Follow up on starting from apple seeds

Hi all,

About 2 weeks ago I ate 2 apples, saved the seeds and I put them directly between wet paper towels after breaking the seed tips. Basically I didn't do the cold stratification on the seeds and after 2 weeks 3 of them already sprouted.
Is it because the apple probably shipped in a freezer container? Or maybe cold stratification is not really needed?
What happens to the seed when going through a cold stratification?

Very nice seedlings.

How are they doing now?

I never tried chilling my seeds, I just plant them and trees happen.  I should try it one of these days.  But yours are looking mighty fine as they are.

I cold-stratified about 15 apple seeds from the fall. I left them in a jar of moist soil in the fridge, and it took about 4 months for them to sprout!

Lucky yours took off so quickly!

I’ve got them in pots outside now, as of 2 weeks ago, and they all look pretty sturdy, with several of them sprouting their second sets of leaves!

Keep us updated, I’m invested in this experiment!

Unless you picked the apple from the tree, it has already been in cold storage. Stratifying is for seeds that need to go through a winter before sprouting.

I think any apples you buy from the store are more than likely already cold stratified. Many times they spend weeks to months in a cooler warehouse before being shipped to stores. We bought a bag of organic apples recently and they were really tasty. I noticed one on one I was cutting up that one of the seeds appeared to be sprouting. The hull was split and it looked like something was growing out, so I put it and two other seeds in little starter pods that I use to start my tomatoes and peppers. Within a day the one that looked like it had sprouted was an inch tall. This morning I checked them and one of the other two has sprouted! I'm really excited to start replenishing the apple trees on the farm. When my grandpa was alive and I was little, I recall over a dozen apple trees on the farm. There are only 3 now. Thankfully my favorite tree is still alive and I took a bunch of cuttings off it this spring to try and get some new trees growing.