Accidentally Grown an Apple Tree

Mojisola

nonnatus wrote: »

It's made my day to read that Apple trees need partners in order to be able to fruit - how cute is that?

Many plants need the pollen from another plant (of the same kind) in order to produce fruit.

nonnatus

Yes, I understand all about pollen and the importance of Bees and stuff, but the way the answers are worded, it seems there are BOY Apple trees and GIRL Apple trees, and in order to produce little apples, you need a boy and a girl to get close to each other.

To make a blackberry, for example, I believe you just need ONE blackberry bush which flowers. A helpful bee will spread the pollen about over the bush and little blackberries will be created.

Just saying that the "Apple" way is cute...:o

(You may begin to realise that my gardening knowledge is limited, to say the least. But I'm working on it)

Mojisola

nonnatus wrote: »

Yes, I understand all about pollen and the importance of Bees and stuff, but the way the answers are worded, it seems there are BOY Apple trees and GIRL Apple trees, and in order to produce little apples, you need a boy and a girl to get close to each other.

Some plants are self-pollinators - their pollen will fertilize their ovules.

Some plants need the pollen from another plant to fertilize their ovules (and their pollen goes to fertilize other plants).

Some plants do have male and female varieties - the males will only produce pollen but never bear fruit.

RAS

OP

Let it grow; it may or may produce a good eating apple. Keep it in a pot for the next few weeks. Once we get to leaf-drop put it outside and let the wind and weather get to it. Label it and keep it going as long as your son enjoys it. Next year consider planting it in soil.

We discovered that the apple people most like on our allotments is a seedling. It was unique so we have saved it from certain death by grafting it onto other root-stocks so that other people can enjoy our own local variety.

All named tree fruit varieties started this way.

Your tree might be a cooker, might be a cider apple or an eater. Only time will tell.

theoretica

I planted a number of apple seeds as a child and enjoyed watching them grow. Two survived to fruit several years later. One had masses and masses of perfectly edible but tasteless fruit, the other had 2 or 3 fruit a year which tasted rather like grannysmiths but with the toughest, thickest skin I have ever seen on an apple.

We had the space and I learnt quite a lot about apples and genetics.

Ash_McCloud

Keep repotting iy till it's big enough to plant out, then if you don't have space for it in your garden go and plant it out in the countryside or some wasteland somewhere.

Ask here in a few years for advice on how to plant and stake a tree

Farway

PS you only have to look at road side verges to see how apple pips grow, presumably from cores chucked from car windows

No idea how they taste, but some look lovely

bouicca21

I dont think it is as simple as boy tree needs girl tree, they may well be gay, as all they need is the right sort of friend ... Oh and the friend usually has to come from a different group, so definitely multicultural.

zygurat789

bouicca21 wrote: »

I dont think it is as simple as boy tree needs girl tree, they may well be gay, as all they need is the right sort of friend ... Oh and the friend usually has to come from a different group, so definitely multicultural.

My conference pear tree doesn't even need that, it gets on doing it by itself! And tastes better tha any bought pears for it.

krlyr

My brother very proudly grew an apple tree from a pip, it pleased him no end. What he didn't know is that the dodgy sapling he grew was soon binned and my mum bought a proper apple tree from the garden centre to replace it! It never needed polinating but produced loads of fruit, it got pretty big in the end, and although he eventually found out the truth, it made for a good family story!