Question
QUESTION: Dear Sir,
I am in Ghana and want to know if I can grow Apple trees in Ghana West Africa.
Thank you.
Eric Agyei

ANSWER: Hi Eric,
Thanx for your question.  Apples can be grown in Ghana from what I have read.  I understand that apples have been successfully grown in Kenya, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.  But, I live in a temperate climate where growing apples is easy.  I can only tell you what I have read.  In order to set bloom and fruit properly, apple trees require about 1000 hours of a chilling period (temperatures between 0 and 5 C).  If the tree does not get the dormant period it sets smaller fruit that can be almost seedless.  There are cultivars now that have lower chilling requirements and perform better in subtropical climates.  Some apple growers in the tropics will grow their trees at higher elevations in the mountains.  You can start an apple seed but bear in mind that the seed is probably from a hybrid tree and the resulting seedling will probably be inferior to the parent plant.  It will take 5-7 years for fruiting once the seed has germinated.  The seed must be cold-treated in order to break dormancy.  Plant the seed about an inch deep in a pot of moist potting soil and seal inside a plastic baggie.  Keep the pot in the refrigerator for 90 days.  After that, return the pot to a warm area until the seed germinates which should be in a few weeks.  The seedling should be a few inches tall with at least on set of true leaves (the first leaves are seed leaves) before you should move it outdoors.  When moving seedlings grown indoors to the outdoors, you should acclimate the seedling by placing it in the shade protected from wind, rain and direct sunlight for 10 days.  After that, the apple tree seedling needs direct sunlight.  I hope this helps.
Tom

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Tom,
Thank you very much.
I want to know if I can get the original apple seed to plant in Ghana.
Thank you.
Eric Agyei

Answer
Hi Eric,
Thanx for the follow up.  If you have access to apples, yes, you can plant those seeds.  If you are asking after apple seed sources, I was unable to find any.  I believe the main reason is that all apples are propagated from saplings grown at large commercial nurseries.  I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
Tom