Question on finding dwarfing rootstock for grafting zone 7

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bhmclane Carney, MD Feb 22, 2013

Hello,
I am new and trying to get off on the right foot before starting some ambitious plans here. I intend to plant 9-12 dwarf fruit trees and bushes as that is all i can fit

step one was identifying what will grow easiest in my zone. (lets leave lemons for later ;) If I accept Mr Smiths opinion, he gives in "Scott’s Guide To Easy Tree Fruits for Baltimore " .pdf then I will be looking for :

Asian persimmon
Fig
Jujube
Pomagrantane
Paw Paw
Asian Pear
Euro Pear

he lists others but is what I am interested in.

Outside of the easier stuff is apples/quince/medlar family and the peach/plum family.

My questions begin at step 2 here...

Dont we need to get the variety we choose on a rootstock appropriate for our zone (in this case zone 7a)? Unfortunately he does not mention what stock is preferred for ANY variety. Nor is the author a fan of multigrafting...

So then once we have found our hardy dwarfing roots stocks we would want to pick the one that will accept the most varieties via grafting. that is my current mission to find if anyone can tell me.

The spawing question is:

If i am able to find an apple root stock that is dwarfing, pest and disease resistant, and able to accept a few varieties as grafted scion then I would have a tree with 4 diff apples, lets say...So even tho the root stock is not compatable with any more than the 4 we found, can we continue to graft other compatable varieties on the 4 original grafted branches.?

I will begin year one by planting my choice variety on this prefered root stock and will spend years achiving my goals, but I hope starting right with some science will avoid the disappointment other may have experinced.

Thanks for opinions both positive and negative!

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Doug9345 Durhamville, NY(Zone 5b) Feb 25, 2013

Starks Bros sells a five variety apple although I don't like most of the varieties on it. I don't know if they still exist or sell the five variety tree anymore. As far as far as I know any apple variety is compatible with any rootstock. I don't see why an apple tree would have problems with more than four varieties other than a dwarf is going to have limited limbs to graft to. This link talks about one guy that finally ended up with 165 varieties on one tree. All rootstocks will be hardy in Maryland and I think you have enough cold weather so any variety will fruit.
This site give a good overview of the various root stocks for apples.
http://www.orangepippin.com/resources/general/apple-rootstocks

Another one. Cornell developed the Geneva series of rootstocks. They have various disease resistances.
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/ecogardening/appleroot.html

Before I got carried away with huge numbers of grafts on one tree I thing I would use one of the very dwarf rootstocks.

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