Growing Rootstock from one you buy online question

General Fruit Growing
1

I looked here,

One year’s worth of growing rootstocks in the Nursey - General Fruit Growing - Growing Fruit

and

Grow Rootstock in Pot or In Ground - General Fruit Growing - Growing Fruit

I’ve also read online and seen pictures or drawings, but I want to be sure I understand.

I bought m111 roostock. Do I just plant it and cut it down to the ground (almost) and wait a couple of years?

Or do I let it grow tall and then somehow make the tree grow horizontal (what do you do, just cut it off and bury it and it roots??)

I want to graft to these I bought , but I wanted to grow some too. I bought these particular ones from One Green World. I think they are 1/4".

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most commercial plantings for stool propagation of rootstocks, plant them at a slight angle. Almost horizontal. That way, you get many side shoots on the original shoot. Instead of 1-2 with apical dominance. If you burry the horizontal shoot, the side shoots will root.

you could also prune it low. And do the “bucket” method, Basically pruning low. Lettings side branches grow. Pruning those back yearly. And putting a bucket/pot over the “crown” your creating where all the side shoots sprout from.

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3

See if there’s anything here that helps:

https://growingfruit.org/search?q=stooling%20rootstock

4

I planted out my dormant rootstocks and grew them for one season and then the following spring I did my grafting on the clipped rootstock at about 4-5 inches above ground level. It mostly depends on the diameter of the rootstock with the kind of graft I’ll do and the scions diameter also.

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5

How do you plant something horizontal?

6

you usualy make a small mound or hill. Usually if you plant them horizontal, the root part will have a slightly larger hill. Or you could also burry the whole plant. (shallow)

you could also “bend” them later. but i notice some rootstocks are already so thick, that they don’t bend easily, so i would plant them at an angle to begin with.

hope it helps.

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Yes. It helps. I actually found this guy, and he is doing it.

How to propogate the clonal root stock by stool layering. - YouTube

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Has anyone had much luck creating a stool bed with stone fruit? I have some plums and a couple Manchurian apricot which have failed grafts.

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Great topic! I have been searching for these answers as well. I have a few dialed grafts from last there that I will cut to the soil level soon, right as the tree breaks dormancy. From what I’m gathering this will send up new shoots from the roots. When they are a decent size I will apple saw dust around the base of them. This should cause the new shoots to push out roots of their own. The key I read is to keep the saw dust somewhat moist. I have not tried this yet as this year will be my first go at it. Anybody that has experience and would make suggestions any help is appreciated.

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from my limited experience (young stoolbeds) and extensive research (mostly apple rootstocks)

the new shoots, still come from a bud on a stem/shoot. Although roots from some species can grow a new shot. For most fruit tree’s (with pawpaws and probably others as exception) the shoots only/mainly grow from stems/buds.

The young shoots do usually root better when growing from below ground. So ideally you burry the stem/shoot of your rootstock. Or prune it low to make a “crown” from where shoots sprout, and than burry that crown with soil or saw dust.