Wanted to start a stooling bed with some of my root stock using the trench method. Here is a picture some of the rootstock I got in March this year. I’m in zone 6b. THANKS
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Hi Gary
Are these different apple varieties in the raised bed you wish to multiply?
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these are apple rootstock. EMLA111, EMLA26, BUD 118.I wanted more rootstock for the future.
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Got it! Do this outside of your raised bed so that you have adequate room to lay each tree down and pin to the ground in early spring just before buds swell. See this thread
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Thank you
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Good Luck! Trying this upcoming spring for the first time as well.
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Mind if I jump in here? I want to stool this old apple rootstock. We have been successfully been air-layering off of it but I would like to stool or mound it. What’s the correct process? Cut it back to maybe a foot and stool/mound over top of it several inches? if so, when is the best time to cut back? late winter, very early spring?
The apple tree that was there I carefully cut out with a chainsaw early this summer. I’m also in zone 6B
Thanks
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For those small shoots less than 1inch diameter all you have to do is bend them over parallel to ground, pin them down and cover the main stem and each limb with loose medium in spring just befor buds swell. The growing buds will grow vertically and each one can produce a rootable shoot if you keep mounding soil or growing medium as they grow.
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I should have said to not cover the buds, let them grow vertical, then add soil as the shoot grows vertically on a weekly basis.
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Same to you
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Any suggestions on what to use to stake the trees down? Have any pics of this at that stage?
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I found this you tube video helpful.
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Just use what you have! A large stone, a stake driven into ground
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Thanks for the tips! Yea that video was prob 1 the better 1s I found online. It’s like big nurseries don’t want people to know how to propagate their own rootstock for grafting. I can’t wait to see this spring if it works. I’m assuming they’ll grow out over the season, I’ll mound up the soil/saw dust etc. Then when they go dormant snip under the roots and plant out in the ground for the next season. Most likely would have to have it grow another season in its own in order for it to be used for grafting?
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Revisiting this post. When do you plan on bending down your rootstock? Do we wait till after winter when the buds start to swell, or at this point doesn’t matter when since the trees are dormant (NY)
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Would love if anybody doing any layering this year could take photos of their process, I will try to do the same and if I get Positive results hope my pictures can help somebody else out!
I used a 15g pot and got 8 M111 rootstock in 2023. Several were small and others were very thick. I had to work on balancing the shoots to get consistent sizes. This year I did a bit better and got 9 of more consistent sizes.
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Looks awesome, I hope I have the same results