Planting Apple Trees
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Hi i have question for all you green fingered folks
I have an apple tree which i grew from a seed - picture below
it is now about 10 years old. grown a little bit at a time but never any apples.
I've been told I'm not likely to get any apples as it was grown from a seed. is this correct?
Any tips please?
Hi M
First, you have not posted a picture, if you can i will try to scan to let you know which type it is
You should have had fruit, i have two apples trees grown from seed , but they are only only small at the moment as planted 9 months ago, unless you were just unlucky and it is sterile for some reason
Apple trees are very slow to produce fruit compared to other fruit trees. When I have tried this with cherry trees they have grown very fast and very large but with poor fruit.
MaheshLakhani I have six apple trees in my garden all grown for dry rooted pants for places like Aldi or wilko. Two have not yet had any fruit and the rest are fruiting well. They have been planted in my garden for six years, and look about 3 times the size of the one in the photo. Ten years is a long time to wait to see an Apple, but I would not give up on it.
MaheshLakhani It might be a Granny Smiths, apparently they take years to grow..... only jesting.
MaheshLakhani i think you often need more than one apple tree for pollination.
"The first complication is that most apple trees, but not all, are self-sterile. This means that they cannot use their own pollen to fertilise themselves. They need the pollen from a different apple tree variety to be transferred onto the stigma of their flowers."
https://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/fruitarticles/apples/pollination-variety-finder.php
M, it is not identifying it as the picture is blurred, it said it was clematis vitalba, which i think is wrong
The tree seems small for 10 years old
If it is in the earth then it should be bigger, if its in a pot the growth could be restricted
Hope that helps
MaheshLakhani If you can do a close up i might be able to identify it and let you know what apples it might bear M
Look better than our cherry trees that we planted years ago. Not one fruit this year.
I think we bought dud ones, but mind you, anything green that I touch normally dies.
Good luck with your quest.
10 year seem like a long time to wait for fruit, it could be that the soil in which its growing is the problem as I live in a new build and the ground has a load of rubble which affects the growing of my plants.
First of all I can only congratulate you on growing an apple tree from a pip 
. Incredibly difficult to do and frankly I wouldn't have the patience 
.
If it produced blossom in spring (but no fruit ) it is likely it needs a second tree in the vicinity to ensure pollination (and thus fruit ) . Some apple trees are self pollinating while others need a different parent tree (even of a different variety ) to pollinate .
If I haven't got my pruning mixed up I believe the blossom and hence apples are produced on spurs which come from old wood , not new growth - so maybe google "apple tree pruning" which will tell you where and when to prune as from the picture yours looks a bit "spindly " and may benefit from the branches being cut back by about 30% .
I must admit I have a couple bought as "bare root" from the supermarket which have done OK for quite a few years with only my amateurish "hacking " to keep them in shape over the years . I have noticed over the years that there are "fallow years " when few apples develop then shed loads the next year - apparently that is normal .
Not much of an answer I'm afraid , but well done for getting so far -try googling "apple tree not fruiting " there may be an answer there .
Golfforall oh wow!!! That was really informative. I do have another apple plant growing at the other end but has no sunlight so hasn’t grown in years. I may move it closer. Or I may buy another which I would plant near this!!! Thanks 
MaheshLakhani There is some possible bad news ☹ . If the pip was from a native apple tree it should be fine (eventually ) , however if it was an imported apple the pip came from it could have been from a "hybridised" tree which may not be suited to our climate .
If you are like me and prefer "easy gardening" , just lift out the bigger chunks of rubble and topdress around your tree with leafmould , compost , chicken manure etc . The worms and rain will pull it down into the soil thus improving it with little effort .
My house was built in 1960 , still finding lumps of concrete , bricks etc in the garden when I dig !
To get good quality apples you need good pollination and this means you need at least two trees rather than relying on one self fertile variety.
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