MM111 or Bud-9?

[Bigmike1116]

@alan

Your original question has already been thoroughly addressed.

Just prior to your post, @zendog contributed a very thoughtful response regarding vigor rates for cultivars categorized as T1-T3 and how they are influenced by the rootstock (something I was completely unaware of) that will certainly affect my decision. I therefore disagree that the question has been thoroughly addressed. As I am new to apples, there could be other relevant information out there I’m currently ignorant of.

@alan

Some have complained about topics that morphed into entirely different subjects and Scott explained how you can stop being notified every time someone writes a comment to such a topic.

I’m not complaining. I’m just trying to provide additional information relevant to my needs. You are welcome to contribute whatever you want to the discussion. Frankly, I’m still discussing apples/rootstock and my needs/limitations in every post while this one from you seems squarely aimed at discouraging me from continuing to post, probe, and engage in the conversation. I would really like to remain engaged here. I hope that’s not a problem.

@alan

The app actually discourages members from starting a new topic that is related to an existing one.

Yes, I am aware the app discourages members from starting a topic related to a new one (it pops up when creating a new thread). Being that my question hasn’t been addressed before, I felt it was unique enough to justify its own thread… Instead of others where more generalist and broad reaching information may be appropriate like “Dwarf rootstock and dwarf fruit tree questions”

@alan

It seems to me to be a rare case where a fruit grower would limit themselves to one or the other so the answers to that specific question probably aren’t widely useful.

I would argue that the dilemma I face is widely useful – at least among beginners. When ordering specific cultivars of apples online, most of the retailers I have found limit the rootstock selections to just 1 or 2 kinds, maybe 3 tops. While bud-9 and m-111 are very different types of rootstock, they also seem to be quite popular in the nursery trade. I would expect many people like myself who want to do extensive research might have similar questions with similar limits to popular rootstock. Its not so much that I want to limit myself, just that I want to buy a product and grow it as is, and I suspect that there are a lot of other people getting started in the hobby who might be more interested in that conversation than in a solution that involves grafting or trying to track down a seller of a particular cultivar already grafted to a particular rootstock.

While there are solutions to my dilemma outside of the guardrails I have placed (i.e specific rootstock available, small size trees desired, and no need for additional grafting beyond what the nursery has provided) I would expect those guardrails to be common for a lot of people starting the hobby who would want detailed answers within those limitations.

@zendog

It if was me and I was limited to Bud-9 or M111 I would get anything listed as T3 on Bud-9 and anything T1 or T2 on M111 and deal with them via summer pruning.

Thanks so much for this info. I was completely unaware.

The cultivars I’m looking at are as follows. I tried to align each one to a vigor rating. do these align with that you were thinking?

Enterprise – T3
Red Royal Limbertwig – T3
Old Fashioned Winesap – T2
Arkansas Black – T2
Yates – T3

@zendog

Keeping the animals off the fruit is going to be essential. With this year’s drought, they are desperate and have stolen everything except my astringent persimmons and the apricots and blackberries I got at the very start of the season before the drought was bad.

pest pressure has been insane this year. I tried to leave out water for the animals (replenished from my drip system) but they still went crazy for so many of my crops (veg and fruit). hoping some of my late melons get out unscathed in the next few weeks.