Apple tree from seed died but it has sprouts! wondering how to encourage them?

Our ten year old trip apple...a newton pippen...did not survive the apple tree borers.

I grew it from seed brought back from an apple that was from a farmers market on the west coast during a long train trip....posted about it here https://permies.com/t/220433/Apple-tree-seed-planted-apples
We have frequent borer damage on peaches and blackberries and apples and I'm working on some prevention methods.

My question, though, is about the sprouts clearly coming from this apples roots, maybe 10 or so?

Shall I thin them?
Leave them all and select later?
Pull or cut one and try to root?

Because I experiment by planting various species and cultivars I frequently end up with dead scions and rootstock surviving. I have five plums and four such apples. If the growth is strong I keep them and do nothing (except regular irrigation). Plums are on Myrobalam or American plum rootstock so I expect to have fruits. Apples were on Antonovka, but now I'm not sure what will be the outcome. Several years ago I have planted four Antonovka rootstocks - one died, the other two did not survived grafting, but still regrew from the root and the fourth one got quite large and finally produced fruits, but they do not look like Antonovka at all, but hopefully will taste good and if not I will still use them for processing.
You can select the strongest one and later graft or not. You can also leave them as they are and they will grow into multi branched tree. If you are in apple growing region, keeping an unknown apple may not be worth. I'm in a region where apples rather suffer, so I will be happy with anything.

Since it's a seedling tree, you have the sprouts just the same as the original tree. Early this year the power company came over and cut down a bunch of trees in my front yard and I lost my apple and pear trees since the grafts were gone. I did salvage some cuttings and grafted them to my other trees (only one made it). So if you have other apple trees, maybe grafting the suckers will work. By the way, how many years has the apple tree been fruiting? Was the fruiting wood low last year? The root suckers are more juvenile and may take a few years to bloom.

if it were me, judith, i’d thin them down to 1 or 2 of my favorites to focus the growth there. you could certainly try to root some of the ones you’re not leaving- if you can dig down a bit you might even get a bit of root to start with.

1). Looks like rabbit damage.
2). Unlikely they will grow back as original apple.
3). Unlikely to have a good trunk foundation.
And so on.

Time is far more valuable than the tree. The attempt to save a tree that has already failed may be a waste of time. Go out and get a new tree, with good roots and good trunk and good size. And save several years of time. Have apples sooner. Probably end up with a better tree. My experience is that you will regret trying to save money instead of saving time.

I am with Greg.
Select one and remove the others to concentrate growth.
If you leave the roots intact, regrowth can be huge in the first season.

However, if you want to graft onto this tree, you can leave it be. Graft ont them all, see what graft takes and then select which one to keep.

Good luck!

Agree with Greg and Nynke - pick the strongest one or two and remove the rest. The root system is already established so the growth this first season can be surprisingly vigorous. Worth keeping a couple as insurance in case one gets damaged, then thin to one later if both take off.

thanks everyone!
I'll give them a closer look towards keeping 2 or 3.

How would I try rooting one? in water or soil or sand maybe?
...remove some leaves and keep moist in the shade?

1). Looks like rabbit damage.
2). Unlikely they will grow back as original apple.
3). Unlikely to have a good trunk foundation.
And so on.

Time is far more valuable than the tree. The attempt to save a tree that has already failed may be a waste of time. Go out and get a new tree, with good roots and good trunk and good size. And save several years of time. Have apples sooner. Probably end up with a better tree. My experience is that you will regret trying to save money instead of saving time.  

Jim, the tree is from seed so the suckers will be clones I believe?...I have time😊
I see the suckers as a possibility for a future tree  and if nothing else I can practice something different and learn something new...success would be nice but failure doesn't bother me.
An apple tree is not where I want to put any money.
...I should have said the missing bark is where Steve was exploring the borer damage.

Judith Browning wrote: How would I try rooting one? in water or soil or sand maybe?
...remove some leaves and keep moist in the shade?
I see the suckers as a possibility for a future tree  and if nothing else I can practice something different and learn something new...success would be nice but failure doesn't bother me.

My understanding is that apple trees are in the category of *really not wanting to root*. However, you could be the exception? The fact that they're root suckers could change the usual equation of "cuttings don't root".

If it were me, and I had the time for the experiment, I would make a small hole in the side of a pot that has a reservoir, fill the pot as far as the hole with a light, root friendly soil, slide the top of one of the suckers through the hole so the top sticks out the top of the pot, fill the rest of the pot with root friendly soil. I would use some good compost in the pot, but keep it light so baby roots have it easy. I'd do 2-3 of them around the tree, because I'd be less likely to forget to water 3 pots than 1 pot.

That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try your usual rooting technique. I am well aware that techniques work better or worse with different ecosystems and caretakers.

I would absolutely leave 3 suckers to regrow and eventually choose the strongest - safety in numbers!

Somehow, I'm not worried that if you have a bright green thumb and end up with a plethora of baby apple trees, that you won't be able to find them forever homes! If you were multiplying rabbits in my ecosystem, I'd be more concerned!

I just had another idea for you, Judith. Start some hardy apple trees right away from whatever type of apple you have access to. So long as you can keep several of the suckers alive for a couple of years, you will now have a set of roots you can do a bud graft onto. We're talking a multi-year process, but if you *really* love the particular type of apple, it might be good back-up?

You might try air layering... But by placing a pot over the sprouts, resting it on the ground, then following the rest of the instructions.

Here is a thread about air layering.

This won't necessarily apply to you, but if I was in Alaska (where I grew up), and had a tree that did that, I would take two or three of those suckers and lay them down so they grew sideways, now, while they are still really flexible. They'd need to be fastened down in some way that didn't damage the tree as it grows. Then continue laying new growth down pretty low and horizontal as it continues to grow. This gives you a tree that can be covered for protection from extreme winter cold, and kept covered until it's almost the right time for it to bloom without getting frosted. Then uncover and allow blooming. (I've been thinking about this, even though we are in Kentucky now, because we have a young pear that is drooping severely under the weight of the fruit - we are propping the branches up, but I was impressed at how flexible the tree is.)

For anyone who actually is in a really cold climate like Alaska, you can lay a tree horizontal when you plant it, even if it's not very flexible anymore.