G 30 doesn’t root well. So unless you’re using test tubes to grow the rootstocks, G30 isn’t as profitable to produce as the others…money, it’s at the root of a lot of decisions.
Some were discussing 969. I got 30 from Cummins last year and only got 11 to take. Its about par for my nursery which I think has a lot of fireblight pressure. 1-3 year mix, I’m at about 50% with m111, G890, G935, P18, B118 My worst so far is G11 at 20%. Z4
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Isn’t that the one with a reputation for brittle graft unions, that needs solid support for its life? I decided I didn’t want to try it for that reason.
Think I’ve heard it had poor connection when grafted to Gala ( the top selling apple now ).
And I snapped one off when I dropped a limb or something on it. But, I’d order G30 again for personal use as a M7 sized tree.
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No G30 doesn’t have a reputation for brittle unions. You are thinking of G41 I think. G30 may need support. It depends on how you train it, the cultivar and the age. For central leader trained trees they will be self supporting at some point. The tree bears really early for a semi-dwarf and the high crop load will mean it will need support for a period of time. But M7 needs support too in many cases.
A thread about G30 needing support-
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My experiences with Geneva rootstock. Planted 15 G202 trees in 2014. All have grown well. All but 2 (Hog Sweet and Hubberson Nonesuch) have fruited. Planted 8 G969 trees in 2015. None have impressed me. Small spindly trees but 6 of the 8 have fruited. Planted 7 G30 trees in 2016. All have grown well and are free standing but have not produced fruit yet. Planted 1 G11 on trellis in 2014 have produced fruit the last 2 years. Planted 1 G11 in 2015 free standing produced a few apples last year. Planted 4 G41 on trellis 2015 all have produced fruit the last 2 years. If I were to plant any more Geneva rootstock it would be G202. Your mileage may vary. 
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Hi. I don’t know if this is the appropriate thread on which to ask this question but here goes… Some of the Geneva rootstocks (g935 in particular) are said to be susceptible to latent viruses. Presumably this means that in the nursery they would need to be sure that their scion material was virus free. Does it also mean that if one wants to make a frankentree later in life by top working a tree grown on a virus sensitive rootstock, one would still need to be sure that the scion wood is virus free? Do viruses travel between branches and the roots?
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Huh, I had always assumed they would travel, but I guess that I don’t actually know that.
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I have not heard of a virus that was not systemic.
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Yes the scionwood would need to be virus free. G935 is not suitable for a frankentree since as home grower getting virus free scionwood is very difficult and for rare cultivars it is impossible to get certified virus free scionwood. Some geneva rootstock have this problem and some don’t. I would look at this chart since it covers virus susceptibility.
https://ctl.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/plants/GENEVA-Apple-Rootstocks-Comparison-Chart.pdf
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The more I read about the Geneva rootstocks the more I am not interested in trying out any more of them. So many sound like they are brittle and will break at the graft.
The problems I already have encountered with the few I am growing now enough to say “No thank you” to any more. I have wasted about 5+ years with them. Time to cut my losses and get different rootstocks to put in those spots the Geneva rootstocks are in now.
Splitting rootstocks above the ground, stunted growth, low vigor, scrawny branching. A growers nightmare.
Not trying to start a fight, but there has to be a reason that hundreds of thousands of Geneva rootstocks are planted each year. Commercial growers wouldnt continue to plant them if there were no benefits to them over bud or malling rootstocks.
I have trees on Geneva, Bud and Malling rootstocks, but am going to more Geneva stocks all the time.
Ive had grafted trees break, but not Geneva. There are freak things like derechos, that no one can account for. I dont think its fair to put breaks on the rootstocks when it wont withstand 100+ mile per hour winds.
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Thanks. I do have mental plans for a couple of trees that if all works well would have a couple of limbs of some other variety grafted on the primary scion. Although I am looking for ~ 8-12 ft trees, it seems best to steer away from the g935 and g814. Obliged. - Pete
If you’re going to grow rows of them, and stake and trellis them, and also run irrigation, and especially if it’s an old orchard site that the old trees have been bulldozed out…then Geneva roots are probably or even definitely what you want.
I agree the rest of us should proceed with some caution!
There are articles after articles of growers putting a lot of their orchards in Geneva rootstocks to have buyers regret about the performance of durability of the Geneva rootstocks. So like Blueberry said, most of us are proceeding with caution.
I’ve gone all in on G969. The data shows it to be exactly what I’m looking for. A free standing dwarf. I’m mostly growing heirlooms and cider apples. This spring I grafted 250 on G969 and about a dozen on G890. Almost all are whip and tongue.
So far it looks like 99% of my grafts took and are going into the nursery next week.
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Any update on G969? I’m curious about how they’ve held up for you in the last year.
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They’ve done well. They started off strong then slowed down, then later summer early fall they launched. I should have fertilized/fed them sooner. I have a spreadsheet I need to update with all the sizes for the different cultivars to show the performance. I bought more G969 to try on some new varieties. I also got some m111 for the more stubborn varietals. This spring I’m concentrating mostly on red flesh apples.
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