Starting over again with the right root stock, growing them in raised beds with quality potting soil on the top, and uncovering the upper inch or two of the treeÂs roots to the open air, might make growing fruit trees possible for you. After losing several trees and rose bushes to oak root rot, armillaria, itÂs working so far for me. ThereÂs an unknown wild fruit tree that blooms, but never sets fruit, suckers, and thrives under the oak tree with the infection. The wild fruit tree is around 15 feet tall, has large black thorns. IÂm grafting some of its suckers with the scions and buds I want, and hope to replace the tree eventually with something that fruits. Uncovering the top root structure keeps it dryer, and makes it more difficult for the fungi to get established under the bark, run up the tree, and kill it. Also, fungus infections are very place specific. One plant will die all of a sudden, and all the plants around it thrive. I replace the dead plant with one in a large pot, half submerged. It thrives also, 90% of the time. The infection only seems to be in a small section of my back yard. There are claims about Mycorrhizal fungi "injections" of healthy fungi helping keep the plant overall healthy, and more resistant to deadly infections. Fungi infections are not easy to live with, but with a few adjustments, a productive home orchard may still be possible. Here is a link that might be useful: Oak root fungus on grapevines

According to St. Lawrence Nursery, which specializes in cold, northern climate fruits: "St. Lawrence Nurseries does not grow or sell dwarf or semi-dwarf apple trees because they do not have the hardiness, vigor, and disease resistance needed to thrive in our northern climate. So what Is "Standard"? Although the word âÂÂstandardâ implies that all apples grafted onto standard rootstock grow to be about the same size, this is not the case. For instance, Red Delicious or McIntosh seeds from cannery waste have often been used to grow âÂÂstandardâ rootstock. Growing in Zone 6 or 7, trees grafted to these rootstocks will often reach a mature height in excess of 30 feet, necessitating a 40-foot orchard spacing and long ladders. In contrast, Malus antonovka, a âÂÂstandardâ seedling rootstock, when grown in Zone 3 or 4 without pruning, will produce a 15 foot tree. (See photo p. 22.) The same tree can be kept at 10-12 feet by annual pruning. We use Antonovka for our apple rootstock. It is the most tried-and-true rootstock known, having been used for 500 years in Russia. Northern grown and well pruned apple trees on Antonovka rootstock are equivalent to âÂÂsemi-dwarfâ trees in size, yet still retain the necessary vigor to flower, fruit and become dormant within the time constraints of a short growing season." Here is a link that might be useful: WHICH APPLES SHOULD I CHOOSE?

Yes, mine's the acidic clay. Redsox, you're going to need to find out where the alkalin component of yours is from. Along the Mississippi and other major rivers there's a material called Loess, and it's wind blown river deposits that happened in the pleistocene (Ice ages and inter-glacials) and the river deposits were 'cemented' together by calcium deposits along plant roots. If you're on loess, road cuts through the loess erode back to vertical walls, regardless of how they are graded. If you're on reworked loess, then you've got calcium as a fine silt or clay size part of your soil (and it's much more avaiable to plant roots.) Dr. Huey should love those alkalin conditions. Unless they are too alkalin. Are there any folks nearby growing blueberries, mountain laurel, rhododendrons or azaleas?

Lux again, after considering everything, I think the failure of Marachal Niel' to thrive, might be the clone. Because in the same bed, and c. 7-8 feet on- center from M.N. is a 'Mrs. B.R. Cant' that was given to me as a house present in January 2013, it arrived in a gallon pot and was c. 8 inches tall by nearly as wide, now it has grown to be c. 3 feet tall by nearly as wide in less than 7 months. I had planned to keep it in that bed for a couple years until it grew to be about 3 feet tall until I had cleared a strip of lawn to move it to, but it's grown three times faster than I thought it would have done. I'm still moving Marachal Niel' to a rosebed that gets a couple hours of afternoon shade, because two canes are sunburnt at the top of the plant, The yellowing leaves may be due to using Epson salts,this year and last, a tip I read in an English rose book. I should have understood that a method and means used in England may not be a good thing to use in California, because our soil and climate is so different. Thanks again, Lux.