looking for root stock recommendations

17 years ago

First a little information...

I have a VERY small yard and would like to grow a couple fruit trees. I have space for at most 2 dwarf/semi dwarf trees. (I am growing lots of smaller fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, grapes etc.) I would like to make a tree of mixed varieties and need to know what kind of root stock will maintain such a tree in my small space.

Our first love of tree fruits is the stone fruits such as plums, peaches, nectarines. I have seen the "fruit cocktail" trees being sold but would like to make my own with fruit I select (not the companies varieties).

Our second choice for tree fruits would be cherries. Same as above.

The third choice would be pears (we have a 5-in-1 apple at our daughter's house so don't need one here).

First could you recommend a sturdy dwarfing root stock for each of the types of trees we are considering.

Second, I know the pears are pretty resistant to disease and bugs but how about the others.

Third, I have seen advertised trees that are small enough to grow in pots such as miniature peaches, nectarines, and apricots...are they worth the money? If so I do have space for several. Can you graft onto them?

Fourth, are the pole type apples any good? Not much variety it seems.

Oops, one last question (maybe) how many different types of fruit can I graft onto a dwarf or semi-dwarf tree without stressing the rootstock too much?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations you can give. Kim

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

denninmi
17 years ago
Kim, the only one of your questions I feel genuinely qualified to answer is the one about the columnar apples. I have the "Crimson Spire" "Scarlet Spire" and "Emerald Spire" apples from Stark's. Crimson Spire resembles a Delicious type apple in shape, but is more like Granny Smith in flavor. Scarlet Spire is a lot like Jonathan. Emerald is a lot like MacIntosh in flavor and texture.

I am quite happy with them. I got about 3/4ths of a bushel off of the Crimson Spire this past season, and about 1/2 off of the Scarlet Spire. The Emerald Spire is only 3 years old, got only 3 apples off of it, but I liked the flavor a lot.

I do think they're pretty good choices for limited space, and would also work well as a hedge, actually. The only "gripe" I have about them is that I planted the Crimson and Scarlet on either side of a porch, assuming they would be pretty similar in size and appearance, looking for "symetry" in the yard -- well, the scarlet is bigger, more open, and sort of rangy looking, crimson is much more compact and "formal" loooking. So, I have a mismatched pair in the landscape. Oh well, too late to do much about it, I just prune the scarlet spire to try to make it look more like the other one.

Dennis
SE Michigan
plant-one-on-me
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for the input Dennis. I have been looking at those trees for quite some time. They would go well in my yard since space is so limited. I was thinking along the fence next to the patio to block the neighbors a bit...I'm still going to consider gettin a couple.

Were you happy with the service from Starks? I've never purchased anything from them.

I should also say in addition to my questions above...
I was thinking of purchasing a tree on the dwarf rootstock and then grafting onto it. I have never done this before but have been reading extensively. Kim
Related Professionals
California Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Vicksburg Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Peoria Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Coldwater Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Wenatchee Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Montgomery Landscape Contractors · Augusta Landscape Contractors · Natchitoches Landscape Contractors · Frederick Landscape Contractors · Poughkeepsie Landscape Contractors · Huntsville Home Additions · Pensacola Home Additions · Baltimore Home Additions · Abilene Home Additions · Lubbock Home Additions
sautesmom Sacramento
17 years ago
I just started grafting last year, and while my apples and cherries "took", not one of my peaches or nectarines did, and I have since discovered they can be difficult to graft. I think pears or cherries would be easier for a first try.
My growing conditions are so different from yours that I don't really have useful rootstock recommendations, but I will say you might want to start learning to graft by buying a cheap tree at Home Depot or some such, and using its branches to graft onto. If the experiment tree will end up too big, you can give it away next year, and use the dwarfing rootstock you want.

Carla in Sac