Anyone know where to find Manchurian apricot rootstock (the zone 3 ones) at a reasonable price? I’m planning on trying to graft apricots again this year and cant find stocks for less than $10 (Burnt Ridge). Otherwise any cold hardy suggestions? I have a bunch of myrobalan grown from seed as well as the purchased ones that rejected their graphs which I will likely try again anyway.
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I grafted Apricots last year with over 80% take. Manchurian Rootstock and Scions all from Bob Purvis. What a gem of a guy, call him he will guide you the best.
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I second Bob Purvis. I got my rootstocks from him a few years back and they’ve been super vigorous.
Thanks- hope he offers them again this year (he did last year and they are strong)
I’ll third that option. I followed his bench graft apricot recommendations and had nearly 100% success. The rootstock he sends are also great.
I’ve had 3 apricots die after 2-3 years on Myro 29c. Have apricots on Manchurian survived long term?
@Matt_in_Pennsylvania have yours been ok?
We’ll see. I in general have not had good luck grafting apricots. When i plant stonefruit I burry the graft. Hoping that the tree becomes somewhat self rooted. Im so far north that I dont want any more dwarfing than my location already provides.
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The cots I had on Machurian rootstock were doing well until the divorce. I donated them to my sister. She grew them for a year, and then her and her husband decided to rip them out to reclaim that yard space, so the experiment ended there.
I think the biggest problem w/ cots is places w/ fluxuating warm spring temps and late cold-snaps. I could never grow them when I lived in central Maryland. They woke up too soon in spring warmth and sunshine, then got blasted w/ spring cold.
I have a single cot doing well on Lovell peach rootstock of all things. It is planted in NE Pennsylvania on a slope between two houses near the top of a hilly bluff facing northwest. It doesn’t get strong sun until May. By the time it wakes up, the winter is over. I have Tomcot, Ilona, and Lasgerdi Mashad budded on it. The tree is about 12 feet tall now but still lanky.
Below are photos of my first ever apricot successfully fruited and eaten- a small Tomcot: June 24, 2023.
Lots of spur growth on the tree now; here’s hoping for lots of cots next summer…
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Wow, those look beautiful! Love that red blush
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