wondering which rootstock would work best for me. I’m leaning towards Bud-9 as I can’t do ladders to harvest and can only harvest from the ground. I’m not sure if M111 could be pruned short or if there are any other factors to consider. no looking into any other rootstock at this time, so just looking for your thoughts about these 2.
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M111 is going to take longer to bear fruit and a lot more pruning to keep reachable from the ground.
Anything M.7 or below should be good. If you have cold weather, Bud-9 would be a good choice. It is not a world beater in productivity, but still has good productivity. They say it imparts excellent color to apples.
With the smaller tree sizes , such as Bud-9, you may have to have them staked all the time. Where as with the M-111 you have to stake them for maybe 3-4 years before having the stakes taking out. I have mostly M111 rootstocks. I have lots of wind, drought conditions, usually heavy rains in the spring. I know M-111 can take wet feet for a time. So the M-111 is the right choice for me. Most of the apple trees that are on M-111 are manageable from the ground and do not have to use ladders to get the fruit. I only have two apple trees on M-111 that are taller than I want them to be. I am going to prune them back this winter to make them more in line with the rest of my M-111 height trees. I believe it is the actual apple variety that is making them taller not the M-111 rootstock, if that makes sense.
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Not really bad cold weather where I am. Southern Anne Arundel county, Maryland zone 7b/8a.
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A few Novamac apples and my Novamac on B9… rather loosely trained espellar.
I prune it 2x a year… late summer… summer pruning… and then again late winter.
Very easy to keep under control height wise.
TNHunter
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Some factors to consider:
What variety are you planning to grow? How much fruit would you like to get from the single tree? How many trees are you planting? Tree training/pruning system (central leader, open center, etc).
They say Bud-10 makes a lightly bigger very good tree. Not everyone stocks it. They say it is very resistant to fire blight.
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8 yrs old M111 Cox Orange Pippin pruned as open center. All apples are in bottom part of the canopy, harvested from the ground. Tree has about 12ft height with about 15ft x 15ft footprint.
This M111 tree is comparable in size with trees on M7 and G210 trees planted at the same time and pruned the same way.
Edit: my tree just got some light summer pruning. Larger skeleton branches (some are marked with pink ribbon) are going to be removed this winter to prevent shading.
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In southen IL (7a), I favor MM111. We get a lot of wind and rain. I needed something that can have wet feet for a little while plus good anchorage.
This year I did a couple of MM111 rootstock with Bud9 interstem hoping for the best of both worlds. Consider keeping MM111 great root system with a dwarf BUD9 tree size. If you are already a grafter, it’s an easy transition.
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Likely Contenders are Enterprise, Red Royal Limbertwig, Old Fashioned Winesap, Arkansas Black, and Yates.
enough to enjoy. they will be my first apples but not my first fruit trees. less than a bushel and maybe more than 10 apples a tree?
Maybe 5 to start. Not going to do this anytime soon. still waiting for a bunch of my current trees to get further into production in the next year or 2 before I go down the apple path.
Just a small central leader, nothing complicated.
staking a small tree isn’t an issue for me, but didn’t know if M111 would lead to a heathier and more resilient tree (better drought resistance and could handle wet feet better). I have a clay/loam soil in MD. I don’t plan on spraying at all, and I expect my fruit will be far from perfect, but I still want my trees to have longevity.
I’m not a grafter and I don’t ever plan on grafting. The dealer I like sells trees on bud-9 or M111 rootstock so I’m looking for info on these 2 only. I won’t be doing an inter-stem graft.
My experience is similar to MikeC’s. I have clay loamy soil and it can be wet or dry like a brick. M111 trees have roots that anchor the tree better in my conditions. While they can still be pruned for harvest from the ground or with a pole harvester. Just force them to be wider than taller. I’m not getting on a ladder myself, but my back is even unhappier with bending down to harvest from my trees on dwarving rootstocks which kneel down in wet windy weather unless tied to a support anchored deep enough in concrete. Their roots are too short or shallow and get ripped out easily. The heavier fruit set the worse it gets.
From what I see in nursery offers, M111 are commonly used for columnar apple trees and they seem to be easy to keep in check. I’m getting a bunch of those this year to test how they do in my conditions. Maybe that could be an alternative for you.
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If you are planting for future generations to enjoy, then M111 is the choice to make. Long productive life with the ability to handle both wet and dry seasons over the years.
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I have a dozen varieties on MM.111. With moderate pruning, I can keep the trees under 15’. I can harvest most fruit by hand, on. a step ladder, or with a stick. So I think the height is manageable.
However, you may have a problem if you want more than 10 apples but less than a bushel. My most mature tree Enterprise produces at least a few hundred apples. I’d guess at least 5 bushels, probably more. Younger Rox Russet and Redfield produce at least 3 bushels. Compare and contrast these two Redfields, one a 6-7 year old on some semi-dwarf rootstock (I think MM.111), the other a 3 year old dwarf on G.41.
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I was thinking more than 10 and less than a bushel would be sufficient. I’m not against more apples.
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I just put in a question if Geneva would make G.778 available in the USA. It is basically MM.109 made right. No leaning. Highly resistant. Fruits early like a dwarf. Good productivity. IMO it would be something much better then M111 on poorer soils and heat tolerant.
It is getting great reviews in orchards abroad.
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Great and interesting information, but I’m not a grafter nor do I ever plan to be, so unless it is introduced and nurseries begin selling trees with it already grafted, it will be lost on me.
My little Novamac on B9 /espellar… in year 3… had 20 fruit on after thinning.
I expect with more age… 30-40 fruit would be possible.
The espellar makes it so easy to do everything you need to do… pruning, thinning, inspecting, harvesting… most of the work is being done at chest high or lower.
Your espellar could be setup to fit your specific needs.
TNHunter
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