Apple

The domestic apple is the fruit of a deciduous tree in the rose family. Botanically it is a pome : much of the juicy flesh develops from tissue surrounding the flower’s ovary.

For this guide, “apple” means the fresh flesh and edible skin. The stem, core, and seeds are excluded from the nutrition calculation. Juice, cider, applesauce, dried apple, vinegar, and apple butter are related foods with their own entries.

Common name

Apple

Scientific name

Malus domestica

Family

Rosaceae · rose family

Edible part

Flesh and skin

Flavor

Sweet · tart · floral

Texture

Crisp · juicy

Peak season

Late summer–fall

Best storage

Refrigerated

Great for

Raw · sauce · baking

Know this

Do not intentionally eat crushed seeds

A seed-grown tree is genetically new: it will not reliably produce the same apple you ate. It may take 6–10 years or longer to fruit, grow to full size, and need another compatible apple or crabapple nearby for pollination.

START WITH

Several clean, undamaged seeds from a ripe apple

COLD STEP

60–90 days refrigerated in barely moist material

LIGHT

8+ hours of direct sun after transplanting

FINAL SPACE

Allow roughly 20–25 feet for an ungrafted seedling tree

1. 1

   Clean the seeds

   Remove every trace of apple flesh, rinse, and let the surface dry for a day. Do not crush or eat the seeds.

2. 2

   Give them an artificial winter

   Wrap the seeds in a barely damp paper towel or place them in barely damp seed-starting material. Seal loosely in a labeled bag and refrigerate—not freeze—for 60–90 days. Check weekly; discard moldy seeds and keep the material only slightly damp.

3. 3

   Plant after a root appears

   Place each sprouted seed about 1/2 inch deep in its own small pot of loose, draining soil, with the new root pointing down. Keep it bright, around normal room temperature, and evenly moist.

4. 4

   Build a sturdy seedling

   After leaves appear, give the plant strong direct light. Move it into a deeper pot when roots fill the first one. Before outdoor planting, expose it gradually to sun and wind over 7–10 days.

5. 5

   Plant in its permanent place

   After hard frost danger has passed, choose full sun and well-drained ground. Dig no deeper than the root system, spread the roots, return the native soil, water deeply, and mulch without touching the trunk.

6. 6

   Care for the young tree

   Supply about 1 inch of total water weekly during active growth when rain does not. Keep a 3-foot circle free of grass, protect the trunk from animals, and train one upright main leader.

7. 7

   Wait for flowering and fruit

   Keep another genetically different apple or crabapple flowering within roughly 100 feet. When fruit eventually forms, thin crowded clusters and harvest only after flavor develops and apples release with a gentle upward twist.

8. 8

   Mark the mature space

   Keep the tree away from deep shade, standing water, and low frost pockets. Allow at least as much horizontal room as its expected mature height.

9. 9

   Dig wide, not deep

   Make the hole about twice the width of the roots or root ball and no deeper than the root system.

10. 10

    Correct the roots

    Spread bare roots naturally. Straighten or cut circling woody roots on container-grown trees so they do not girdle the trunk later.

11. 11

    Set the graft above soil

    Keep the swollen graft union about 4 inches above the finished soil line. Do not bury it.

12. 12

    Backfill mostly with native soil

    Hold the tree straight, return the excavated soil, and gently firm it. Do not put fertilizer in the planting hole.

13. 13

    Water thoroughly

    Soak the root zone to settle soil and remove air pockets. Add soil if settling exposes roots.

14. 14

    Mulch and protect

    Add a few inches of mulch over the root zone, keeping it several inches away from the trunk. Stake dwarf trees with a broad, non-abrasive tie and add a trunk guard where animals are a risk.

Harvest by maturity, not just color.