fruit rootstock as inground starter material

[nuttiest]

I am wondering if anyone uses apple or peach/plum rootstock to grow out and use as nursery material. I have some apple varieties that supposedly flower here, but I figured more or different rootstocks to try with them would be great. Also wondering if you know of any a specific dwarfing rootstock that has smaller leaves (or reduces leaves noticabably).

 

[Shibui]

Dwarfing root stock do not always have smaller leaves. The root stock cultivars that I've used all have similar leaves to other apples. It's more often the roots that confer the dwarfness to the grafted tree and that's NOT going to do you any favours as a bonsai where we hope for good nebari and strong roots.

I am wondering if anyone uses apple or peach/plum rootstock to grow out and use as nursery material.

When you say nursery material I'm assuming you mean for bonsai? (rather than for grafting, etc)
Otherwise plum roots stocks are very similar to plums in general
Peaches here are grafted onto either 'golden queen' (a hardy canning peach so seed is readily available as a by-product) or 'green nemaguard' which is supposed to be more resistant to root diseases. Leaves on both those are same as any other peach or nectarine so I can't see any advantage in growing either of them over any other peach.
The plum stocks I've used are all very similar to the plum varieties that are grafted on top so, again, no real advantage (or disadvantage)

 

[nuttiest]

Thanks Shibui, this changes my order somewhat : ). I'll let you know what they look like starting out.

 

[nuttiest]

Wow, this is going to be fun. I really love new material and species and there is so much to learn about apples. These I am going to plant in a 5 point star pattern for an arbor. The rest, and a couple plum root stock will be used for young bonsai.

 

[Shibui]

Wow, this is going to be fun. I really love new material and species and there is so much to learn about apples. These I am going to plant in a 5 point star pattern for an arbor. The rest, and a couple plum root stock will be used for young bonsai.

I can't read the labels. What did you end up getting?

 

[ralfish]

I am wondering if anyone uses apple or peach/plum rootstock to grow out and use as nursery material. I have some apple varieties that supposedly flower here, but I figured more or different rootstocks to try with them would be great. Also wondering if you know of any a specific dwarfing rootstock that has smaller leaves (or reduces leaves noticabably).

I have started using the suckers my old Mac apple tree puts out every year. Ive grafted conventional apples trees together using them and along with j. flowering quince as root stock. Grafted pink flowering crab to the mac sucker root stock too. But last year I dug up a few dozen suckers that had various shapes and forms to them. Some had been mowed down everyt ime I cut the grass, so were short with old looking bark already vs the young maiden whips that have smooth bark and have not been mowed. Some I wired and twisted up dramatically. Pics in no particular order taken from this week back to late october just before leaf fall. Im liking how robust these things are and am looking forward to seeing how they develope in my non-traditional way.

 

[nuttiest]

I can't read the labels. What did you end up getting?

Hahaha... I didn't want the labels showing because you would then know I didn't follow your advice entirely! I wanted some Antonovka, but the vendor I eventually chose didn't carry that. Second consideration was resistance to Phytopthora, a known issue in my area. Seems like most of the good Phytopthora resistant are dwarf. So I bought 2 each of:
M111 - 80%
G890 - 60%
G41 - 40%
B9 - 30%
M9-337 - <30%
G11 - <30%
M27 - 25%
Myrobalan plum

 

[Shibui]

I have no problem with people being independent. You may find entirely different results in your different conditions.

Some of those stocks I don't recognise. Down here we have tended to use the British stock so I don't know any of the Geneva lines. I have M111, M27, M9 and Myrobolan for plums. Also have MM109 and Northern Spy which is supposed to be disease resistant.
We have phytopthera in Australia. I've lost all my avocados to it and quite a few Australian natives in the garden but it does not seem to be a problem for apples or plums.
Fire-blight is not yet (fingers crossed) in Australia but most commercial orchards use fire-blight resistant stock in case it arrives.

I think I mentioned that dwarf root stock is a 2 edged sword. Low growth rates but/ because of limited root development. It will b interesting to see what sort of nebari you can develop if bonsai is the aim.

 

[nuttiest]

I got apple blossoms in Florida! This is from one of the trees planted last spring. The large bug-eaten leaves are from last year, they never went fully dormant.
The picture is too late, they were nice pink buds day 1 and pink edged blossoms on day 2.

 

[nuttiest]

I have started using the suckers my old Mac apple tree puts out every year. Ive grafted conventional apples trees together using them and along with j. flowering quince as root stock. Grafted pink flowering crab to the mac sucker root stock too. But last year I dug up a few dozen suckers that had various shapes and forms to them. Some had been mowed down everyt ime I cut the grass, so were short with old looking bark already vs the young maiden whips that have smooth bark and have not been mowed. Some I wired and twisted up dramatically. Pics in no particular order taken from this week back to late october just before leaf fall. Im liking how robust these things are and am looking forward to seeing how they develope in my non-traditional way.

I am not much of a trunk curve person but I like that shape you made in photo number 4 there. Where will you go with the leader now?