Colorado Honeycrisp - Root Stock?

General Fruit Growing
#1

Looking to plant a honeycrisp near Denver 6a (I’d consider it 5) and could use some recommendations on root stocks that work well here. I had a young honeycrisp at my last house, and the fruit it bore was delicious. No idea on the root stock.

In addition to the weather and late cold snaps, fireblight is one of our bigger challenges. Drought tolerance is also desired.

I am thinking of a semi-dwarf for manageability and longeity, though if there are dwarfs that sustain and produce well in these conditions, I’d be all ears.

Thanks in advance!

#2

Im hesitant to give advice on apple rootstocks here because i have not found a great smaller semi dwarf. The geneva’s are strange and its kind of hard to rate them.

MM111 is amazing and standard works amazing. Do not go full dwarf here but smaller semi dwarf will grow like a dwarf.

Thinking you are in 6a will lead you far down the wrong path you are in a summer of 100 degree dry heat and a zone 5 of snap frost even on the lightest of winters.