I have a vision, maybe folks here can help me make it happen.
My dad has a home in Roscoe, NY. It’s zone 5B. Roscoe is in the Catskills so we have some good rocky soil. We’ve got a short little driveway with an open grassy area to the right that faces east and south. It’s got a slope, so there’s some pretty good drainage. I’d love to plant a row of cherry trees on this side of the driveway. I was thinking of Putting down some Mahaleb rootstock and grafting on black gold cultivar. I read that Mahaleb rootstock has some incompatibility with some sweet cherries. Anyone know if it would work with black gold or Stella?
Any and all additional advice would be greatly appreciated
Thanks for the idea. Any recommendations on cultivars? I have a Stella that I can get some buds from. I also like black gold based on what I read. Any other recommendations? Also, I read that the mahaleb rootstock is not compatible with all sweet cherries. Are any of the cultivar as I mentioned above a concern for grafting onto mahaleb rootstock?
Geisla, hands down. One commonly available type can stand on its own roots, the other needs staking, check ACN catalog as they carry cherries on both. Cherries bear heavier and much younger than on Mazzard and even the free standing one is much less vigorous. I’ve never grown cherries on mahaleb that I recall, although I may have a long time ago.
With mazzard you really have to keep pulling branches down to get a low and productive tree and the process takes a decade.
I am thinking about starting these root stocks up in pots and then transplanting when the time comes. I will be planting them at my dads house up in the Catskills. If I keep them close to me at home, near New York City, I will be able to keep a closer eye on them and make sure they are taken care of.
Any downside to doing this?
What size pots do I need to use?
Can I just use putting soil? I’m starting with 20 rootstock.
