How do I plant little ‘crab apples?’ as seeds?
There is this gorgeous tree near where I live that I’ve long admired. In the Spring time, it has beautiful, large white flower clusters that only last for 2 or 3 weeks then this time of year you can see tiny little ‘crab apples?’ (not sure that’s what they are).
Anyway, I picked off 3 or 4 of the little apples and have them at home. Can I plant them just like seeds? And if it does work and I’m able to grow a small plant, will I be able to transplant it next summer outside? I live in the far northeast (think snow in winter time! 
).
Thanks!!
Planting help…..please…
The seeds are inside the core of the crabapple. Just like you can find the little seeds inside the core of a regular apple. They will need to be cold-stratified before they will germinate. Just plant them outside somewhere, and the winter will cold-stratify them nicely. With luck, they will sprout come spring. Just don’t pull them out thinking they’re weeds next year.
That said, the seeds of a particular crabapple will NOT get you an identical tree. The seeds have genes from both “parents” – the tree on which it grew (the “mother”), and the tree that provided the pollen (the “father”) that was carried by bees and fertilized the flower. The seeds will all have traits of both trees. And just like two people can produce all kinds of kids that don’t look like them, the tree you get may have different colored flowers – they might be pink – and even the fruit may look different.
But if you don’t mind the “surprise” factor of growing a tree from seed, go ahead. It’s fun waiting to see what you’ll get!
If you want a similar tree, ask the tree’s owner if they know what it’s name is. Then look for a tree in a nursery or garden center. Apple trees are bred through grafting, since seeds don’t bred true. If the owner doesn’t know its name, look through pictures of different crabapple trees (botanical name for all apple trees is “Malus”), and find a variety that you like.
Looking for the best flowering trees (May 21, 2008)