I have both dwarf and semi-dwarf apple trees. They are about 10 years old. No problems so far. I planted them because I wanted to be able to pick all the apples on the tree which is impossible on older standards. They also begin bearing earlier. I believe though they are not as long lived as standards. My mother has some that are about 25 years old.

Best recommendation is to talk to the MN Landscape Arboretum about varieties. Dwarf trees DO have a shorter lifespan (eh... 3 years to get going and 10-15 yrs of decent production tapering off thereafter) semi-dwarfs are debatable as rootstocks vary so much, they could produce 20-40 and then taper. Semi-dwarf trees are generally stronger and would be my recommendation. Make sure you get stock grown at local (MN, ND, SD, or WI) nurseries!

-Marie

Nick,

There are pros and cons and it depends a great deal on the specific dwarfing rootstock and on the specifics of your site.

In general, in the warmer part of the state, most of the customary rootstocks are cold hardy. If you are north of 94 or have a windswept site where snow cover doesn't accumulate then rootstock hardiness does become a concern. Also, further north, up around Bemidji, the growing season is enough shorter and the summer temps lower enough that you're really better off with a more vigorous rootstock.

My father had a home orchard when I was growing up; I have one of my own now. His trees were semi-dwarf (a tradition he's continued since moving to a nicer place, though he only has a few trees now). Mine are standard.

The main problem with semi-dwarf trees for home orchardists is that they have problems with anchorage and you can easily lose a tree in a windstorm. This is much more of a problem for small orchards since the larger block plantings typical of commercial operations tend to provide some mutual protection from wind among the trees. Similarly if you are a commercial orchardist and have 300 Haralsons it's no big deal if you lose a couple each year while if a home orchardist loses a tree that usually means loss of that variety until a replacement tree matures.

Semi-dwarf trees are generally too large to anchor or trellis effectively.

We planted our trees in 1999 and are getting the first sizable crop this year.

If I had it to do over again I would plant standard trees but also plant some full dwarfs at the same time in between them to provide fruit until the standards came into production. The full dwarfs have to be staked but it's easy to do because of their small size.

Many fruit tree hobbyists graft their own due to the high cost of nursery stock and the difficulty of getting the rootstock and variety desired. It's not hard to learn.

Also, there's a nursery that specializes in rootstocks and fruit trees for zone 2. Perfect for the cabin.