I've been sprouting apple seeds to use as rootstock for the past several years. I'm in a very tough weather area, so I need the toughness and hardiness of the most ruthless rootstock I can get. Standard apples that have proven they can get along here are best for me. Dwarfing rootstocks just don't last in my neck of the woods. So, I've had to learn how to get apple seeds to sprout.
Here's my trick: After researching several sources, I read that there is a chemical in the seed hull which retards sprouting and germination. It must be washed away before the seed can sprout. Although stratification is certainly appropriate, I find that I no longer have to do that. I collect apple seeds all winter long as I enjoy an evening apple, and pop them into a little glass in the cupboard over the sink. No cover, no care. When I'm ready for the seeds to sprout, I begin a 'washing' process. I simply take the little glass out of the cupboard, fill it with cold water, and put it back into the dark cupboard. I rinse and repeat every day for about one week. (The books say 3 days, but I just keep rinsing until the water clears.) If your luck runs like mine, after about 4 days - when the water begins to stay clear - you'll begin to see the little roots start peeking
out. Plant the seeds immediately.
With the coaching of Richard Fahey, I have been making waxed paper sleeves which resemble one-quart milk containers. I fill them with potting mix, and plant one seed in each one. The seeds grow, and the roots get long and fine. Then, in June, I plant them into the garden in a nursery row. I can graft after one year. Two years is probably better.
Why not plant the seeds directly into the ground in the garden? After two years of failure, I discovered that it was not that my seeds were failing to germinate, but rather that the mice and rabbits were enjoying my delicious sweet salad/desert bar at my expense!!! The little varmints will chew off every apple seedling right at the ground almost before you know the seeds have sprouted. They'll get every single one! By growing them up in their little starter pots, and transplanting later, I get control of the rodent problem, and the apples get a head start. The transplants never look back and I have graftable rootstocks the next spring. Apparently the seedling sprouts are never so delicious as the first few days. Tougher woody apples are not quite so readily taken by the mice. Rabbits make great stew.
Hope this helps!
Tim Inman
Randolph, IA
