Care to share your apple rootstock/scion grafting experiences?

[BeeCurious]

It looks like understanding the risks of Fire Blight is a good first step for anyone interested in having apple trees.

The following is nice PDF file on the subject.

It mentions that "Mark", M.9 and M.26 rootstocks are the most susceptible to Fire Blight...

http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/factsh...ases/fb/fb.pdf



And more Fact Sheets from Cornell:
http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/factsh...it/default.asp

This looks useful as well:
http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/elements/apple/apples.pdf



A Grower’s Guide to Organic Apples

http://nysipm.cornell.edu/organic_guide/apples.pdf

[Apple Farmer]

Having grafted some trees (about 500 apple, pear, quence, sweet cherry).
I have to make a few comments here. Rootstocks play a major role in the size of a tree, they also affect disease resistance, fruit size, bearing age are a few other things.
Dwarf apple trees (that you graft) can bear fruit in 3-4 years, semi-dwarf 6-8 years, full size ? I've waited 10+ years and still haven't seen a fruit. For my money I like Bud 9 rootstocks the graft union can be brittle (the reason you have to stake dwarf or ultra dwarf apples) but the anchor well, fruit size with most cultivars is very good.
Get yourself a sharp knife even a utility knife with a new blade works if your hand is big enough to control it. Buy some parafilm to wrap you graft union with. Then learn how to make a Whip and Tongue graft. After you get good at that then you can try Chip Bud grafting. My sucess rate with w&t on apples is 94%, on pears 99% chip bud success is about 50%.
If you want the qualities from two differnt rootstocks look into interstem rootstocks.

Good Luck!

[Bee Bliss]

Well, I think I should edit my comment about rootstock to more closely match what I meant. I had worded it poorly. Apple Farmer is correct about rootstock being selected for tree size, health, growing conditions, type of soil, size of fruit, etc. What I meant to say about rootstock (and this was gleaned from my extensive reading on Garden Web/Fruit & Orchard Forum a few years ago) is that people on that forum stress summer pruning to maintain height limits and not depend on the rootstock to do it alone. They say pick a height and summer prune to keep it there once it reaches that height. I had a Macintosh apple that was on semi-dwarf years ago that looks like a full size apple tree now. Didn't know then what I know now about summer pruning. Summer pruning helps keep trees smaller by physically doing this AND slowing its growth. It also helps thin fruit. They say not to switch to summer pruning until the tree is the size you want it to be.

Also, fruit people warn not to let any part of the grafted material to root as this will cause the tree to bypass the dwarfing stock and the tree will grow larger. This can happen if the graft is too low and the tree planted too deeply.

I think commercial apple orchards are leaning more towards dwarf rootstock nowadays, correct? Anyway, interesting topic!

[Eek-a-beek]

Dwarf trees are not long lived. In an orchard of them a good idea is to space them so that you can alternate full sized with dwarf every other row and by the time the full sized are bearing the dwarf trees can all be cut down leaving a standard full sized orchard.

[BeeCurious]

I'm trying to decide which rootstock to choose.

While a vigorous m.30 has been recommended, I don't like the idea of planting trees that "require support".

It looks like I'm going to buy plant material from Cummins Nursery.

http://www.cumminsnursery.com/index.html

[Apple Farmer]

While a vigorous m.30 has been recommended, I don't like the idea of planting trees that "require support".

Do you mean G.30?

I can tell you a couple stories about G.30 (Geneva 30). I grafted about 50 different heirloom cultivars onto G.30 about 8 years ago. They do recommend staking them for the first few years then you can remove the stake if you want. I did then put them back. The trees are easier to train when on a stake. A really nasty thing I found out about G.30 (this isn't such a problem if you graft with virus free scion wood) is it is a pretty good virus indicator rootstock....it can take 4 or more years for it to happen but when it does you fell like you gor kicked below the belt. Of 100 trees I have just over 50 left. I talked to another grower that had the same problem and was had pulled out 10+ acres of trees that he planed to replant with interstem trees all his trees come grafted from a nursery.

If you are willing to stake for a few years until they get anchored well and the graft union has taken completly, you might look at EMLA 26 rootstocks or if you want to stick with the Geneva rootstock try G.11 I've seen good results with both. You may want to check with your county extention agent and then do some research on what the tell you before you make a decision.

Don't take what I've written as gospel. trees behave differently in different, zones, soil, Ph ranges and a lot of other variables can effect them.

Best of luck

[Bee Bliss]

www.acnursery.com/index.php

Adams County Nursery in PA for those interested.

[BeeCurious]

Has anyone here done any interstem grafting?

[Apple Farmer]

Has anyone here done any interstem grafting?

Yes. M.111 & emla 27, m.111 & b.9, m.111 & m.9, ohf 513 & quince c.
Graft them early spring then plant them out. If they take and are growing vigorously you can graft the scion onto them in late summer but it's best to wait until the following spring for your first try. After the scion graft takes replant in final location. You can vary your resulting tree by buring part of the interstem....or not.

[BeeCurious]

Yes. M.111 & emla 27, m.111 & b.9, m.111 & m.9, ohf 513 & quince c.

I think I'm going to get some b.9 and mm.111 to play with.

I may also buy a Cox Orange on a G.11/MM.111 interstem to see if I can keep it alive...

[BeeCurious]

Besides "GardenWeb" what other forums have a lot of fruit tree discussions?

[BeeCurious]

Besides "GardenWeb" what other forums have a lot of fruit tree discussions?

?

Does anyone have experience grafting nurse-roots?

I have two apples that I would like to return to their true roots and I'm wondering how well they take. I was going to split a rootstock and graft both root halves to a two or three bud scion to begin the process.

I would do two or three like this...


Any comments?

[BeeCurious]

Besides "GardenWeb" what other forums have a lot of fruit tree discussions?

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