How to Grow Apple Trees from Seeds

You don't need to buy seeds from plant shops to grow apples; just take the seeds from the core of your favorite apple and plant them! Although apple trees grown from seeds can take many years to bear fruit, and their fruit may not resemble that of the parent tree, you'll enjoy watching the saplings grow each year into a true apple tree. Whether you're learning how to grow apples from seeds for a school project or simply to satisfy your curiosity about seed potential, it's important to understand the delicate process of germinating seeds and growing a tree to eventually enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Remove the seeds from the cores of several apples. Purchase several ripe apples to extract the seeds. You can either eat the apples or cut them until only the core remains. Carefully remove the seeds from the core, ensuring you pick out all the apple seeds before discarding the core.

• Note that most apple trees grown by farmers or gardeners are grafted trees rather than grown directly from seeds. Apple trees grown from seeds can produce fruit that is quite different, as the tree may not grow true to the type or variety you expect.
• The more apple seeds you plant, the greater the chance one of your trees will bear edible fruit, rather than the inedible fruit of wild apple trees. The odds of growing an apple tree from seed that produces fruit suitable for eating are about 1 in 10.
• It's best to begin germinating your seeds in the fall, so you can plant them early in the spring.

Dry the seeds using a paper towel. After removing the seeds from the apple, place them in a bowl of water. Discard the seeds that float, as they are less likely to germinate. Lay the remaining seeds on a paper towel and allow them to dry for 3-4 weeks.

• Flip the seeds every two days to ensure both sides dry evenly.

Mix the apple seeds with sphagnum moss. A few days after drying the seeds, purchase some sphagnum moss. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of moss onto a paper towel, then add a few drops of water. Use your hands to mix the seeds and moss thoroughly.

Place the seed and moss mixture in a plastic bag and store it in the fridge. Once the seeds and moss are mixed, place the mixture into a resealable plastic bag. Label the bag with the date using a permanent marker, then store the bag in the refrigerator for 3 months.

• This process of germinating seeds under cold and moist conditions is known as stratification. Stratification softens the seed's outer shell and stimulates the embryo inside to begin sprouting.
• After three months, remove the bag and allow the seeds to warm up before planting.

Clear the garden area. Choose a spot in your yard or garden where you plan to sow the apple seeds, and prepare the soil by removing any weeds, making sure to pull up the roots. Also, clear away any large or small rocks and break up any clumps of soil.

• Pick a location that receives plenty of sunlight, where the soil is rich in nutrients and drains easily.
• Good drainage means water can easily penetrate the soil rather than pooling on the surface. Well-draining soil is usually dark and rich in color, as opposed to compact soil that looks clay-like.
• You should aim to plant the seeds at the start of spring.

Spread compost on the soil. Before planting your germinated apple seeds, ensure that the soil is well-prepared to support the plant and as nutrient-rich as possible. After weeding, spread a 2.5 cm layer of compost over the soil. You can either compost in your garden or buy it from a gardening supply store.

• Compost will add the necessary nutrients to the soil and make it looser, allowing for better drainage.

Create a trench in the soil. Use your hands or a garden trowel to make a small trench about 2.5 cm deep in the soil. If you're planting multiple apple seeds, it's best to create a longer trench. For each seed you plant, extend the trench by 30 cm.

Plant the germinated seeds in the soil. Once you've dug the trench, place the apple seeds in it, spacing each seed 30 cm apart. This spacing will ensure the plants have room to grow without competing for nutrients in the soil.

Cover the seeds with soil. After placing the germinated apple seeds in the trench, cover them with a thin layer of soil to protect the seeds, then add a 2.5 cm layer of sand on top of the soil. The sand will help prevent the soil from compacting in cold weather and hinder the seedling from pushing through the surface of the soil.

Remove the seeds from the sphagnum moss. To begin planting, take the plastic bag containing the seeds out of the refrigerator. After 3 months in the fridge, the apple seeds are ready to be planted. The best time to sow the seeds is in early spring.

• You can plant the seeds in pots indoors instead of outdoors, but keep in mind that apple trees will be healthier when planted outdoors from the start rather than in pots.

Fill biodegradable pots with soil. Purchase several 15 cm biodegradable pots depending on how many seeds you want to plant. Fill the pots with soil, leaving about 2.5 cm between the soil surface and the rim of the pot. Ensure the pots have drainage holes at the bottom.

• Biodegradable pots, such as peat pots, make the planting process easier and cause less shock to the seedlings.

Plant two apple seeds in each pot. After filling the pots with soil rich in organic matter, use your finger to make two holes about 2.5 cm deep, spaced 7.5 cm apart in each pot. Place one seed in each hole. Since not every seed will germinate, plant 5 to 10 times the number of seeds as the number of trees you want to grow.

Water and cover the seeds with soil. After placing the germinated seeds into the holes, water each pot. The water will shift the soil, covering the seeds. If the seeds remain exposed, cover them with just enough soil to fully conceal them.

Place the pots in a warm, sunny location. Move the seed pots to a place where they receive direct sunlight, preferably in a greenhouse, though any warm spot inside with sunlight coming through a window will work.

• Eventually, you will need to move the apple trees outside to allow them to grow under better conditions.

Water the plants twice a week. Since they are grown indoors, your apple seedlings will need to be watered twice a week. Ensure that you water them enough for the soil to become moist and dark, but avoid overwatering to the point where the seeds become waterlogged.

Prepare an outdoor garden space for planting. You shouldn't keep your apple seedlings indoors indefinitely. Apple trees thrive best outdoors, where there is plenty of space, direct sunlight, and nutritious soil to help them grow. In the fall, when the seeds are dormant, clear away any weeds and large stones from the spot where you plan to plant the trees.

• Choose a well-drained area in your garden, where water will quickly absorb into the soil when poured in.
• Make sure the area also receives direct sunlight.
• Spread a 2.5 cm layer of compost over the soil to enrich it.

Dig holes in the soil and place the pots in them. Use a small shovel to dig holes in the ground that are as deep as the plant pots, but twice as wide. Gently place one biodegradable pot in each hole.

• Biodegradable pots will gradually decompose, leaving only the surrounding soil around the seedlings.
• Once the pots are buried, you should only see the top edge of the pot above the soil.
• Some biodegradable pots have bottoms that are easily broken. You can also cut the bottom of the pot to help the tree integrate with the soil more easily.

Cover with soil and water the plants. Push soil around the rim of each pot to ensure there are no gaps between the pot and the surrounding soil, then water the plant and soil thoroughly.

• If you live in a cold climate, consider adding a 2.5 cm layer of sand on top of the soil. The sand will prevent the soil from becoming compacted when the weather gets colder.

• If you want to successfully grow an apple tree that produces edible fruit, you should consider purchasing a grafted tree instead of growing one from seeds.
• Water the tree once a week if you live in a dry climate where rain is scarce.
• Regularly weed your garden to keep the tree healthy.
• Note that growing apple trees from seeds has a high failure rate. Out of 100 seeds taken from an apple, only 5 to 10 may survive and grow into a tree after the germination and planting process.
• Growing apple trees from seeds is not for the impatient. It will take about 4 years for the tree to grow to 1.2 meters tall, and it may take up to 10 years before the tree starts producing fruit.

• Do not prune the tree during the first 5 years, as this could slow down its growth.

• Apples
• Mesh fabric
• Biodegradable plant pots and rich, loamy soil (optional)
• Compost
• Sphagnum moss or soil with sphagnum moss content