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Fruit & Orchards

Standard or semi-dwarf apple trees?

16 years ago

I've been doing some research and trying to determine which would be better - I want to get 2 apple trees, but don't know if I should go with standard or semi-dwarfs. I'm in zone 4 (maybe zone 5 with the new hardiness zones), but we often have very strange winters (we'll go from extreme cold to unseasonably warm weather, for example). I lost my apricot tree this year after it got too warm, and then turned cold again. I've read various things about semi-dwarf trees not being as hardy as standard trees, but then other places it will list semi-dwarfs as hardy to zone 4. St. Lawrence Nursery puts forth a the case that a standard on Antonovka will be equivalent to a semi-dwarf in zone 3-5 with proper pruning:

http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/apples.html

I also have clay soil, if that makes a difference . . .any input would be appreciated : )

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Comments (3)

kurtg
16 years ago
I don't have much cold experience here, but have read that some of the east european rootstocks were much more cold hearty than the traditional east malling (M and MM)series.

I don't subscribe to the prune to keep in size theory. The appropriate rootstock plays as large a role as proper pruning.
K
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the reply. I've been looking at ordering from Raintree and they use the EMLA26 for the semi-dwarf apples I'm looking at. I found this description of it:

"EMLA 26
Dwarf, Zone 4-8 (EMLA9 x EMLA16) Introduced by East Malling in 1969
Mature Height 10-12ft.
Introduced as a virus free replacement for Malling 26. Rootstock stem piece develops large burr knots, so trees should be planted with the union a few inches above ground level. Good in areas with frequent spring freezes, due to its delay in spring bud development. EMLA 26 is considered shallow rooted and therefore subject to drought stress. It has little tolerance of heavy, excessively acid, or unusually wet or dry soils. Not resistant to collar rot and is subject to fireblight. Generally it is free standing (not require staking), but with heavy fruit set can lean in very windy areas. The advantage of this rootstock is an early, heavy production of quality fruit."

With the part about little tolerance of heavy soils, I'm even more in doubt about trying it here. I do have room for standard trees, but would prefer not to have 30ft apple trees if I can keep them a bit smaller. Does anyone have experience with these rootstocks in a zone 4 environment (and maybe even with clay soil?). Or some other suggestions? The varieties I wanted to get were Honeycrisp and Ashmead's Kernel.
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Hi debstuart1- That's correct. You want to plant the tree at least as high as the original soil lineÂ otherwise roots can form above the union down into the soil which effectively removes the benefit of having a (semi) dwarfing rootstock. The reason to plant it even higher than the original soil line was talked about by Harvestman (see post below) today: Often the trees will sink a bit in their new hole, especially if it was dug too deep. Also, you'll be adding mulch on top of the soil, which, year after year, becomes a slightly higher and higher soil line. Make sense? -Glenn Here is a link that might be useful: Have you expereinced scion rooting
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If you are routinely getting mostly good apples without spray then you are an exceptionally lucky guy. If it were really that easy none of us would waste the time money and energy spraying our trees. Around here, the feral (unsprayed) trees will frequently yield some nice apples, some more so than others. But it rarely adds up to much. 90+% of the fruit will be damaged by insects and disease. If they are not hit too bad, some of those damaged apples can be eaten right away with a bit of carving, and they are great for cider. But you can't store them. and the "passable" ones will still account for under 50% of the yield If you want a consistent supply of clean fruit then you will almost certainly need to deal with spray or bags or both. DR cultivars might reduce the number and types of treatment you need. If you plant a whole bunch of trees and then do nothing to treat them, you may also find that your "old reliable" trees stop giving you any good fruit because your pest/disease pressure is going to rise exponentially from all the new "forage" you supply.
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I'd avoid M26 and MM106 as crown rot may be a problem in your area on poorly drained soils. Where fireblight may be a concern, rootstocks like M7 that sucker will allow a point of entry for fireblight. Also avoid fireblight susceptible varieties grafted on fireblight sensitive rootstocks such as M26 or you will be asking for trouble. Myself, I'm going with Bud 9 for those I'm planting near my house. The rest will be MM111 where I won't be able to water regularily and wind is a problem. My third choice would be M7. I wasn't able to get any of Geneva 11 or Geneva 30 which would be my first choices. Geneva 16 is noted for its sensitivity to latent viruses. Cummins nursery seems to have the best choice in rootstocks especially if can wait till 2010 as they have posted that list now. But I'm sure, you are like me and won't them ASAP. I've got trees and scionwood coming from many places. So far what I've planted this fall have been good looking stock. Better than what I received last spring from some of the same places.
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FIW, the highest leaves in my well-watered, mature avocado and cherimoya trees got fried in that freak heat spell. I've never seen that before. .... Sorry about your apple. Al is correct. Chances are that fuji will recover. You may want to ask in the Fruit & Orchard Forum. I think I'd wonder how to tell if the tree has had such a bad set back that its future production will be compromised. Might want to cut your losses and replace the tree. Here is a link that might be useful: Fruit & Orchard Forum
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kurtg
16 years ago
The ones I was referring to were the Budagovsky "BUD" series either B9, B490, or B118. I also heard of a "Vineland" (V1) series developed in Canada, but I am not familiar with any nurseries selling stock.

I have trees on M26 & B9. I didn't think M26 was all that cold hardy whereas B9 is. It is a more dwarf tree that needs support (M26 does too in large part)

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