Lockdown wrote:I’ve been reading and watching videos as I get time, and it’s surprising how complex it is.
For now I think I’m going to buy specific trees so I start with a good base and know exactly what they are and when they’re suppose to drop. However I’m getting mildly obsessed with the idea of starting my own rootstock and grafting my own trees. I get enjoyment out of doing things on my own from start to finish.
To give everyone an idea of how green I am, I had to look up the specific definitions of rootstock and scion. So you order a 5’ apple tree… is that deemed rootstock? I didn’t know. and I had no clue what scion was.
The main thing I need to research now is the best way for me to start my own rootstock. I read that the type of rootstock effects the size of your grafted tree. I do know two trees I’d like to graft from. My neighbors have an apple tree that is LOADED every year. Then I want to graft from the crabapple at the sugar patch as well.
I knew that when you grow an apple tree from seed you don’t get an exact match to the parent tree. But I’m curious if I can grow my rootstock from seed and graft on to it. The thing I like most is apple trees appear to grow quite vigorously.
I have a feeling this thread is going to last for years and years…
Give me a call. Lots of your questions can be quickly answered that way but if you like doing the research yourself have at it.
I would say there are 3 main rootstocks you want to consider for deer. B118 (I love this one), Dolgo & MM111. B118 & MM111 are reproduced by "stooling". Dolgo by seed.
Also, it's important to realize that apples don't usually drop when they ripen so don't assume the ripening date is when they drop. It may take weeks or months before they drop. Or they may even rot on the tree. Some can drop right before they ripen. Ripening dates also vary on where you live compared to where the nursery giving the ripening dates is located.
There are a lot of things to know.
Dunstan chestnuts were mentioned earlier. They are good but there are better tasting, more cold tolerant chestnuts than Dunstan. Their claim to be part American chestnut is a joke. Genetic testing showed they were something like 0.03% American chestnut. Or maybe it was a little more than that but it is a joke. They are also seedlings. Not grafted, so drop times will vary.