Two years ago I decided to grow fruit trees from the seeds. I have 2 pears and 2 apricots that are about 4 ft tall now. One apricot tree had few flowers in her second year. It was exciting. Maybe next year we will have the first fruit. It would be very early for a tree to bear fruit in its 3rd year, so I don't hold my breath, but... who knows.
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| 2 yr old Apricot tree grown from the seed. |
Commercially grown trees are mostly grafted to enhance their qualities. I did experience though buying trees before from a nursery and later watching them dye or not bear fruit at 7 yrs old... I'm aware that fruit trees grown from the seeds may not bear fruit or may regress to their lesser category/kind. I still want to try though.
Last fall I collected many different seeds. This year in early spring I planted about 50 seeds of different fruit trees. All germinated, but about 36 are now looking happy. They are mostly apple trees but also pears, apricots, plums and cherries. They are 6-18 inches tall and looking good. Winter is around the corner, so they stopped growing and are losing foliage. I'll keep them indoors through the first winter; a cold basement room with a big window worked well before. Next winter they should be strong enough to stay outside.
The tips on growing trees from the seeds:
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| This is how it started. |
Last fall I collected many different seeds. This year in early spring I planted about 50 seeds of different fruit trees. All germinated, but about 36 are now looking happy. They are mostly apple trees but also pears, apricots, plums and cherries. They are 6-18 inches tall and looking good. Winter is around the corner, so they stopped growing and are losing foliage. I'll keep them indoors through the first winter; a cold basement room with a big window worked well before. Next winter they should be strong enough to stay outside.
The tips on growing trees from the seeds:
1. If you use the seeds from the store bought fruits that were stored over the winter in cool environment, you can plant the seeds immediately. They were already weatherized while stored along with the fruit.  |
| Apple trees grown from seeds, 6-7 months old. |
2. Use seeds from local growers. Organic fruits are the best source of seeds. The fruits imported from other countries, even organic fruits, may be treated, what may affect the germination of the seeds, so shop local.
