Help, I am confused about how to save apple seeds! I want to save seeds from ever crisp apples. I have some started but I want to save some seeds in case none of these survive
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Are you looking for long-term storage advice?
Keeping seeds stored in a cool, dry, and dark place is ideal.
Skillcult has lots of great advice on apples. This is a video he did on seed collection and savingā¦
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Yes this is what I am looking for thanks!
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You donāt want to let Apple seeds dry out. Also, they will benefit from cold moist stratification before planting. Put them in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag, in the fridge for 60 days or more. That will help with germination.
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Iāve stored apple and pear dried with no issues. Most resources Iāve found recommend dry for long term storage.
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I have dried apple seeds completely and later sown them without any trouble. I havenāt stored them long term, but I do have the impression that dry apple seeds would store well for the long term.
For stratification and planting, I have used the āwinter sowing in recycled plastic containersā method for apples several times. Iām in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and for what itās worth, I have some dry apple seeds currently waiting to plant. I expect that if I can get these dry seeds in winter sowing containers outdoors in the next couple of weeks there should be time for them to stratify and germinate this spring.
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Pretty sure store bought apples are kept in cold storage before going on the grocery shelf. Unless youāre buying apples in October/November, cold stratification is probably not necessary.
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I have generally only germinated seeds from apples I harvested myself, but what youāre saying makes sense. I wouldnāt swear that stratifying any apple seeds is necessary to begin with, Iāve just done it by habit.
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I see a lot of seeds already germinating inside of store apples and have always assumed it was because of the refrigeration during shipping and storage.
I have also planted store bought apple seeds with no cold stratification and they had near 100% germination rate.
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The storage methods used for apples acts as cold stratification on the seeds. As long as the seeds doesnāt dry out they should germinate. (Some apples have sprouted seeds in the fruit.)
If the seeds dry out they will need to be cold stratified again. One month wrapped in a moist paper towel placed in the refrigerator is usually long enough.
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I would also add to this lil convo:
IF the seeds dry out (as they often do in my case) simply give them their best opportunity by soaking them 24 or so hours in a bowl of water. The more and more I work with a diversity of perennial seeds, the more I find this a basic part of my stratification processes. Some berry seeds and certain species of Sambucus require hot (or even boiling) water to help the process. Some then need 60-90 day warm stratification followed by 90-150 days cold depending. Thankfully with the apples, itās a basic soak and then (for me) a 60-90 day cold stratification. The main thing is apple seeds mold easily. To that end, I tend to personally cold stratify in my garage in small cells of customized soil mix February thru April. Nights are cold enough here and my garage very easily cold enough through that timeframe. The only thing I caution against is greenhouse induced germination through the cold stratification process (ie cold enough nights in the gh). Not that this canāt work but it can provoke a second dormancy as it can heat the seeds too quickly during daytime hours disrupting the cold stratification process. I often let my apples simply left outside in pots as a stratification get two years of opportunity due to a similar phenomenon. Prunus also very often have a second dormancy (pain in the arse). Iāve experienced, as a basic understanding, apple seeds can be fickle and finicky. I donāt take it personally and simply keep at it year after year.
For reference:
Hereās this yearās apple seeds in the six small celled
flats in my garage. I occasionally mist
them with H20. It is casually in the low 30ās here consistently. Dips into the 20ās. Has ambient light from a couple windows.
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Gives me hope for all the peach and cherry that didnāt come up last year. I did get a single cherry from a Rainier pit though, it grew an almost 5ft whip. Iāll be leaving that bed undisturbed now.
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Earlier this spring I planted 134 apple seeds which I have been saving in a mason jar full of dry rice for over 10 years.
I removed all the seeds, soaked them in water for ~2 hours, then put them into a ziploc bag and kept them in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
105 seeds have germinated so far. Some are still coming up.
These seeds came from trees growing in Kansas which had been planted by my great grandfather. I have no idea what variety (or varieties) they were.
The trees had old metal tags but were too weathered.
These definitely were not stored or prepped in ideal conditions.
The apples I got the seeds from were not even ripe.
The jar went through three different moves. It had been kept in different boxes, dresser drawers, and closets. It experienced a range of temperatures (I would guess between at least 40Ā°F - 80Ā°F over the years)
Iām happy with the germination rate, it is better than I expected. Even the survival rate has been, Iāve only lost a few to heat so far.
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Epic! As an apple fetishist this pleases me greatly. How awesome to have the historical tie in to your grandfather, to boot! Seeds absolutely never cease to amaze me in their resilience. and the manners by which they defy traditional advice and āexpertiseā. I personally believe your connection to the story if these seeds also carries significance in their willingness to jump up and live. Thank you for sharing.
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Great-grandfather! And my 3 year old daughter helped me plant the seeds. Definitely special.
They never knew each other, but now thereās a connection across 5 generations.
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Nice. I planted a bunch fall '23 and had 25+ sprout and grow last year, planted out about half close together for an apple hedge and potted up the other half and started grafting for the first time, so far about 90% successful, very well pleased and planning on grafting tons in the future
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Wow! Thatās so neat! I hope some of them wind up becoming your new favorite apple varieties. 
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Iām hoping! If not they will at least feed the deer.
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So wonderful! I LOVE this story. Really want to follow it as the trees, gods willing, keep growing. Such a special connection to those seeds.
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Well, general thinking around seedling apple work is a good āWell, thatās at least interesting - letās keep it!ā set of results is around 25-30% of the seedlings. Hopefully, with the relationships imbued with these seeds we can bump that to 40-50% 