Pear/Apple Tree growing fo Cider..

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LittleButch

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As a part of my 2 year Arboriculture Diploma we have to do a year long project which Includes Researching, making something from It and finishing with a presentation. I've chosen to do mine on either Pear or Apple trees, describing how they grow with pictures taken each week, describe how they're used to make Cider and maybe even give It a go. We get a year which obviously wouldn't give me enough time to grow a Tree from seed and use the fruit to create Cider so If I did decide to actually make the Cider I'd use shop bought juice..

I'm undecided whether to use a Pear or Apple Tree? Anybody have an Idea of where I could get the seeds from?

It's something I'm genuinely Interested In and I'm not doing It solely because I have to choose a project.. It's something I'd like to do anyway so thought why not combine the two!

So any experience and advice would be appreciated!

Butch :rockin:
 
Apple seeds from from apples. The seeds that come from store bought apples will not grow into fruit bearing trees but maybe they might grow enough for your project. However, if you know someone who has an apple tree around your location or talk to a local nursery, that might be your best bet. Or you could google apple seeds and find a site that sells seeds. Or maybe someone from this group of cider makers might be able to help you out with a few dozen seeds.
 
Yea I just read that on the net. Also read about rootstock. Is It possible for me to buy say a week old plant and go from there?

Butch
 
MeadWitch,
Why won't a seed grow into a fruit bearing tree? Everything that I have read says that seeds will grow into a fruit bearing tree, just not the same kind as what came from the original apple (an empire or red delicious seed won't produce an empire or red delicious tree).
 
My mother has about 4 apple trees that grew strictly from seeds from apples purchased at the store! 3 of them produce great tasting apples every year, one of them produces small apples that usually fall off before ripening. From what I've read, the resulting apple tree won't necessarily be the same as the one that rendered the seed but it still produces...
 
From what I've read, the resulting apple tree won't necessarily be the same as the one that rendered the seed but it still produces...
Click to expand...

This is correct. Apple genetics is really twisted and every seed is a roll of the dice. That's why until recently most apples were grown for cider, not eating.
 
i would say to go to an apple orchard if you have one close. you should have no problem getting a few drops off the ground for free (which should have seeds in them)
 
I have grown orange and lemon trees from store bought fruit seeds and and those trees have proven to be dwarfed in size and fruitless. Even after setting the trees outside to let the insects do their thing, no fruit or blossoms. I call my county extention office to inquire what I was doing wrong and was told the following: Much of our fruit from the grocery stores nowadays have been radiated and gassed. The fruit is picked green and forced to ripen. This effects the seed development and renders them ineffective to reproduce. Most apples are of hybird stock and will not reproduce the same fruit if by the off chance the seeds survive the treatment, the same goes with flowers.

Brew Clamper, just curious, how old are your mother's trees? Perhaps she was fortunate enough to have purchased apples before radiating and gasing became the norm? I would love to have a fruit tree or three in my yard. So far only 1 pecan tree and it has yet to produce as it is still to young.
 
LittleButch said:
As a part of my 2 year Arboriculture Diploma we have to do a year long project which Includes Researching, making something from It and finishing with a presentation. I've chosen to do mine on either Pear or Apple trees, describing how they grow with pictures taken each week, describe how they're used to make Cider and maybe even give It a go. We get a year which obviously wouldn't give me enough time to grow a Tree from seed and use the fruit to create Cider so If I did decide to actually make the Cider I'd use shop bought juice..

I'm undecided whether to use a Pear or Apple Tree? Anybody have an Idea of where I could get the seeds from?

It's something I'm genuinely Interested In and I'm not doing It solely because I have to choose a project.. It's something I'd like to do anyway so thought why not combine the two!

So any experience and advice would be appreciated!

Butch :rockin:
Click to expand...

As you're in the UK, you might be able to find an orchard that grows real cider apples (different from the eating/pie apples) or even perry pears. You might also be able to take a tour of a cider house/cider works & shoot some pics/video to use in your presentation. Or maybe some time lapse video of an apple/pear seed sprouting. If you can get some pics/video of the apple harvest at a lcl (or not so lcl) orchard, you could edit that in with the other pics/video. You might try some lcl universities agriculture depts, they might even have some video they'll let you use. You might find this site useful: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/scrumpy/cider/ You might contact an apple growers association, they could be quite a help to you. Hope this info helps. Regards, GF.
 
If you go to your local hippy/freak/vegan store or farmers market you should be able to get apples that were not gassed or irradiated. the genetics will still be a crap-shoot, but it WILL produce fruit given time.
 
I'll do some digging, but it should be very easy for you to find a nursery that sells heirloom cider apple grafts on dwarf rootstock. I know of 2 within 3 hours drive of where I live, and much more that ship. You are in Cider territory, so it should be even easier! Getting a graft on rootstock is really the best way to go if you want something that will produce reliable fruit (as others outlined). Some dwarf rootstocks will start producing fruit, albiet a weak crop on year 2.

Andrew Lea's site is a great place to start. He might even list orchards or nuserys. I've found The Apple Grower, A guide for the organic orchardist to be a great resource, although it is geared more toward commercial dessert/eating apple production. The good thing about it is that growing cider apples is even easier since some minor defects on the fruit don't matter since you will mill and press them.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Cheers guys, you've been a great help! Is Rootstock something that can only be done by experts or Is It something else that I can Inlude In my presentation?

Butch
 
LittleButch said:
Cheers guys, you've been a great help! Is Rootstock something that can only be done by experts or Is It something else that I can Inlude In my presentation?

Butch
Click to expand...


Grafting is not terribly difficult though I dont know if it will work the very first time you try it. Only one way to see! There are several grafting methos out there though i dont know that one is particularly better than another.
 
Read the bit on growing trees on Andrew Lea's site I linked to. Normally you will buy the variety of apple tree you want grafted to the size rootstock you want directly from a nusery. From there, pretty much anyone can buy what they will call a "whip", which pretty much looks like a stick with some roots and plant it. The people that buy these range from home hobby orchardists to full scale commercial operations.
 

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