Need advice on collecting seeds from fruit.

[Islander1]

I was eating a apple and thought I would collect the seeds. I placed them in a damp paper towel & then in to a zip locked bag.

It's it possible to grow these seeds in to a dwarf type? By placing them in to a pot and pruning them to size? As I don't have room for a full size tree. I just wanted to check before potting them up if they grow.

[veggiechicken]

Try this thread for starters.............http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...eds_89192.html

[pnut]

Most fruit trees are grafted because trees grown from seed are subject to variation and may not exhibit the same desired qualities of the parent plant.

It is possible to grow fruit trees from seed. It is possible that they might fruit but it will take far longer than a grafted plant.

It is not possible or is very difficult to produce a true dwarf tree if this trait was not already in the genes of the seed.

However, it is possible to maintain a fully grown tree to keep to a small size by restricting its growth - this is where the domain of bonsai growing comes in.

[Invicta]

Are you wanting to produce fruit? Restricting their size in a pot will produce an apple bonsai for you, but I doubt if you will get any flowers or fruit. Apples grown from seed tend to produce big trees as they are on their own roots, the small bushes in gardens have been grafted onto special dwarving rootstock. You can buy small fruiting apples [in medium to big pots] specially bred for patios.

[pnut]

I think the OP wants to do it as a personal challenge and to satify a natural curiosity. In any case, it will be a good learning experience.

Buying stuff is easy - obtaining stuff by applying a little knowledge and know-how is often more rewarding.

Another way you could it is to air-layer a branch of a fruit tree with fruiting buds and apply bonsai growing conditions to it once it has rooted. This way, you will get fruit and the tree will remain small.

Look around your neighbourhood OP, you may be able to get cuttings for nothing.

[veggiechicken]

pnut - welcome to the forum.

Anyone who wants the challenge of growing from pips is welcome to join us at http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...highlight=pips

[BUFFS]

I have let one of my fruit trees grow to about 4ft and then I cut off a good chunk of its tap root and then repotted it and it looks and crops fine but is not putting on loads of major growth, so I will be doing the same with my peach tree as soon as the leaves have dropped ...

[Islander1]

I think the OP wants to do it as a personal challenge and to satify a natural curiosity. In any case, it will be a good learning experience.

Look around your neighbourhood OP, you may be able to get cuttings for nothing.

Thank you everyone for your help. I don't think I will be planting the apple seeds as I don't want a huge tree and making it grow small does not look easy. If I grown one I would like to see apples if possible

I have a few dwerf trees already but wanted to try something a little different I have grown quite a few things from seeds but nothing with anything you could eat. My Gf pearents have a apple tree and pear tree in the garden I could take a cutting from them. I have never grown anything from Cuttings where would I need to cut the branch?

Would it be possible to keep the cutting small in a pot?

[veggiechicken]

Fruit tree cuttings are usually grafted onto a rootstock - maybe a dwarfing rootstock. Its not as simple as bunging it in a pot and waiting for it to root. It will root, but again, you have no control over its size.
You could graft the cutting onto one of your existing trees but you'd need advise on how to do it and whether your tree is suitable.

I don't understand what "pnut" means by bonsai techniques to give you fruit on a small tree. Perhaps they could explain more, before you get your hopes up!

[BUFFS]

Fruit tree cuttings are usually grafted onto a rootstock - maybe a dwarfing rootstock. Its not as simple as bunging it in a pot and waiting for it to root. It will root, but again, you have no control over its size.
You could graft the cutting onto one of your existing trees but you'd need advise on how to do it and whether your tree is suitable.

I don't understand what "pnut" means by bonsai techniques to give you fruit on a small tree. Perhaps they could explain more, before you get your hopes up!

I think its the removal of some of the heavy roots and keeping as many of the small roots as possible, this reduces bough and large branch growth while supporting the smaller fruit bearing branches/ stems. I have a conker tree, with 2-3ins leaves I did this to years ago , it is now 19yrs old, from seed and about 10ins tall, and it will fruit soon. Bonsai plants are reduced in size of plant and leaf but the fruit always stays the same size, that's why crab apples are popular bonsai for the flowers then fruit..

[Guest]

I don't understand what "pnut" means by bonsai techniques to give you fruit on a small tree. Perhaps they could explain more, before you get your hopes up!

It took me several times of reading pnuts post to get it but here you go.

In the first instance you need to get an existing/ established tree.
Select a branch with fruiting buds on.
Then air layer that branch.
Then treat the rooted branch as a bonsai.
So in theory it will fruit that year (dependant on frosts, pollinators etc.) what it would do following years would be dubious.

Certainly an interesting concept.

[pnut]

To clarify:

You can grow a bonsai fruit tree from either collected seed or from cuttings - the latter will be the faster method and have a higher chance of producing fruit.

In both cases the tree will remain small if you maintain bonsai growing conditions. If the trees do fruit then it will continue to fruit the following year if you apply the same conditions which are conducive to its normal full size counterpart - for apples, this means cold winter conditions etc.

If you grow from seed:

(1) Grow the plant as normal to fatten the stem, prune to keep it small in stature;
(2) You can apply bonsai growing techniques to the plant once the stem becomes slightly woody but it is best to wait until it reaches or nears maturity.


About 26 years ago, I was inspired to grow stuff by a book given to me for my birthday. It was authored by Peter Chan, its title, "Create Your Own Bonsai With Everyday Garden Plants".

There is a section in the book on page 22 demonstrating how to grow bonsai from seed - in it, he uses Chinese quince seeds. It could easily be apple or any other fruit tree.

Here is the great man himself:

[Kirk]

Dwarfing or otherwise is done by grafting on to a relevant rootstock. Restricting a tree is more involved and really not applicable. Growing Bonsai is an art in itself.

Seeds will (should) germinate but the result is sort of in the hands of the gods. It will depend on what the other pollination apple was. And also which genetic aspects came for which and in the dominent role.

[BUFFS]

root pruning has been used for ages to restrict tree growth and I have found, after growing bonsai , that it is really chop off some big root to stop big branches, crude, maybe, but effective, just be sure you stunt the taproot not destroy it..