I’m planning on planting some apple trees at my cabin to replace ones that are dying. A few years ago some beavers dammed up our creek and completely altered the land surrounding. Now, an area where we had apple trees is very damp if not occasionally under an inch of water in the low lying areas. The apple trees are about ready to eat the dust. My question is what rootstocks might have a chance to survive? I can mound up some dirt and pick higher elevation areas. Is pacific crab the best bet? If so where can I source them from?
Burnt Ridge Nursery offers Swamp Crabapple. I have some apple trees in a swampy area. However, they were naturally seeded callery pears with Yates apple as an interstem. They are starting year 3, but there is high vigor and no apparent compatibility issues.
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All of the Polish rootstocks were selected for great roots and high resistance to rots
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I used P.18 in a section of my orchard that has standing water in the spring. P.18 was noted to be tolerant of wet feet. So far, so good.
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M111 will tolerate wet feet. Not constantly but usually the spring. I get a lot of rain and the area I have the M111 rootstocks have not had any issues with the wet feet.
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Maybe have a closer look at M111. We got 12" of rain and it didnt seem to phase apples on M111 at all.
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Here M111 and P.2 did very well in an extreme wet year.
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This is from the Washington State University page on Apples:
(MM.111)
“This rootstock produces a tree about two-thirds the size of a standard tree. Vigorous scion varieties and better soils may grow to three-quarter size or larger. EMLA 111 is a good producing rootstock, is well anchored and tolerant of drought conditions. It is widely adapted to most soil conditions. . A semi-standard, rugged apple rootstock. MM.111/MM.111 EMLA is a semi-standard rootstock, a cross of Malling 2 and Northern Spy that produces trees about 85% of full size. Its major strengths are pest and disease tolerance (collar rot, fireblight, and WAA), and its tolerance for heavy, wetter soils. It produces upright and vigorous trees that are cold hardy and self-supporting. Unfortunately, MM.111 is slow to come into production and it is not productive. It is quite prone to burr knots. Anchorage remains good in this scenario and productivity issues are resolved. Spur-type Delicious trees have performed well, and Tomato Ringspot Virus has not been a problem.”
I have a couple trees on MM.111. Most of my semi-standards are on B.118, which is fine as I have rapid draining soil and cold is more of a concern. So far I haven’t noticed any difference between the two, but It’s unlikely I would notice the feature set you’re looking for. I can tell you, MM.111 seems to fit the need for you the best, and its growth compared to the other trees around it, particularly the B.118, shows no sign of being different. I would still raise the ground up out of the standing water if possible, just to avoid rot.
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I have some trees in my nursery bed in M111. I’m wondering just how wet they can tolerate.
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Ours was sitting in 2-4" deep standing water for a couple of weeks. Plus other wet weeks.
Productivity of M111 is not all that bad after the 3rd production year either. Very respectable.
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How wet does it get and how long does it stay wet at a time? Standing water or just wet soil?
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The most misleading aspect of university guidelines about rootsocks is that there is a failure to address how much differently various varieties perform on them, especially when it comes to the issue of how long they take to bear. Goldrush, Pink Lady and a few other varieties often bear fruit the second year in my nursery on this and on M7.
Another thing, in my region, burr knots have never been much of a problem beyond the issue of root suckers. They are a huge asset for producing rootstock via stooling. You can even rip off suckers, stick them into the ground where there is good light, and turn them into rootstocks.
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After periods of rain, it can lay water about 2inches or so for a few days. Sometimes feet will sink about 2 inches when you walk. There’s some areas that are a little higher and don’t have standing water, but they they’re still pretty wet. That’s probably where I’ll plant most trees.
Give the M111 a try. We get rains like that and the one area I have about 6 of them in have been doing fine. At times ( like the two weeks ago) we get 4" of rain at a time. I have to wear boots if I need to be in that area after these types of rain. I have had these trees there for about 12 years now. None of those trees have died or been stunted by the amounts of rain and or the wet ground they are in.
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I think I’ll do that. There’s a couple spots we can’t even drive the mower through anymore or it will get stuck. I’m also looking for any plant suggestions that might help suck up some of the moisture.
I don’t know how much room you have for moisture removing plants, but hybrid poplar grows very fast and uses up avaiable moisture quickly. You do need to keep them well away from septic systems
Oh there’s plenty of room, it’s just near some power lines so I have to be careful with height.
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I believe had and lost a P.18 apple in wet soil planted in 2023. It was a very wet summer. I expected that area would be wet and specifically selected P.18. And it didn’t survive. But… just one experience.
I’ve since handled my wet areas with:
- Mounding.
- Adding wood mulch throughout the area as it seems to absorb the moisture and let it out slowly over time. That obviously won’t last forever, but it was nice while it lasted.
- Adding lots of cranberries and aronias (think: bulk order from Hartmann’s) around the wet area. They don’t mind the wet soil, they produce (semi-)edible fruits, and they soak up the water so my apple trees aren’t as wet.
This has worked plausibly well so far, but I’m early in my experiment.
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M111 and G214, plus much larger holes and more mulch than you would typically use.
I do not know of any plants that suck up moisture. There are plants that do not mind being wet at times. Prairie Nursery has plants for different types of soils and areas. They do have some that are more more wetlands if I am not mistaken. That may work in your area you are talking about.
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