I have a peach seedling I got in a trade. Not sure what it might be, other than it survived in a large pot for the last 18 months, so looks like I should use it somehow. I know nothing about peach at all- will this likely be suitable as a rootstock for something else like apricot or plum? I could either keep graft above soil line, or allow grafted variety to root itself. Questions are- am I setting myself up for a huge tree, disease I can’t work around, something else? And what fruit should I graft for mid-Maryland area? Do I need two of something?
You can graft apricot, J plum onto peach seedings. You can let peach seedings grow peaches too. I currently have three mature peach seedlings in the yard. One produces better looking, better flavored peach than my other nursary bought cultivars. But the fruits on other two are not as good. I had another peach seeding prior. It suddenly died in spring on its fifth year. There are always uncertainty involved using seedings as rootstock or let grow into a productive tree.
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Needing 2 varieties for pollination depends on what you graft. If you stay with peach you shouldn’t need a second variety. And agree with IL847, you can graft or let it grow. Tree size can be hard to predict from a seedling, as is disease susceptibility. A bit of an experiment!
Most peach seedlings will be predictable in size. In good soil with good very good soil drainage, good care, the tree will grow about 25’ tall, if left unpruned. It’s fairly easy to keep peaches contained with heavy pruning. You can search BYOC on this forum for guidance on how to keep your peach trees small.
There used to be a variety called compact Redhaven, which started as a seedling of Redhaven. It produced a smallish tree. I’ve read that it’s not uncommon for Redhaven seed to produce a compact Redhaven.
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Vanwell Nursery uses “no name” peach seedlings as rootstock for peaches. There trees have consistently done better for me than trees from other nurseries on named rootstock (Lovell, Bailey, etc.).
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