How to grow apple trees at home?

To grow a tree, gardeners resort to the help of special farms and purchase seedlings for planting. But there is another way, which is much more complicated and will take more time.

You can grow an apple tree from a seed.

Is it possible to grow a tree from an apple seed at home?

This process takes a long time. and can be quite risky. Because the resulting fruits can be very different in taste from the original plant.

When growing an apple tree from a seed, the result of planting will be known only after the first fruiting, which occurs in the 5th year of life.

As the final material, you can get:

1. A full-fledged tree that bears delicious, varietal fruits.
2. A wild apple tree with small fruits suitable for processing.
3. There is also a chance of getting an ornamental plant, the fruits of which will be beautiful, but not tasty.

If you follow all the conditions for growing an apple tree from a seed, there is a high probability of getting a varietal tree... The best option is to use a one-year-old seedling in the form of a rootstock for an already mature tree.

To protect yourself from not receiving material suitable for planting, it is better to germinate a few seedsextracted from different varieties of apples.

How to choose a seed for growing an apple tree?

It is worth remembering that growing an apple tree from seeds is a laborious and lengthy process, and so that it ends with success, you need to choose the right seeds.

They should be firm and ripe. Such planting material is distinguished by its dark color and uniform color.

Also, the seeds should not have any mechanical damage, so you need to remove them from the apple as carefully as possible.

Seeds for germination must be ripe, without damage

For proper preparation, the following steps are performed:

1. Washing - to get rid of the inhibitory layer that interferes with germination, the selected seeds are placed in a container with warm water and stir with a small spoon for 3-5 minutes, it is better to repeat this procedure several times. Then the water is drained using a sieve or gauze.
2. Soak - then the seeds are poured with water and placed in a warm place for 3-4 days. On day 3, experienced gardeners recommend adding a growth stimulant to the container. The water must be changed every day to avoid stagnation.
3. Stratification - with the help of this procedure, the seeds are hardened and prepared for their natural habitat conditions.

There are several ways to carry out stratification.:

1. The planting material is mixed with peat and sand in a ratio of 1 to 3, then the resulting mixture is moistened until water begins to seep to the surface.
2. According to gardeners, the best substrate is moss mixed with sawdust.
3. A combination of sand, sawdust and activated carbon is also used.

The seeds should be in the selected substrate for 6 days. at room temperature. At this time, they will swell. Then they are transferred to the refrigerator for 2-3 months.

How to grow an apple tree from a stone. Seed stratification:

Planting conditions for the bone

After the first shoots appear, the strongest and healthiest of them are selected... Any time of the year is suitable for transplanting seeds at home.

Once the material is ready, do the following:

1. For sowing seeds, a special container is prepared, which is most often a box or container. There must be holes at the bottom to drain excess moisture.
2. Then a drainage layer is made of expanded clay, pebbles and other similar materials.
3. Black soil is used as a fertile soil, such a soil has all the substances necessary for a young tree.
4. During planting, the following scheme is used: the width between the rows is 15-20 centimeters, and between the seeds is 2-3.
5. The seating depth should not exceed 2 centimeters.
6. Then the soil is watered abundantly.
7. When watering the plants, they act carefully so as not to erode the soil and not expose the seed that has not yet matured.
8. As soon as the second pair of leaves appears on the grown trees, you need to sort them out, removing weak plants and wild apple trees. They differ from varietal ones in that they have smaller and brightly colored leaves, thorns appear on the trunks. Thus, the distance between the trees increases to 7-8 centimeters.

After the appearance of the first shoots, the strongest are selected for planting.

At home, apple trees are kept for at least 4 years., in this case, they will be able to get stronger and in the future will be ready for transplantation into open ground.

If the apartment does not allow keeping a small tree for such a long period of time, it can be transplanted to a garden plot, but at the same time they protect the plant from cold temperatures, pests, wind and other troubles.

Every year it is necessary to increase the volume of the container in which the apple tree grows. This will help the tree develop the correct root system.

How to grow an apple tree from a stone. Transplanting sprouted seeds into the ground:

Watering - for a young apple tree, timely watering is the main source of livelihood, without it, the still not strong root system will not be able to receive a sufficient amount of moisture and the tree may die.

It is best to carry out this procedure once a week, avoiding the formation of a dry crust.

Top dressing - it is worth considering that in the first years of life, active organic additives, which include manure or bird droppings, can harm the plant.

They can cause burns and can cause various bacterial diseases. Therefore, it is better to replace these fertilizers with infusion of humus.

To stop the growth of leaves and improve the maturation of the wood, at the end of August, the apple tree is fed with potassium-phosphorus supplements.

For each square meter of crops, the following amount of fertilizer is poured:

• 15-20 grams of potassium chloride;
• 30-40 grams of superphosphate.

So that nutrients penetrate to the root system during feeding the soil must be carefully loosened and watered abundantly.

A young apple tree seedling needs weekly watering, fertilizing

Open ground transplant

As soon as the seedling reaches 4 years of age, it can be planted in open ground. This procedure is best done in late April - early May, or in September.

In order for the tree to take root in a new place, it is necessary to choose the right site for planting.

Good lighting contributes to the correct development and high-quality ripening of fruits.

Same you need to pay attention to the level of occurrence of groundwater, they must be at least 1 meter deep. The technology of the process is no different from the planting of seedlings purchased in the nursery.

How to grow an apple tree from a branch?

If the method of growing a fruit tree from seed seems too complicated, you can resort to cuttings propagation... To get a seedling from a branch, preparatory work begins at the end of autumn.

This process is also quite laborious, but it will take less time and the most likely to get the desired variety.

How to prepare cuttings for propagation

Many gardeners try to get a seedling by cutting off unprepared branches and placing them in water. But in this case, it is unlikely that it will be possible to wait for the roots to appear.

To make the process a success, in late autumn - early winter, cuttings are prepared for reproduction using the following actions:

1. To begin with, a strong, young and ripe branch is selected, its age should be 1-2 years.
2. Its middle should be gently broken without damaging the bark. For this, the selected area is bent until a crunch appears.
3. Then the injured place is rewound with tape or tape.
4. The last step will be to attach a support, which can be a regular stick. She will not allow the bent branch to straighten.

Growing an apple tree from a cutting will take less time than from a seed

How to properly plant the prepared planting material?

After the formation of fractures, the tree will independently try to heal them, for this a large amount of nutrients will go to the injured places.

With the help of such manipulations in April the apple tree will be ready to start the breeding process:

1. The first step is to remove the winding, after which the branch is cut in the damaged places.
2. For germinating cuttings, it is best to use a cropped dark bottle filled with melt or rainwater.
3. For the best efficiency of the process, several tablets of activated carbon are dissolved in water.
4. If you fill the container to the level of 10 centimeters, you can put 10 cuttings in it.
5. After 3 weeks, roots will appear under the buds that are in the water.
6. It is better to place the bottle with sprouting branches on the windowsill.

As soon as the roots reach a size of 7 centimeters, they can be safely transplanted into open ground.

If a young tree is provided with regular watering and protection from bright sunlight, then it can quickly adapt to new conditions.

Sprouting an apple tree from a seed is a very difficult process., which can only be carried out by an experienced gardener, but cuttings propagation is also suitable for novice gardeners.

In any case, the resulting tree will be one of the most beloved on the site.

Apple tree that grew from a seed stronger and more resilient. It is generally more winter hardy than the parent tree.

The bone apple tree has a long lifespan. True, it is not known what result the planting of a seed will lead to.

After all, you can grow a completely new and tasty variety, or you can grow an apple tree, which has bitter-sour and completely inedible apples. Therefore, such an annual apple tree is very often used as a stock, grafting a variety on it.

Is it possible to grow an apple tree from a seed at home?

According to experienced gardeners, if clearly follow the rules, how to grow an apple tree from a stone at home, then everything will be successful and get a tree that will bear fruit well. But the harvest will have to wait 5-15 years.

Seed selection

Important! Choose a variety that is suited to your region, as the tree should grow well where you live. It is better if the selected variety is frost-resistant. The seeds should be firm, intact and uniform brown in color.

The choice of the seed begins with the choice of the fruit.

In order to select seeds, you must first select the best fruits. If the apples are underdeveloped, then the seeds are also in them. Full-fledged seeds are formed in apples growing on the periphery of the crown, since this place has the best conditions for fertilization of flowers and the best illumination.

Seed preparation

Washing

Seeds for washing and further cultivation must be recently removed from the fruit, they must not be stored for several years.

The seeds must be removed from the fruit, and immediately rinsed in warm running water to wash off the inhibitor (it inhibits growth).

For this the bones are placed in a container with warm water, stir with a small wooden stick for 3 minutes, then move the bones onto cheesecloth and drain the water.

Soak

• Place the seeds in a glass of water.
• Place the glass in a not very warm place in the room and wait 3 days, rinse the seeds and change the water daily, otherwise the water will stagnate and the seeds from the apples may become moldy, and, therefore, they cannot be planted.
• On day 3, a growth stimulant is poured into the water, for example, Epin, sodium humate, on day 4 you will see that the seeds have swollen.

Stratification

Important! In order to improve the chances of seed germination, stratification is used (this is to ensure the best conditions that mimic natural conditions in autumn and winter to accelerate the germination of the apple seed).

You can start stratification in different ways:

• it is required to mix 1 part of seeds with 3 parts of peat and sand. We must not forget that the number of seeds is put with a margin, since not all germinate as a result.
• Then everything is mixed and moistened with a ruler. The seeds should not come into contact with each other, otherwise mold will not pass from one rotten seed to others;
• instead of peat soil and sand, mix wood sawdust and peat soil and soak the seeds in this substrate;
• you can make a composition of sand and sawdustby adding crushed activated carbon there, which will prevent mold from forming;
• Water is added to the substrate until moisture appears on the surface. Then they wait 6 days for the seeds to swell;
• then the resulting composition with apple seeds is placed on bottom shelf of the refrigerator and leave for 2 months.

Advice: Every 3 days, check if there is mold, if the substrate in which the seeds are placed has dried out, if they have hatched.

There are another method of stratification, it was used by the monks of the Valaam Monastery.

In August or autumn, they picked apples, took seeds from them, then washed them and planted them dry in the soil.

The seeds of the apple tree are sealed to a depth of 2 cm, observing an indentation of 10 cm. Usually, after 2-3 months frosts begin, and natural stratification... During the winter, the bones swell and harden, and in the spring they sprout.

Sowing technology, how to plant an apple tree from a bone at home

They take a pot or a box, they should have holes in the bottom, drainage from broken bricks, pebbles, rubble is placed on the bottom. Poured into a box soil taken from where you plan to plant the tree in the future.

For every 10 kg of earth, they are poured:

• 30 g superphosphate;
• 200 g of ash;
• 20 g of potassium sulfate.

Further the best and strongest sprouts are selected... The hatched seeds are placed in the soil to a depth of 15 mm, watered, but so as not to deepen the seeds.

The strongest shoots are selected for planting.

The technology of growing an apple tree from a seed at home

Landings are placed on the southern windowsill, it is required that they are well lit... They need to be constantly moisturized.

When the first shoots appear, they are transplanted into large pots.

If the sprouts are planted directly in the garden, then leave an indent of 20 cm from each other, and make a distance of 15-20 cm between the rows.

If the shoots are powerful, then they can be transplanted to a permanent place.

Growing apple sprouts.

If the sprouts are frail, then first transplant them into pots, and then plant them in a permanent place in the country.

An apple tree grown from a seed must be transplanted three times in 4 years:

• 1st time - from a bowl where the seed sprouted into a pot or box. This is necessary for the growth of the tap central root;
• 2nd time - then the apple tree grows in a pot for a year, and then it is transplanted into a larger pot. When transplanting, it is required to cut off the central root (or bend the root at a right angle);
• 3rd time - planted in a permanent place.

Transplants are made so that the apple tree begins to bear fruit earlier, otherwise apples will be poured into it only after 15 years. And further competent care is very important.

After each transplant, the sprouts are thoroughly watered.

Watering is required after each transplant.

When 4 true leaves grow on the sprouts, then you can sort the future apple trees by removing those that grow wild.

You can distinguish a wild-looking apple tree from a varietal tree by the fact that the wild has smaller and brighter leaves, thin and straight thorns on the trunk and short shoots.

Cultivated apple trees do not have thorns, their foliage is larger, it is dark green or grayish in color, with pubescence below, the edge of the leaves is wavy or curved, their stem is thicker and the buds are symmetrically located.

How to grow an apple tree from seeds at home: further care

Trees grown at home are transplanted to a permanent place, from mid-April to late May and in September and October.

If the apple trees originally grew in the open field, then they can be transplanted to a permanent place throughout the summer season.

Try to choose a location that is brightly lit by the rays of the sun, so that there are no other trees nearby.

Before planting in the ground, humus, ash and mineral fertilizers are sealed.

ATTENTION! If not used during landing

fertilizers

, then organic matter is introduced in the summer. But in the first year it is best to feed not with manure, but with infusion of humus, rotted compost. Since fresh manure or chicken droppings can lead to burns on the trees.

In addition, this organics are often the cause of bacterial infections.

In August, the seedlings stop feeding with nitrogen and are fed with phosphorus and potassium, so that the shoots ripen for winter, and the development of leaves stops.

15-20 g of potassium chloride and 30-40 g of superphosphate are poured onto 1 m² of the trunk circle, then the soil is loosened and watered abundantly.

Water the tree in the first year of cultivation every week, and then shallowly loosen it.

If you want to make a stock out of a seedling in the future, then in October, dig it up, tear off all the leaves, and, stepping back 20 cm from the root collar, cut off the central taproot, then the seedling will not grow so intensively, and branched fibrous roots will grow.

For the whole winter, a seedling with a covered rhizome can be placed in a cool basement.

BUT in the spring you need to get vaccinated.
It is best to plant the stock after 1-2 years of growing. After grafting, you need to constantly water the apple tree so that the soil does not dry out.

Useful videos

See how to grow an apple tree from a seed at home in the video:

Watch a video on how to perform seed stratification:

Growing a columnar apple from a seed

For planting, it is required to use fruits grown on a columnar apple, but those varieties that adapted to your area.

The best varieties of columnar apple include: President, Medok, Ostankino, Vasyugan, Moscow necklace.

You can also grow an apple tree from a seed at home, like an ordinary apple tree, first select it, soak it for 3 days, then stratify it.

To obtain a columnar apple tree, which has excellent characteristics, the apple tree grown from the seed can be used as a scion, grafting it on a dwarf clonal (vegetative) stock.

Conclusion

Pitted apple trees have excellent frost resistance and resistant to diseases and pest attacks... In addition, you have the opportunity to get a new variety.

Apples are the most common fruits throughout Russia. There is a huge variety of varieties of these fruits: there are summer, winter and autumn varieties of apple trees. Songs and poems are dedicated to these super-useful fruits. This is the first fruit illuminated in the Bible. After all, it was this fruit that Eve tasted and upset the balance between Good and Evil. In fairy tales, rejuvenating apples are also mentioned as a symbol of immortality and beauty.

In every private house in the courtyard or in the garden, an apple tree is sure to grow. Every year she gives you a generous harvest of delicious and juicy fruits. Moreover, your grandfathers and grandmothers also planted it. So let's figure it out, is it possible to grow an apple tree from a seed? Is it realbut? Of course, you can try to grow an apple tree by the seed method, however, this method is rarely used by gardeners for the following reasons:

• This is a very painstaking and difficult task.
• from the sprouts, the so-called wild grows most often. Such fruits cannot be called tasty and they differ from the usual homemade apple.

But, despite all the shortcomings of this lesson, we still offer you try to grow an apple tree from a seed at home.

• You can use young sprouts to decorate your home. The apple tree will perfectly decorate any apartment or house, creating comfort and coziness.
• Other varieties can be grafted with apple seedlings, as they are very resistant to adverse weather conditions.
• You can get a new variety of delicious apples.
• You will minimize your costs by choosing the seed germination method.

If these arguments sounded convincing to you and you are ready to faithfully follow all our recommendations, then this article will be extremely useful to read.

How to grow an apple tree from seeds General recommendations

1. Choose only winter apple varieties for germination, as this will give you a better chance of success. The apple tree must withstand natural disasters.
2. "What goes around comes around". If you want to reap the benefits, then you must choose and prepare seeds correctly... This is a prerequisite! We will tell you how to do it right a little later.
3. Sow into the ground. The first four years of its life, the apple tree must live at home. It must be repotted periodically as the root system grows.
4. Choose a large area within your garden and choose a sunny spot to plant your apple tree seedling.
5. If you plan to plant an adult apple tree with this seedling, dig it up and tear off all the leaves, trim the trunk to 20 cm from the root system. These manipulations must be carried out in the month of October. Store the scion until spring in your basement.
6. Feed your seedling properly.

So, you have read the general recommendations, now let's dive into the topic.

How to choose and prepare seeds correctly before sowing

Choose seeds for sowing:

• solid;
• solid brown;
• without any damage.

You must prepare the seeds for sowing, by doing the following:

1. Good Rinseby placing in a vessel with warm water and stir for several minutes with a toothpick. Drain the water by throwing the seeds onto a cheesecloth or strainer. These actions are needed to wash off the layer covering the seeds. It slows down the growth processes. Therefore, this stage of preparation is required.
2. Soak washed seeds for several days in purified water (for example, filtered), water temperature 20-25 degrees. leave for a few days to swell the seeds. You can increase the germination ability and avoid the development of various diseases by taking advantage of growth stimulant for seeds... There are many preparations for germination, consult a specialized store on the choice of such a stimulant and you will surely answer all your questions.
3. To stratify, i.e. create unfavorable conditions.At this stage of preparation, we need to thoroughly sprinkle the seeds with a mixture of sand and crushed activated carbon, sprinkle with plenty of water and place in the lowest compartment of the refrigerator. "Forget" about the seeds for three months. Thus, they will undergo good hardening and will be adapted to any natural phenomena.

There is also the "old-fashioned" method of stratification. To implement it, you need to remove the seeds from a ripe large apple, rinse and immediately plant in the ground. This is done in order to get good shoots in the spring and harden our apple tree. The plant adapts to natural conditions. An important consideration is the time of year when you plan to plant your seeds in the ground. Need to land at least a month before the onset of frost.

Congratulations! You have completed all the preparation steps. Now we need to plant the seeds. Let's take a closer look at how to do this.

How to plant apple seeds

It is recommended to plant an apple tree in autumn or spring. Algorithm of actions:

1. We take the container for planting. There should be holes in it so that excess water comes out. Cover the bottom of the container with drainage (to drain excess moisture). As a drainage can be: pebbles, pieces of foam, gravel, crushed stone. the height of the drainage layer should not exceed three centimeters. Expanded clay drainage is sold at any gardening store. Fill the container with black soil.
2. Plant seeds in black soil at a distance of two centimeters from each other. Make an indent of 15 cm between the rows. Dig holes one and a half centimeters deep and plant the seeds.
3. Water well, but do not overdo it, you do not need to erode the soil.
4. Place the container in a well-lit place. Remember to water your seeds regularly.
5. Thin your beds regularly.
6. When the second pair of leaves appears, sort the shoots. A wild apple tree is determined by its characteristic features: a bright almost unnatural color of leaves and thorns on the stem. There are no thorns and thorns on a varietal trunk.

It doesn't take any supernatural effort to care for the apple tree. The principle of care is the same as for indoor plants. As you have already read in the recommendations given above, a young tree should be grown at home for four years. In order for the apple tree root system to develop correctly, transplant the tree into a container larger as it grows.

How to grow an apple tree

You need to plant a young tree in the garden at the end of spring. The site should be located on the sunny side and be of considerable size, because in the future, a massive tree of impressive size will grow from it. The main condition is adaptation of the apple tree to natural conditions before the onset of the first frost... If you did not have time to plant a tree in May, do not worry, postpone this matter until September and plant it.

• The planting hole should be three times the size of the root system.
• You need to dig up the piece of the site you have chosen and uproot all the weeds, clearing the soil completely.
• Remove dried roots from the seedling, if any.
• Plant a tree in a hole and cover it with earth, tamping each layer well so that no air gaps remain.
• Water the apple tree well and cover the ground with mulch (hay or peat) around the tree trunk. These actions must be done so that the earth does not dry out and weeds do not grow around the entire perimeter.

You can harvest your apple tree in five or even fifteen years.

Features of caring for an apple tree

Care principles:

• Water periodically, not forgetting about your tree.
• Feed with the necessary drugs.
• Regularly prune off dead branches from a mature apple tree.

By following these principles, after ten years, you will be able to enjoy delicious juicy fruits and harvest generous harvests of apples from your seed-planted tree every year after ten years.

All plants need vitamins and minerals for full and proper development and life. The apple tree is no exception. You need to regularly feed the tree... And you should do it right. It is necessary to loosen the soil and add a mixture for feeding.

Fresh manure or bird excrement is strictly prohibited!

You can infect a young tree with various infectious diseases. Compost is the best fertilizer. Top dressing consisting of phosphorus and potassium will be very beneficial for young trees. They contribute to the maturation of the dense part of the tree under the bark (wood). The feeding proportions must be strictly observed:

• potassium chloride should not be more than 20 grams per square meter of area;
• superphosphate - about 35 grams.

Let's sum up

Now you know how to grow a whole apple tree from tiny seeds, how to recognize a wild game and what principles to follow in germinating seeds. Enough theory, now get down to practice, acting according to our algorithm of actions. Do not doubt the success of your event, and you will achieve the desired result with a little effort and discipline. You can proudly tell your children in ten years that it was you who grew that gorgeous apple tree in your backyard from a tiny seed.

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In household plots and orchards in Russia, the apple tree is the most common fruit tree. Thanks to the art of breeders, both in the northern regions and in the steppe zone, today you can get decent yields by laying a garden based on zoned varieties.

Planting seedlings, which are offered in abundance by nurseries, has become the main breeding method for cultivated apple trees. And many do not even think about the possibility of growing an apple tree from a seed. But it was this method that gave impetus to the emergence of a modern variety of varieties and types of cultivated apple trees, bred through folk and targeted selection. At the same time, seedlings obtained from seeds are not only a working material for breeders, but also excellent seed stocks, characterized by a long lifespan, winter hardiness and endurance.

In order to grow an apple tree from a seed at home, you will have to choose a suitable planting material and be patient, because the first ovary on a tree can appear only after 5-10 years.

How to prepare seeds to grow an apple tree

Since the seedling obtained from the seed will not bear the features of the "parent" variety, for germination it is better to take well-ripened brown seeds from the Antonovka ordinary apple, Cinnamon striped, Grushovka Moskovskaya, Pepin saffron, Chinese or wild forest apple. In this case, the developed plant will not produce fruits of excellent taste, but will only be vigorous and strong.

Before planting, the seeds extracted from the apple:

• rinse in warm water to remove the inhibitor of sprouting;
• soak for three days, regularly washing the bones and changing the water;
• on the third day, a growth stimulant is added to the water, for example, sodium humate or Epin.

During the time spent in a humid environment, the seeds swell. To simulate the onset of winter, harden the seeds and get developing sprouts at the right time, the planting material is sprinkled with sawdust, sphagnum moss or sand mixed with crushed activated carbon, well moistened, covered with a perforated film and stratified, sent for 90-100 days in the cold.

At home, apple seeds can be kept at a temperature of about +4 oC in the refrigerator, regularly checking the level of humidity, well-being and the degree of germination of the seedlings.

Ways of sowing an apple tree from a seed at home

Some gardeners, when carrying out preliminary preparation and stratification, adhere to the old method, when seeds from a ripe apple, just removed from a branch, were washed and planted in the soil. During the autumn and winter months, the seed acclimatizes, swells and hardens, and in the spring gives good shoots. The main thing is that from the moment of planting the seeds in the soil and the onset of stable cold weather, there should be at least 21 days, and soaking, before growing an apple tree from a stone, will only increase the number of shoots.

In nurseries, to obtain rootstocks, the seeds are soaked, stratified according to the first method, and then sown in the ground in the spring. Therefore, to the question: "When is it better to plant an apple tree in spring or autumn?", In both cases, you can give a positive answer. The soil for sowing in the ground or in containers for home cultivation is enriched with mineral additives. For every 10 kg of a mixture of garden soil, black soil and peat add:

• 30 grams of superphosphate;
• 200 grams of woody, well-sifted ash;
• 20 grams of potassium sulfate.

Apple seeds are planted in the ground to a depth of 15 mm, while the distance between plants should be at least 20 mm, and between individual rows - 15–20 cm.

After planting, the area or containers are watered abundantly, being careful not to wash the soil over the seeds that are close to the surface.

When four true leaves are opened on the seedlings, the plants are sorted, removing the notorious wilds, and thinned out, increasing the distance to 6-8 cm. If the gardener is thinking about how to grow an apple tree of a cultivar, it is important to remove those that show signs wild look. You can distinguish a wild from a cultivated plant by the smaller, brightly colored leaves and the presence of thin straight thorns on the stem. Varietal apple trees have no thorns, and the leaves are larger, often pubescent, with a curved leaf blade.

How to feed an apple tree in summer and features of caring for a seedling

In spring and summer, apple seedlings are actively developing, so the gardener needs to take care of fertilizing the seedlings.

What are apple trees fed with in summer? If during planting active organic fertilizers, for example, manure or bird droppings, capable of burning tender sprouts and becoming a source of bacterial infection of seedlings, are not used, then organic fertilizing is needed in summer. But in the first year of growth, it is better to abandon the introduction of manure again, replacing it with infusion of humus or other humic additives that are safer for young plants.

As in the case of adult apple trees, in August, the seedlings receive phosphorus-potassium fertilizing, aimed at better ripening of the shoots and the cessation of the development of green mass. Per square meter you will need: 15–20 grams of potassium chloride and twice the amount of superphosphate. Top dressing is applied while loosening the soil. Fertilizers are sprinkled with soil and the plantation is watered abundantly. Watering the seedlings is just as important as feeding. Until the apple tree, which has grown from the seed, has not formed a powerful root system, the seedlings are watered after 7-10 days, making sure that a dense earthen crust does not form.

If the grown seedling will be used as a rootstock, in October the plant is dug up, all the remaining foliage is removed and the central taproot is cut at a distance of 20 cm from the root collar. This measure will allow the formation of branched fibrous roots and somewhat cut the growth of the seedling itself. Until spring, when grafting is carried out, the seed stock with a covered rhizome can be stored in a cool basement.

How to plant and grow an apple tree from a seed?

A young apple tree is planted in a permanent place in spring or autumn, after picking up a well-lit, dry place for a large tree with a powerful root system.

Planting a seedling and caring for it in the first year after planting is no different from those activities that are carried out with an ordinary apple tree seedling. Returning to the question of when is it better to plant an apple tree in spring or autumn, it should be noted:

• if the apple tree from the seed grew at home, the ideal time for transplanting it into the ground will be the period from April to May or the beginning of autumn;
• seedlings, originally grown in the open field, are transplanted to a permanent place from spring to late October.

At the same time, one should not forget that seedlings growing in room conditions, as they grow, require transplanting into more spacious containers, and watering in this case is carried out somewhat more often. When apple trees, especially the first year of life, fall into open ground, they are very tender and are often affected by pests and diseases. Young seedlings are a welcome prey for animals. Therefore, in the first years, the future fruit tree or rootstock must be provided with reliable protection both from these enemies and from frost.

Seed stratification - video