Topic: Apple tree grown from a pip!

[gardenqueen]

My friend has given me a tree grown from a pip. Variety unknown! It's about 5 feet high and although I have had it for about 2 years it has never flowered. Am I likely to get anything from this tree or should I abandon it?

[Palustris]

First of all Apples are probably the plant most variable from seed in the plant kingdom. So the chances are you will have a 25 feet plus tree producing 'spitters'. One taste and you spit it out. On the other hand you could just be lucky and get something worth having. You may have to wait a few years to find out though.

[galina]

On the other hand.  Have you ever noticed just how many apple trees are by the side of the road?  Have you ever tasted an apple from those seedling apple trees by the side of the road?  By no means all bad, most are nice.  Trees usually quite tall but variable.  It's a gamble, but then why not.

And there is the true story of Johnny Appleseed:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed

 
 

[winecap]

My understanding is that a significant number of seedlings suffer with mildew whereas a minority are resistant to it and will grow. I only tried once to grow from seed and mildew struck every year and the tree never really got going. If you haven't had mildew yet I would suggest its worth continuing with it.

[Beersmith]

Is it possible that your friend recalls where they got the pip? I mean did they buy a supermarket apple? Or perhaps it was from their own garden? Or did they simply find it underneath a decorative crab apple?

That would give you an idea about at least one parent.

As others have commented Pippin's are highly unpredictable, but if you know one parent and it is not a favourite or suitable parent, I'd seriously consider letting this one pass. Several years of careful cultivation for a 1 in a 100 chance seems less attractive than simply getting a new bare root maiden tree of a known variety.

On the other hand with one decent parent it could turn out to be an incredible new variety and eventually become grown all over the world. Who knows?

[ACE]

You could graft any variety you liked on it, even make a family tree with different types. I expect pruning will not help in keeping the size manageable as you might cut off fruiting wood, but a huge proper apple tree you can sit in the shade of would be my preference, even better start another and plant it a hammock distance away.

[Digeroo]

An apple tree grown from a pip is always variety unknown.  You can name it.

Bramley was a chance seedling in a garden.  Chances of success are low.

The tree could get very big.  Suggest relocating during the winter to a suitable hedge.   

[gardenqueen]

Sounds as though it could possibly grow too big in my small veg plot! Think I might move it come September and grow it in a large pot!

[Vinlander]

On the idea of grafting - most eating varieties are full sized trees grafted onto dwarfing rootstocks, so the overwhelming majority of pips will make a full size tree. If it gets big then prune it - it won't slow the first fruit much and you only need one fruit to decide whether to call in the stump grubber.

Any smaller trees will most likely be crab crosses because crabs are used for pollinating orchards -  but your chances of delicious fruit fall even further.

It's a good idea to "hedge your bets" (theres a pun in there somewhere) and graft a good apple onto at least part of the tree, and prune the rest regularly if it shoots ahead.

Ideally you would use one of the few good apples that are naturally dwarf (May Queen was recommended to me), but it's also possible to graft a dwarfing interscion (M27 is best for your first try) between your suspected giant and your desired scion.

If you leave say 10-30cm of the interscion visible you can use it for more grafts later.

Basically you'll have a lot more fun and rewards by going to an apple day, finding your favourite variety (just about anything there will knock shop fruit out of the park) and buy a grafted one from a specialist for your garden.

Cheers.