Did you know that planting a seed from a Honeycrisp won’t grow a Honeycrisp? Apple seeds don’t grow true to their parent, so every named apple variety, from Honeycrisp to Gala, is grown by grafting a cutting from a known tree onto a separate root system called rootstock. It is the reason a variety name means the same apple every time we ship it.
Key Takeaways
- Apple seeds usually form when pollen from one variety fertilizes the flower of another, so a seedling’s fruit won’t match the apple it came from.
- Named apple varieties are kept consistent through grafting, which joins a cutting called a scion to a rootstock.
- Rootstock is chosen for traits like tree size, stability and disease resistance, while the scion decides what apple the tree produces.
- Honeycrisp was developed at the University of Minnesota, patented in 1988 and released in 1991, and every commercial Honeycrisp tree traces back to one original selection, MN1711.
- Gala was bred in New Zealand from Golden Delicious and Kidd’s Orange Red and introduced commercially in 1960.
- Honeycrisp has become a parent to newer apples, including Cosmic Crisp, SweeTango, EverCrisp, SnapDragon and Rave.
Why Apple Seeds Don’t Grow The Same Apple
You can plant an apple seed, and with patience it will grow into a tree. The surprise comes years later, when that tree finally fruits. The apples will not look or taste like the apple you started with.
The reason starts in the orchard during bloom. Most apple seeds form when pollen from one apple variety pollinates the flower of a different variety. Each seed inside an apple carries a new mix of genes from two parents, the same way siblings in a family share parents but don’t look identical.
Apple trees also carry an unusually wide range of genetic variation. University of Illinois Extension describes apples as highly heterozygous, meaning they hold many different versions of their genes. When those genes reshuffle in a seed, the result is almost always a different apple, and usually one that is less appealing than its parent.
Washington State University tree fruit breeder Kate Evans has put it simply: if you plant Red Delicious seeds in your backyard, you won’t get Red Delicious apples. The same holds true for every apple we sell, from Granny Smith to Fuji.
How Grafting Keeps Every Variety True
Since seeds can’t be trusted to repeat a variety, growers copy the tree itself. That process is called grafting, and it is how every commercial apple variety stays consistent from one orchard to the next.
A grafted apple tree has two parts:
- The scion is the fruiting part of the tree, and it makes up most of what you see above ground. It is a cutting taken from a known variety, such as Honeycrisp or Gala, and it decides what apples the tree will produce.
- The rootstock is everything below ground, plus the first few inches of the trunk. It is another apple tree chosen for its roots and growth habits, not for its fruit.
Growers join the two by matching their cuts so the living tissue lines up and grows together. In standard grafting, a short piece of scion wood with a couple of buds is fitted to a rootstock of matching diameter. A common method, the whip-and-tongue graft, uses sloping cuts with interlocking “tongues” that lock the pieces together. Nurseries also use budding, which inserts a single bud from the scion variety into the rootstock instead of a full piece of wood.
Once the graft takes, the tree grows apples that carry the same genetics as the original variety. A Honeycrisp tree planted this year in Washington and one planted decades ago in Minnesota are, genetically, the same apple.
Rootstock Shapes The Tree Below The Apple
If the scion decides the apple, the rootstock decides much of the tree. Rootstocks range from full-size standard trees to true dwarfs, and choosing one lets growers shape a tree’s maximum height, stability and resistance to disease.
That choice matters for how orchards are planted and harvested. Smaller trees are easier to prune and pick, while larger trees may suit other growing conditions. There are limits to what can be combined, too. An apple scion has to go onto apple rootstock; it can’t be grafted onto a pear.
Grafting locks in the variety, but it doesn’t guarantee great fruit on its own. Pollination still matters every spring. As Jim McFerson of Washington State University’s tree fruit extension has noted, poor pollination can leave growers with small or misshapen apples, even on a well-grafted tree.
Every Honeycrisp Traces Back To One Minnesota Tree
Honeycrisp is a good example of how a single seedling becomes an apple found in stores across the country. The variety was developed through cross-pollination at the University of Minnesota’s Horticultural Research Center. After extensive testing for flavor, texture and appearance, it was patented in 1988 and released in 1991.
Honeycrisp nearly didn’t make it. The original tree, known by its breeding number MN1711, suffered severe winter injury and was discarded from the program. Breeder David Bedford later found that copies of the selection had been planted at a separate test site. After tasting the fruit and its crisp texture, he kept it in the program, and that decision saved the variety.
Its family tree took longer to sort out. For years, Honeycrisp was recorded as a cross of Macoun and Honeygold. DNA research later corrected that, confirming its parents as Keepsake and an unreleased University of Minnesota selection, MN1627, with Duchess of Oldenburg and Golden Delicious as grandparents.
Today every commercial Honeycrisp tree is grown from grafted scion wood traced back to that one selection. Honeycrisp has also become a parent to a new generation of apples. Cosmic Crisp, SweeTango, EverCrisp, SnapDragon and Rave all descend from it. Each of those began as a single seedling from a deliberate cross, and each is now multiplied by grafting, the same way Honeycrisp was.
Gala Started As A New Zealand Seedling
Gala, one of the apples we move most often, followed a similar path on the other side of the world. New Zealand apple breeder J.H. Kidd crossed Golden Delicious with Kidd’s Orange Red in the 1930s. One of the resulting seedlings, first known as Kidd’s D-8, was later selected by Dr. Don McKenzie.
Gala was introduced commercially in 1960 and received a U.S. plant patent in 1974. Every Gala tree since has been grafted from that original selection, which is why a Gala from one season tastes like a Gala from the next.
What This Means When You Order Apples By Name
For the stores, restaurants and markets we supply, grafting is the reason a variety name works as a promise. When you order Honeycrisp, you are ordering the genetics of one specific tree, copied over and over. That consistency is what lets buyers build displays, menus and promotions around a variety and expect customers to get the apple they know.
It also explains why the apple lineup changes slowly. A new variety starts as one seedling out of many, needs years of testing, and then has to be grafted onto thousands of rootstocks before there is enough fruit to ship. Honeycrisp took decades to go from breeding program to grocery shelves, and the newer varieties descending from it are on the same long road.
Here is how that plays out in our warehouse:
- Staples stay steady. We carry more than 20 apple varieties, with year-round staples like Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp and Granny Smith. You can see how we plan apple varieties and seasons for retail buyers in more detail.
- Seasons still matter. New-crop apples begin arriving in late summer, with the heaviest supply in October. Stored and imported apples keep staple varieties available through the rest of the year.
- Size is part of the order. Apples are packed by count per carton, and a lower count means larger fruit. The variety stays the same; the count lets you match size to how you sell.
- Handling protects the variety. Grafting gets the right apple onto the tree. After harvest, our refrigerated warehouse at the Atlanta State Farmers Market helps keep that apple in the condition you expect.
We supply grocers, restaurants and resellers across the Southeast, including the eating and cooking apple varieties we supply to Alabama businesses. If you’re building an apple program closer to home, learn more about our fruit distribution across Georgia.
FAQs
Can You Grow An Apple Tree From An Apple Seed?
Yes. An apple seed can grow into a tree, but the fruit it eventually produces will not match the apple the seed came from. Growing a specific variety requires grafting.
Why Don’t Apple Seeds Grow The Same Apple?
Most apple seeds form when pollen from one variety fertilizes another, so each seed carries a new mix of genes. Apples also hold a wide range of genetic variation, which makes seedling fruit almost always different from the parent.
How Are Honeycrisp Apple Trees Grown?
Honeycrisp trees are grown by grafting scion wood onto rootstock. Every commercial Honeycrisp tree traces back to the original University of Minnesota selection, MN1711.
What Is Apple Rootstock?
Rootstock is the root system and lower trunk of a grafted apple tree. Growers choose it for traits like tree size, stability and disease resistance, while the grafted scion decides the variety of apple.
Where Did The Gala Apple Come From?
Gala was bred in New Zealand by J.H. Kidd, who crossed Golden Delicious with Kidd’s Orange Red in the 1930s. It was introduced commercially in 1960 and patented in the United States in 1974.
