
Looks like Etters red fleshed apples are probably suited best to his climate, in terms of the “fullness of the experience” (deep red flesh, dramatic fruit flavor). It was one of his goals anyway to breed apples and fruit for the local climate. I’m glad the flavor has seemed to survive the 1000+ mile difference in climate, even though the development of the red flesh isn’t nearly as dramatic. Still worth growing. I got a few of the apples hanging on and getting established. I hope to put in some cordons this year to get the varietal testing underway sooner. I have no fruit yet, maybe next year, but I do have many of his varieties: appleoosa, black strawberry, Clarion, tomboy crab, bite me, pinker lady, cherry crush, January russet. Exciting stuff. I’m glad his apples are selling commercially too.
8 Likes
FYI, for any remaining non-soldout SkillCult scionwood, he is having a sale around $2 for some leftover apple scions it looks like:
9 Likes
Another run potted up. Mostly chestnut crosses but im a big fan of chestnut so it seems like a good bet.
8 Likes
Anyone else in the thread pick up William’s Pride x Chestnut seeds? I’ve had good luck with the other varieties that I chose but for some reason that cross looks like I’m only going to get 1 of the 4 to sprout. Its a shame because that cross is seems more likely to have the disease resistances that I need for my area. I’ve never tasted a WP to comment on the flavor potential.
1 Like
@busch83 Ive only bought scions & pollen from Skillcult. However, I have germinated over 100 apple seeds. Did you cold stratify the seeds for a few months after receiving the seeds? Often the seeds germinate in the fridge for me. I sow the seeds in very
lightly moist peat moss or coconut coir in containers with holes for a few months. Check on them periodically. I often soak the seeds a day before putting them in the soil & fridge. Hope this helps.
1 Like
All of them were stratified in the same way. This year I skipped soaking because I misplaced the bag in the fridge so by the time I pulled them out most were already sprouted. Since one of that variety came up I was expecting the others to be close behind but so far no sign of them pushing through. I guess time will tell. Of the other varieties I only had one fail to push up so no complaints.
1 Like
How long does it take fro your to sprout. I soaked mine and did everything right and none of mine grew. I have germinated other apple seeds before and never had a problem
Black Strawberry managed to set 2 fruit on one cluster this year in the SW MO Ozarks. If a million things all cooperate, maybe I’ll get to taste it this fall.
7 Likes
I’m eager to try tomboy since it flowered but its only on its second year so i may cut them off and focus on growth. Jan Russet is doing well growing on a dwarf winesap but no flowers this year.
3 Likes
Just a picture of how things are going so far. No signs of red in this batch so far.
I have one Chestnut x Will Pride that is not in the same tub with the rest of this years seedlings.
6 Likes
@busch83 maybe put those containers back in the fridge inside a plastic bag & see if they germinate? Ive taken out germinated seedlings & put my containers back in the fridge with later germinating success. I usually write how many seeds I have in the container to keep track of how many have germinated. I have gotten germination on those seeds I put back in the fridge. I just kerp checking on them once a week or so.
You’ve had alot of success & such great crosses going! Very exciting!! Congrats.
1 Like
That’s a good idea. Thankfully Steven did a lot of the work for me. I did my first crosses this year but I don’t know if any took yet. Here’s to hoping.
2 Likes
@busch83 I look forward to hearing how your pollination efforts worked out! Its so exciting!!
I hope to start pollinating next season as some of our young apple trees mature.
Good luck to you too. This round I did Airlie and Ashmead on Chestnut. Now that I’ve taken the time to look at it Ashmead is not going to happen. I had access to Pitmaston or Kidd’s but only the tiniest amount and they opened late compared to the Chestnut so I didn’t give it a shot. I’m quickly running out of room for all of this so maybe the failure on Ashmead is a good thing.
3 Likes
Most apples have taken about 3 months for me to sprout in moist sand in the fridge.
No, I didn’t grab any of those. I did get a few chesnut x amberwine and chestnut x musketeer, all which have since sprouted. It seems that some crosses every once in a while just seem to be less vaible for some reason.
2 Likes
I purchased about 20 seeds that Skillcult put out later than others (they arrived the end of March). They are just beginning to sprout. My question is should I let them grow a bit and plant them in my seedling bed this fall, or would it be better to keep them in treepots inside until next spring? In my limited experience, larger (6-month-old) seeslings survived transplanting outdoors better than smaller (2-month-old) seedlings. Any wisdom here is appreciated.
1 Like
I don’t have any advice but I also have some of the second round seeds which are just starting to sprout. Hopefully someone can advise.
2 Likes
I needed to repot my seedlings from the first round and move/retag some of my 2023 seedlings. I wish these were not in pots at this point but at least it gives me an idea of how they grow in my area without spray.
2023 updates
Group (includes grafted non-sc varieties)
“Insulated” with woodflakes to hold moisture. In theory.
7 Likes