I’m growing in containers bc my only gardening space is a roofdeck.
I’ve got a ton of fruit projects going on and am just having fun experimenting. But it’s true I only have so much space.
I learned about mini dwarf root stock and am wondering if using that is a better bet than a columnar tree or not. For example I’m looking at growing say a mini dwarf Liberty vs a columnar apple.
Thoughts/recommendations?
im going to be growing my apples at tall spindle style pruning in 5g containers/buckets. they wont be allowed to get that tall, though. 8’ at best. i can adjust their spacing to whatever i like. you dont really need a “columnar” bred variety.
Mini dwarf should have a smaller rootstock that would be happier long term in a container.
Look at some threads about M27 before going for anything on that rootstock:
Seems like B.9 would be a better bet.
I think the drawback to columnar apples is that there are only a limited selection.
If you can have a trellis of some kind you can try some espalier or an oblique cordon:
Columnar trees are available on different rootstocks as well (dwarf, semi-dwarf, etc.). You also don’t necessarily need a highly dwarfing rootstock—I’ve grown both dwarf and semi-dwarf trees in containers with great results. Trees grown in containers generally don’t reach the maximum height or width listed for the rootstock the way they would if planted in the ground.
If you have a preference for a particular apple cultivar, I’d go with that. If you’re less concerned about variety and more concerned about space limitations, then a columnar tree is probably the better choice. Pot size also plays a role, since larger containers will allow the tree to grow bigger while smaller pots will restrict its size.
Keep in mind pot culture was alive and well with the Victorian age. Who used French Paradise or Metz variants{M9 basically} for dwarfing stock.
There are lots of dwarf and even very dwarfed clonal or seedling varieties that will make tiny little trees. But Availability is near nil.
Commercially M27 and P.22 are the top available choices. Mark, P.2 and Bud9 are just a bit bigger. There was G.16 and G.65; but good luck finding them.
If it was me I would stick with the dwarf rootstocks so you have unlimited selection of fruit variety. You mention Liberty, an excellent choice for sustainable growing, this would work really well on M27 in a large pot. Ive used M27 and P22 for over 30 years and I tend to recommend the M27 unless your dealing with super cold winters where the P22 excells.
One thing to keep in mind is to try and match the rootstock to the variety vigor. There are many low vigor apple varieties that would yield a very, very small tree on the M27 / P22 level. A few that come to mind: Mother, Wynoochie, Discovery, Alkmene. Low vigor varieties may be better suited to rootstocks like EMLA 9, G935 or others in that area.
Nice to hear you’ve had luck with M27. Those other threads made it sound really… sad. Though I think it must also depend on the soil and growing conditions .
M27 primarily beats P.22 in fruit size. P.22 beats M27 in fruit quality metrics. Disease wise P.22 beats M27 in collar rots, root diseases, mildew and even has mild resistance to fire blight. M27 beats P.22 on WAA.
I looked into columnar trees. They look cool! The conclusion I came to was that it seems they mainly produce mediocre quality fruit, but your mileage may vary.
There seems to be a lot of conflicting information on that. Some sources seem to indicate a larger rootstock works well, and automatically dwarfed by the container size, but more resilient. For apples, I have Bud 9 up through M111, and guess I’ll learn a bit.
Ok I decided to go with Liberty and Hudson’s Golden Gem on EMLA 27 for apples, and to try Crimson Rocket columnar peach. We will see what happens! Of course now I see that you can get cherries on minidwarf stock also thank goodness that’s sold out bc maybe that would have gone in the cart as well.
Such a fun midlife crisis. Some people buy cars, I buy fruit plants off the internet.
I have a pair of M27’s I bought to play with. Putting Vystachone (a large Russian Sheepnose) on one. And Makino Crab on the other. Or maybe Burgundy Blush Crab. Heck I think I will just do both as Crabs.