By Emmalaura
United Kingdom 
morning all!! my children have grown 10 apple trees from pips 5 yrs ago. we have 4 left as others died. as yet, we have not had any blossom on them. they are planted in containers. i have been told they are possibly all male trees and won't flower, is there such a thing? also, been told that they could be pot bound. thank you, kathy.
11 Sep, 2012
Answers
The Siberian crabs we grew from seed took seven years to start flowering and producing fruit. The same was true of a John Downie crab we grew from seed and that certainly didn't come 'true' from the parent as it has boring green apples.
However, you should never give up as every apple variety started some time as a 'seedling' before being grafted on to other stock to be spread around. So if you wait a few more years for your five trees to produce some fruit, you might be surprised. Though the odds are quite large against you!
It IS possible to do apples from hardwood cuttings though, which means you get the same variety, though growing on their own roots will still mean that massive tree!
11 Sep, 2012
thank you to Owdboggy and Bertiefox for taking the time to reply. really grateful and helpful answers. thanks!!
11 Sep, 2012
No, Apple trees are hermaphrodites, both male and female.
Next, sadly Apple trees are also the most genetically diverse of almost all plants so what you sow is almost never going to be the same as where the seed came from. 99 percent of seeds will produce Crab apples.
Also they take about 5 years to produce flowers and fruit. Then they can grow to 25 feet plus tall trees.
It may well be that they need more root space to flower, and or feeding in Spring with Tomato fertiliser.
11 Sep, 2012