Apple trees from seed.

[agross]

Well i saw on another site somewhere that you could grow apple trees from seed. So me and my kids decided to give it a try. Well i went through the steps and now have 9 seedlings growing and they are about 3 inches tall.

My question is about planting them in the woods. I have read plenty about mice voles deer etc etc. Instead of spending close to $200 on the tree tubes (i think you can only get a minimal order of 25 tubes) when i only have 9 trees i was wondering if anyone had any other advice to planting the trees and what protective fencing or wrap should go around them.

Would simple chicken wire (1/2 inch or so squares) if staked into the ground be good enough for thedeer to keep off. I also heard about metal window screen for mice and voles or should i just bite the bullet and get the trees tubes?

Not interested in growing an orchid just getting the trees to grow so that they can say i was 4 when we started that tree.

I also know that im not getting the same apples. Anything that grows for wildlife is fine by me.

Thanks for any iinput.

[SplitG2]

for my new planted apples I put window screen about 1 1/2 feet at the base, crushed stone around the tree and 5 foot high galvanized fence aroung the tree. Never had a problem. Good luck!

[Gthphtm]

splitg2 way is very good.No weeding and animal proof.Did you ever think of using plastic drainage pipe cut into the height that you want.It would cheaper for a length of pipe then the tree tubes.

[nyslowhand]

FYI - Fruit trees you purchase are ~1-2 years old, graftings and from 3-5' tall. Believe they spend their 1st year in a peat/mulch bed.

Could be wrong, but not so sure it's a good idea to put a 3" seeding out. Maybe look into large transplant pots or 5 gal buckets.

Then get then planted in the ground April/May 2013.

[G-Man]

I would pot the little guys till 18in-2 ft tall. then welded wire fencing, not chicken wire (deer can push that in ad get to the buds). Small 1/4 in x 1/4 for a foot high inside a 2' 4x6 welded cage has always worked for me.

[Doc]

Years ago, I remember a material that we used on the chicken coop windows. It had a 1/4" x 1/4" grid of thin wire and was covered in a thin layer of some pretty tough clear plastic. I've never seen it for sale since, but I would think that stuff would be perfect for young seedlings. Nothing will get through that. And then a cage of welded wire over that would keep the deer from coming down from the top.

[agross]

Thanks, I have them potted in back yard now...just an experiment for the cost of 2 apples...the trees / seedlings at about 4 inches tall now...have to get some size on them before moving them to the woods.

[Dom]

How did you prep seed's and get them going?Think that i would like to give a try.

[Doc]

How did you prep seed's and get them going?Think that i would like to give a try.

That's a good question that I would also like to see answered. I started some seeds from an apple, and they actually germinated and got up to about 2" tall and looked very strong and healthy. And then they just up and croaked for no obvious reason that I could figure out. I'm going to try again, but it would be nice if anybody has any tips on a procedure that somebody has actually worked out through experience or some source of knowledge.

[agross]

I did a google search and cam up with a few ways ...

The metheod i chose was to take the seeds out of an apple...let them dry on a paper towel just to the point that they are no longer wet (why this step i dont know)...then i put them in a tupper ware container with 1 piece of papertowel on the bottom and then the seeds and then another single layers of papers towel...the lid to my tupperware didnt fit exactly so it wasnt air tight...sheck them every 2nd day or so to make sure that the papertowel stayed damp...if looking dry it put a few drops of water on until paper towel wet again....20 days or so later the seeds that were good had a white root looking thing sticking out of them...i then put them into an old cardboard eggcrate on the window sill and added water and they grew..

The egg crate idea is not the best because as fast as they grew up the roots were growing down and when i went to transplant them 10 days later the roots were already starting to grow into the egg crate.

I trying round 2 with a couple pear seeds and some mcintosh and empire apples.

If it all works out fine...not looking for an apple orchid just seeing if i can get at least one to a big enough tree to produce apples...plus my 3 year old loves to look at the baby apple trees and help water them.

I laugh at myself sometimes with the QDM and things i do for deer hunting etc...I am babying these trees like they were kids or chickens or something...put them in the sun, (now outside in gallon black plastic pots from Home Depot) make sure watered, worry they are not getting too much sun while they are so small that they dry out

We shall see how it goes. I should post some pics of how they look now and give updates

[Doc]

I'm going to do it. Sounds like fun!

[Dom]

Thankyou for the info,lets see what happen's.