Grow apple tree at home

Grow at Home: Awesome apples from seed & how to plant Apple trees

Written by Sarah Talbot

Posted on 25 January 2021

Ever eaten an apple and wondered how to grow an apple tree? Or

pondered whether you could plant the pips and grow your own apple tree from seed? Well if you have then I can tell you it is not only possible but also not too difficult.

However, many people would advise against it.

This is because in most cases, apple trees don’t come true from seeds. This means that their fruit may taste completely different from the apple you enjoyed so much. The apples may end up being better suited to cider making than eating.

This is because apple trees produced from seed are genetically different from their parent and it is said, usually inferior. Most apple trees are propagated by grafting which allows growers to produce trees that are genetically identical to one another.

Seeds that comes from an heirloom, or open-pollinated, varieties should produce more reliable results though. So, if you want to grow an apple tree from seed with more certainty that the apples will be nice, then this is an option for you.

The last note of caution is around the size of the resulting tree. Even if the apple that gave your seed was from a dwarf tree, the tree that grows may inherit its size from the parent. Meaning your tree could grow to 30 foot high and 30 foot wide! Something to leave for posterity as it could bear fruit for centuries but not great for a 20 foot square back garden!

Still, the apples we have now must have come from seed at some point so if you have an apple seed and the means to plant it why not give it a try? If nothing else you will have pretty blossom that the pollinators will adore.

Its a great project for gardening with kids although they may be at Uni by the time the fruit is ready to eat! Apple trees grown from seed won’t produce fruit for about 6 to 10 years.

Sowing

Apple seeds need cool moist conditions so autumn/fall/ winter is a great time to plant. Although you can use the fridge at other times of year to fake the low temperature needed at the start.

Soak the seeds in a bowl full of cool water for an hour. Use as many seeds as you have as the germination rate is only likely to be a third to half of them so they aren’t all going to sprout.

There are two ways, either:

1. Moisten some kitchen paper, place the seeds on it then fold over. Place this in a sealable plastic bag. Add a moist, wrung out sponge to the bag to prevent drying out. Or
2. Place a layer of moist sand in the bottom of an old marg tub and place the apple seeds on the moist sand, Cover with another layer of moist sand. Punch a couple of small holes in the lid and then place it on the container.

The seeds need cold stratification to break dormancy. i.e. this means they need to be at around 3°-5°C (37°-41°F) for about 6 to 8 weeks — so place the bag or container either outside or in the refrigerator depending on temperatures. Check every now and then to make sure its moist.

When the time is up, remove the seeds from the refrigerator and plant 1 1/2cm (1/2″) deep in a small pot filled with well watered, good quality potting compost. Keep in a cold frame, sheltered south facing spot or under a Bell Cloche outside until the seeds germinate. Its important not to let them dry out and make sure to water slowly to prevent the seed being dislodged.

Once temperatures reach a fairly regular 23°C (75°F) you should see germination around 2 to 3 weeks later. When you see the seedlings, move the pots to a partially shaded spot.

When they reach 5cm (2″) tall and produce a set of mature leaves you can re-pot them. At this point you can prune the roots if you want to to encourage the production of new feeder roots. To do this brush the soil off the roots and snip off one-third the length of their roots using clean garden snips.

Re-pot the seedlings into individual 4-inch pots filled with garden soil. Grow in partial shade with a good weekly watering until the following spring. Then transplant them into their final position once nighttime temperatures are consistently above 10°C (50°F).

Planting (Grown from Seed or Grafted)

This applies to bought, grafted trees as well as to those grown from seed. So if the space you need has put you off growing from seed then you can always buy a little tree and proceed.

Apple trees like full sun in a well-drained location. Don’t plant apple trees at the bottom of a hill, where cold air can settle. These frost pockets can kill blossoms and any developing fruit.

Clear a 1.2m (4 foot) circle where you want to plant. This will give the tree the best chance rather than it competing with grass and weeds while it is becoming established.

Spacing

Dwarf trees 1.2-2.4m (4 -8 feet) apart,

Semi-dwarf trees 2.4-4.8m (8-16 feet) apart

Standard trees 4.2-5.5m (14-18 feet) apart

If you have bought a bare root tree. Unwrap it and place in a bucket with its roots covered with water for at least an hour and up to 24 hours.

For bare root or your home grown tree. Dig a hole slightly larger and deeper than the tree’s rootball. Fill the planting hole with water, and allow the moisture to soak into the soil.

Add excavated soil to make a mound in the center of the hole. Spread the roots over the mound. Keep the dark soil line on the trunk just above ground, and backfill with soil. Firm the soil gently then water thoroughly. Make sure when you finish that the soil comes to a shallow mound at the original soil line on the trunk. Add soil to achieve this after watering if needed. Slope the mound gently away to prevent water sitting beside the trunk.

Cover the bare soil around the tree with a Tree Mat to help suppress any weeds.

Settling In

Water your new tree weekly unless it rains. Once the tree is established, water it every two or three weeks

In Spring, remove the Tree Mat and dig some well rotted manure from about 15cm (6″) from the tree, out to the width of the canopy. Water, then replace the Tree Mat.

Keep weeds and grass back from it. If you need to mow or strim then add a StrimGuard to protect the trunk so it doesn’t get any cuts that could let in disease.

Whether it is seeds or grafted trees good luck with your apple growing and here is a recipe that you might like for Apple Biscuits .

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Growing Apple Trees

Here’s a look at apple tree pollination, planting and protecting your trees

Growing apple trees is easy but when buying, you do need to consider pollination needs before you select your trees!

This page also deals with planting apple trees for a good start in your garden and protecting your new trees from rabbits, deer and wind.

This is the second page on growing apples. Other pages that might interest you:
Growing apples (1): The different shapes and sizes and what to choose for your site.
Growing apples (3) How to prune apple trees and disease prevention and management.

Apple tree pollination groups

The next important thing to consider before growing apple trees is the blossom groups or pollination groups.

Apple trees need to have another apple tree nearby flowering at the same time so that pollination can occur. If you live near to other people with apple trees this might solve the problem for you.

If you live where there are no nearby suitable apples or crab apples then you will need to buy young trees which are compatible. For example, if you buy one Egremont Russet, then you will need either a second Russet or a different variety which is compatible. Otherwise, a long-flowering crab apple can do the trick as they are compatible with many apple varieties.

One of the fun things about growing apple trees at home is exploring the less usual varieties.

Suffolk, where I live, has lots of venerable old apple varieties which are well worth growing. Organisations are springing up to preserve and propagate old varieties like these.

It’s also great to grow your own organic apples because you are promoting your own good health, that of your family and the long-term health of the soil.

If you consider this route to apple heaven, do take advice so that your apple trees are pollinated properly each season. Growing apple trees successfully is even more satisfying if you raise organic well-adapted stock.

Growing apple trees —
About the pollination groups

Things can get complicated here. Apple trees are divided by growers into pollination groups. Commonly they are divided into 4 or 5 main groups but there are more complicated systems which are favoured by some growers.

The main reason for these groups is because flowering occurs at different times. If you buy a group 1 pollinator and pair it up with a group 5 pollinator you are unlikely to get any fruit from either. The bees which do the work are unable to time travel!

There is some cross-over between adjacent groups and a flowering crab apple can be very useful because they often have a long flowering period.

But failing that, you do need to select new trees for growing apples quite carefully.

If you want to research some of the less common varieties and their pollination groups check out: Garden Action which has a good list of pollination groups.

More on pollination — triploid pollinators

What makes apple tree pollination sound even more complicated is that there are some trees which require two different nearby apple trees to ensure successful pollination. They are called triploid pollinators. The common cooking apple Bramley and Blenheim Orange both come into this group.

In practice, it’s usually quite easy to ensure good pollination occurs. Just get several compatible trees and place them near each other.

It’s also worth checking what trees your neighbours have; this can save you the need buy a tree just for pollination purposes. Neighbours’ trees need to be within a short distance from your orchard (20 or 30 metres or less, ideally) and the tree(s) need to be compatible.

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Growing apple trees —
How old is my new tree — and how long will it live?

When you buy stock for growing apple trees you can buy them almost ready to crop at a few years old. If you plant them carefully and look after them you should have usable fruit within two to three years. If this looks like an expensive option you can buy one year old apple trees called «maidens» more cheaply.

The downside of this is that you won’t be actually harvesting apples to eat for a few more years. If you are prepared to wait five or more years for your crops this can be a cheaper option, worth considering if you are looking to extend an already productive orchard, perhaps.

It’s also worth knowing that most of the small-rootstock trees sold in garden centres have a relatively limited lifespan. Growing apple trees on standard rootstocks — which become relatively big trees — is a good idea if you have space. Many of these trees can live for a hundred years or more.

Many of the smaller garden apple trees grown on small rootstocks may only manage ten to twenty years as productive trees. However, they are quicker to reach fruit-bearing maturity.

Having selected some suitable apple trees you next need to think about planting your tree.

Picture: Growing apple trees to provide dessert apples for your table is very rewarding. Egremont Russet is a sweet and tasty variety. This one is on a semi-dwarf rootstock.

Growing apple trees —
Planting your trees

Buy your trees in late autumn, winter or early spring. The soil should be damp but not freezing cold. Late October on is a good time in the northern hemisphere. If you plant at other times be very careful to irrigate thoroughly and keep a look out for the new plants drying out. You can sometimes find cheap trees at the end of the season in garden centres and nurseries.

Its generally not worth buying bare-rooted trees outside of the proper planting times. The risk of failure is too high. Pot-grown apple trees are a bit more forgiving but adequate irrigation is absolutely essential.

Space and light

It is important that your trees have enough space to grow and thrive and that there is plenty of available light. Other than that, planting is easy. Avoid any dubious areas, for example where old concrete has been buried. If you plant in grass you need to clear back the turf in a ring around the tree and keep it clear. Your young tree is far more likely to die in its first year if it is throttled with grass.

Dig a hole double the width of the pot that the young apple tree has grown in. Make it slightly deeper than the pot. Loosen the soil in the bottom of the hole and add a shovel full of good compost. Mix the compost into the soil.

Carefully remove the pot from the roots (you may need to turn the whole thing upside down and deliver a sharp tap with the back of a spade.) Loosen any stray root ends so that contact with the soil from the hole is made straight away.

Staking the tree

Place the apple tree into the hole and add a stake which is at least 4 feet tall. Don’t let the stake interfere with the roots. Backfill the soil and a little more compost.

Check that the new soil level around the plant does not cover the join where the tree was grafted. This is usually quite low down near the base of the plant. You do want the top of the potting compost from the plant pot to be covered because peat (the usual medium) does dry out rather quickly. Your new tree will retain moisture better if the top is covered with soil. Make sure that you tread everything down carefully so that the root ball is stable in the earth and in good contact with the soil.

Water everything copiously. The tree should be tied below where the leaves start to the post so as to stabilise it if the wind picks up. Some growers put the stake in at an angle so as to avoid the root ball. Old tights are an excellent choice for tying up young trees. They don’t have to be recognisable — just cut off a leg! They are flexible yet strong and durable.

You can buy proper tree ties which keep the space between the tree and the stake without any rubbing or undue movement. They are not particularly expensive and can be re-used.

Tree ties should not keep the tree immobile but should rather reduce wind movement to a manageable amount. Trees which are staked too rigidly may not develop their own root system to cope with wind, leaving them potentially vulnerable.

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Growing apple trees —
Protecting young apple trees from rabbits (Grr!)

Protecting young apple trees from roving wildlife and from strong winds is essential. If you have rabbits or other wildlife such as deer in the area you will need to use a tree guard. Even rabbits can be amazingly destructive to young growing apple trees. They can kill them in one night’s action!

I know because this is what happened to me. I thought my garden was rabbit-free but some got in and nibbled right around one tree and nearly destroyed a second one. I’d only just bought them! It set the less damaged tree back about two years and the other one was dead within a few days. Expensive mistake.

You will need more than a spiral plastic tree-guard if deer or other large ruminants are near your trees. Erect a wire fence at a distance which makes it impossible to reach the tree. Make sure the fencing posts are stout and well anchored in the ground.

Deer and rabbit netting is now available from Amazon.

If you have a secure border to your orchard, growing apple trees can be more straight forward. But you will still need to anchor your new trees with stakes because it can hard for the root ball to become established if there is a lot of wind buffeting.

Wind protection for apple trees

Some native species hedges around your orchard can help keep the wind down. It is no accident that many traditional orchards are found within high walls or in other secluded locations.

Tree-based wind wind protection has the advantage that the wind speed is calmed rather than completely altered. High walls can create turbulence which affects some areas behind the wall. Trees and hedges reduce strong winds for crops sheltering on the lee side.

Even with good shelter, some kind of staking is almost essential for the first few months of growth while the tree gets properly established.

Apple growing books

If you want good books about growing apple trees and related topics here are a few choices to whet your appetite.

This guy knows his onions — or rather his apples! He’s been growing them and promoting organic orchards and fruit growing in the US for years!

See more book selections from Amazon on the right side panel. I haven’t read them all — but they look good! It’s well worth having one or two good books to consult on apple growing; you can explore issues in more depth than you will find on most web pages.

Orchard apples are a delight well worth having. I hope you have some great success growing apple trees at home.

Don’t forget that in many places it is now becoming easier to set up a community orchard. See Fruit tree orchards and the community for more on this.

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