I got some free apple rootstocks from Home Depot a week or so ago. Here’s how I did it.
Around half the potted apple trees at our local Home Depot have small suckers growing at the base.
An employee working in the garden area gave me permission to remove and keep some of the suckers. (Of course I was careful not to damage the trees.) The suckers are now growing in pots in my yard. They will probably be big enough next year to use for grafting (or so I would guess).
The apple trees are marked as being “semi-dwarf.” At the time I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to look for rootstock information (although there typically isn’t any) or see how the nursery was, as they can often indicate which rootstock was used. My suspicion is that it’s M111 rootstock.
BTW, our local Home Depot will usually sell damaged bags of garden soil, mulch, sand, potting soil, etc. for 50% off and sometimes 70% off if the damage is especially bad. This can be a good way for people on a budget to obtain these items.
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The rootstock is indeed M111. There was a nursery employee tending the trees when I dropped by Home Depot recently and she confirmed it. She said it’s part of her job to remove suckers and she hadn’t had time to do that recently, so she was very happy for me to de-sucker the trees.
While some suckers came off with no root, I was able to get some roots with at least half of them (while being careful not to damage the tree’s roots, of course). It looks like two-thirds or more will end up surviving, with the best rooted ones having the highest survival rate, naturally.
Home Depot had what are normally $11 or $12 bags of potting soil on sale for $6 each. I found some damaged bags and got them for half off, making them $3 each. (This info may be helpful for others on a budget.)
There were some trees that had died (not leafed out) that were going to be thrown out. I asked if I could have them as I could use the pots and potting soil. Unfortunately their company policy prohibits this, even if one is careful to remove all the stickers that might identify the trees. (They don’t want people fraudulently returning such trees for a refund, which is understandable and is why I suggested removing all the stickers / other identifying info. It’s still not allowed, however.) Oh, well…
For anyone interested, here’s an update on how I’ve been dealing with the rootstocks and how they are doing.
As they were small, I usually planted a half dozen or so in a pot of about a gallon or so. As I wasn’t sure if some had enough roots to properly support their leaves, they went into a mostly shady area and were watered very regularly to help them develop a better root structure before being moved to a sunnier location where absorbing enough water into their root system would be more of an issue.
It’s been a few weeks now and most have survived.
I have noticed that quite a few lost some of their lower leaves while the upper leaves have remained intact. I’m not sure why this is.