Question
My son and I grew an apple tree from a seed its store bought apple I know this will most likely not produce any viable fruit, are question how do we keep it alive and growing strong? he was three when we planted it he is now five the tree got to about 2.5 3 ft tall we trimmed it to 18 inches early this fall it's now close to three ft again we want to transplant to a bigger pot but don't want to kill it, if it grow to be a tree that would be an awesome reminder to Max and I when he gets allot older. The other problem is we live in Alaska, it needs to live in side due to the Moose population in our area the big furies will eat it in a heart beat. Can you help us out? Thank you for your time Bill and Max.

Answer
Hi Bill and Max,
Thanx for your question.  I have a friend who recently moved back to Bethel, Alaska after living down here in the lower 48 for 10 years or so.  I have an incredible deer problem on my small farm so I can imagine how much a moose would chow down on a young sapling.  I would not trim the tree anymore until it gets to about 5 or 6 feet tall.  In the past, I think some folks have misinterpreted my answers or perhaps I wasn't all that clear.  It isn't that you won't have a viable fruit so much as the fruit will most likely not be the same quality as the parent plant.  That doesn't mean it won't be edible or that it won't taste good but one or more of the features for which it was hybridized will be missing or altered.  I hope that clears things up about the fruit.  Ok, you can tranplant the tree to a bigger pot but I would do this when the tree goes dormant in the late fall.  One thing you need to remember about apples.  They need a winter dormancy otherwise, if kept in the warmth of the inside of a house or greenhouse, they will wear themselves out and eventually die.  That's why apples don't grow in the tropics.  Can you put the tree in an unheated garage or shed for the winter?  Just keep it watered as though it were outside in the snow or rain.  Bring the tree back onto the patio or other safe area outdoors after the last frost and it will begin flowering and growing leaves.  The tree should begin fruiting in about 5 years after germination.  I hope this helps.
Tom