Jolene.
I'm not sure if you will find anyone who has tried this approach. Are you going to root triploid cuttings and then graft scion wood to it? Are you sure the triploids are disease resistant? Good luck, Bill

given that triploids are disease resistant and vigorous

I didn't realize this was the case Jolene. Are you sure about this? Williams Pride and Liberty are the two most overall DR varieties that I'm aware of and neither are triploid. Neither are most of the PRI introductions.

Are you talking about triploid rootstock? I've not seen anything about that. Tell me more.

Hi there Appleseed70.
After reading about how vigorous and large a Bramley'sSeedling can get, I thought it might help with weaker growing trees, to use it as rootstock.
I have read in at least two places, one in an article at Orange Pippin fruit trees, and another here at the link below, that triploids tend to have good disease resistance.
My idea would be to air layer a low limb (or few) on my Bramley's Seedling, get it growing on it's own roots, and then then make a stooling bed to get some more. I would like to see how it does compared to the original grafted tree. I would also like to see how something weak growing like Honeycrisp or Rubinette would do on the Bramley's roots.

I have several tripoids out there in the orchard, and they are growing like weeds. I'd just like to see if some of that vigor could be put to use growing other trees.

Large sized trees are not an issue here. We have plenty of room, and plenty of young men who can climb trees (and like to too!)

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/feeling-fruity/triploid-fruit-trees_62188.html

ok...I see now what you are saying. Yeah, that might be something worth investigating.

I think honeycrisp would be a splendid variety to try on seedling stock. If I had a farm or something I think I'd probably put everything on seedling stock. I love those big trees. One of the benefits of being a very late starting father is that I could have the kids do the picking when I'm too old..lol.

I have heard good things about triploids such as bramleys. I just grafted some this year and the grafts were extremely vigorous. Growing them as a rootstock sounds plausible because other trees appear to graft well to them. Stephen Hayes has an informative video on bramley apples. In the video he mentions that he top worked a good portion of his trees over because they are so widely grown in Britain. That sounds like a good quality as rootstock.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bramley

Jolene.

Someone has to be the first to test out a procedure. You may be on to something with this. My only triploid is a Jonagold. I grafted 4 scions of it onto one limb of existing trees 2 years ago. Its growth has exceeded all the other limbs on the tree to the point that I pinched the tips several time this season to balance the overall tree size. Good luck. Bill

I suspect that if you deny a triploid it's own leaves, it's vigor may not translate much through the wood alone. I assume you are suggesting using it as an interstem, I don't think it will be easy to start from cuttings, developing its own roots..

Brambley is not exceptionally vigorous here in the northeastern U.S,. based on my limited experience with it, as grafted on M7. Most disease problems are issues of leaves and fruit, so I don't think this wood could be very useful anyway.

I am eating some pieces of a Brambley apple in my oatmeal between typing sentences right now. What a great cooking apple! I have some in my orchard grafted on another triploid (I think)- Tompkins King. It is taking way too long to become fruitful and I'm eating fruit from a tree I manage elsewhere. Huge fricking apples.

This post was edited by harvestman on Fri, Oct 31, 14 at 11:36

My Bramley isn't as big as my Karmijn De Sonaville, Mutsu or Jonagold.

Getting them on their own roots shouldn't be that hard. Some nurseries propagate rootstocks from hardwood cuttings.

I guess nothing ventured nothing gained. Thanks for the feedback.

Harvestman. We didn't start late...but we kept going. We have 8 between 2 and 17. I think they make me old and keep me young. lol We all love the big trees.

If you know how to propagate most apple trees from cuttings you are way ahead of me. It can probably be done with the few varieties that tend to sprout leaf primordia on above ground wood. Gala and N. Spy are in this category, but I've not noticed the tendency with Bramley.

I've never heard of any nursery propagating major fruits, besides figs, by rooting cuttings, but a member of this forum has posted pictures of getting wood to sprout roots by attaching soil to small wood still on a tree and keeping it moist. Fruit trees are generally grafted onto the tree that is the rootstock, with apples, both parts are clones in most instances- seedling rootstock has fallen out of favor with apples.

Rootsock varieties are often of the type that can be propagated by stooling, which suggests they'd be easier than most apples to propagate from cuttings, but I don't even think they are conventionally propagated that way.