I have done some research on stool beds and even asked a question on here. I have a few failed grafted rootstocks from last season in buckets that I am looking to chop down to ground level and pray I see some results. Before I do that does anybody have suggestions or tips on what I should do? I’ve done all the YouTubing etc but nice to have people with experience commenting on the subject.
If the rootstocks look alive, you could just graft onto them in the pots a second time. Otherwise, you could transplant them to a garden bed, let them grow this year, and then next spring cut them down to an inch or two in height, and try to make new rootstock with the shoots that grow back next season…so you can have them ready for harvesting for use in spring of 2025. That is a lot of work, though, unless you are planning to need a supply for a number of years, and can wait a couple to begin…
I would just graft onto them again, if they are alive, or buy bundles of rootstock from TRECO, or Willamette for under $1.50 each.
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Thank you for your response! I plan on trying to re graft a few but I’d love to propagate my own rootstock! Hate paying for them if I learn how to make my own.
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I had good results in my stool bed last year with sawdust mounded around the base and I intend to harvest those this spring. I would recommend you let your root stocks establish for a year before you cut them back and don’t mound sawdust around them until you have some new shoots tall enough to have the base buried while still having some stem and leaves above that.
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These are failed grafts from last year so their roots should be pretty established. Just debating if I should try the drooling in bigger planters or directly in the ground!
Put them in the ground, and mulch around them to suppress weeds. Let them grow for a year or two before harvesting shoots. Compost or fertilizer will help them push more growth once they are established. Good luck!
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I am located in southern N.Y. Can I plant in the ground if it is dormant? They have been in the containers all winter. Rather them in the ground anyway.
I took some roots I got last year and put in 5 gallon pots, cutting them back to ground level.
Then as year passed, cut the bottom out of another pot an put it over (into) the first pot.
Got a couple ‘free’ roots that I grafted in February already. If I’d filled the second pot in a more timely manner using better material rather than mulch…I expect the results might have been much better. I’m continuing the experiment.
I also have a half dozen various roots from failed grafts in years past I’m considering “planting” and then mounding chips or mulch around.
But, some I may end up grafting instead…51 grafts so far and about out of rootstocks – though there are more on order.
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Has anyone ever planted a rootstock horizontal and had good results stooling that way? Thinking i might try it with a couple of mine this year.
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I killed an apple I was trying to establish as a stool last year by planting it horizontally. In the future I’ll just plant at an angle at the most.
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Because Geneva 30 pushes less new shoots than most stocks, I have thought of trying your idea. I also think laying Budagovsky118 on its side might make enough shoots annually that one would suffice in my case.
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You might try laying it on top of the ground, then dumping some soil on top of just the root.
As shoots come out along the top (along the horizontal) you could gradually add some soil so the original trunk is burried, and I think that might be successful.
Thinking of trying that myself on a couple.
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Anybody have pictures of their past attempts? YouTube only has a handful of videos but nice to at least talk to people who have tried this.
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I would follow both Blueberry and Johann’s advice! I plan to stool a mulberry this spring, so I am waiting to see which one of my four rootstocks have the most active live buds, that will be the one I stool, and I will graft the others.
Dennis
Kent, wa
Good luck
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If my stool bed wasn’t buried in snow I’d go take some pics for you
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I grafted 50 Bud 118 a few years ago and planted them all in a nursery. The following spring I dug them up and transplanted them into the orchard. For each one I dug up a little over a square foot of soil, and left it on the rootball. The nursery did not stay empty long as new sprouts came up all over from the roots left behind in the soil. I let them grow for a year and then graft to them. I’ve got about 20 ready for grafting next month.
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Super. Thanks for sharing. I’ve tried snipping roots and stems and failed. Nature took over for you sounds like Congratulations and thanks.
I was poised to have a good stool bed going a few years ago. Then in spring I went to check on them and saw voles had completely girdled at least 50% of them. They did s number on my nursery bed as well this year. Hoping when I move they wont be as bad at the next location.
If it’s wild morus alba, you don’t even need to stool. The things root like figs cuttings here. Some morus rubra do to varying degrees. Many mulberry cultivars sans a few like IEB are easily rooted with cuttings.