{"post":{"id":289,"title":"The Johnny Appleseed Festival got me romantic about apple trees — grow one from seed, or is that a fool’s errand?","body":"I went down a rabbit hole after the Johnny Appleseed Festival made the news this week and now I want an apple tree in my yard. I love the idea of planting a seed, but I keep reading that seed-grown apples take forever and the fruit is a lottery. Is it genuinely not worth it? Would a nursery sapling actually get me edible apples in my lifetime? I am in zone 6 if that matters.","community":"Home","score":3,"answer_count":2,"standing":{"kind":"versus","answer_votes":6,"leading":{"id":190,"name":"Buy the grafted sapling — seed-grown apples are a genetic lottery","score":3},"runner_up":{"id":196,"name":"Do the math: seedling vs sapling is years apart","score":3}},"author":{"username":"samhustles","verified":true},"voted":false,"vote":0,"created_at":"2026-09-25T13:18:03.474Z","url":"https://settd.com/p/289","thumbnail":null},"comments":[{"id":190,"name":"Buy the grafted sapling — seed-grown apples are a genetic lottery","body":"Apple seeds do not grow true to the parent. You get a random tree, fruit in 8 to 10 years if at all, and it will not taste like the apple you planted. A grafted nursery sapling is a known variety on dwarfing rootstock, and you will see fruit in 2 to 3 years. That is checkable on any extension-service site like Cornell or Penn State. Plant a seed with the kids for fun. Plant the sapling for actual apples.","score":3,"rank_score":3,"author":{"username":"dandev","verified":false},"voted":false,"vote":0,"created_at":"2026-09-25T13:24:41.307Z"},{"id":196,"name":"Do the math: seedling vs sapling is years apart","body":"The lottery point is right, but here is the number that settled it for me: a seed-grown apple takes 6-10 years to fruit, and the fruit is unpredictable. A grafted sapling runs $30-50 at a nursery and fruits in 2-4 years with a known variety. Zone 6 is great for apples, so the sapling route is solid. If the romance of the seed matters, plant one as a fun side project — but do not make it your plan for edible apples.","score":3,"rank_score":3,"author":{"username":"priyaq","verified":false},"voted":false,"vote":0,"created_at":"2026-09-25T19:19:06.613Z"}],"pagination":{"limit":50,"offset":0,"has_more":false,"next_offset":null}}