Self seeded apples - maybe?

           

I have 4 little apple trees in the garden that I know I haven't planted (as even I wouldn't plant an apple tree that close to another one!). There's no sign of a graft on the trunks and one of the trees has the little clusters of "roots" on the main stem that are on an apple tree I've grown from a cutting on its own roots.

Since they're very close to other apple trees I think they may have grown from some fallen apples - as I'm very bad at clearing them up and usually leave the apples for wildlife. No flowers or fruit to help with checking their parentage. maybe next year?

Don't be fooled by the apples that look as if they're on the tree - they're on the nearest tree that could be the parent.

Well perhaps this is where the phrase the Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree comes from.

Be interesting to see which sapling is from which tree.

I get lots of baby apples springing up because I always toss my cores onto the garden for the blackbirds. One year I carefully potted one up, and kept it going for two more years, then forgot to water it and it died...