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Fruit & Orchards

Best apple rootstock for midwest

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I am in southern Illinois and want to put in about 10 apple trees, mainly disease resistant, good tasting cultivars. The more I read about each type of rootstock, the more confused I become. I am leaning toward dwarf trees just because of my age which is near 60. I would like to enjoy some fruit while I can enjoy it!!

Any ideas on M26, Bud9, vs Gll or the such? I am not opposed to staking the trees or whatever I need to do to anchor them.

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Comments (4)

Flagman
9 years ago
I would go with the bud9 if you want dwarfing. It will need staking.
bearrocks
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm in the same boat. 61 years old and starting an heirloom orchard. I decided to go with some of the new Geneva rootstocks. I planted G202 last year and plan on using G969 for this years grafts. Only plan on staking for a few years & they have good disease resistance. Google Geneva rootstocks and investigate what their have to offer.
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thefluffybunny
9 years ago
You really did not indicate how large you want your trees to get.

In the semi-dwarfing class:

Honestly, if you are in your logical last home, I would take the time to do it right. Ottawa 3 is the definitive rootstock for your area. It is in the 40-50% of standard class and has been extensively tested at U of I. That being said, while it is widely available in Canada and Australia I cannot find a source for the U.S. anymore. However that has never deterred me before. You can always graft a scion onto standard rootstock and layer it out.

As I mentioned it performs very well in your area and getting the right rootstock for an area is a large part of the battle. It is also precocious as heck.

In the dwarfing class:

If you want true dwarfs and will water when needed, it is hard to beat M27/EMLA27 rootstocks. They are precocious as heck, they do well in your area and are small enough that you can have a diversity of apples.

Ultimately I would suggest you combine these two ideas. Trial out the varieties you want for taste etc on M27 class rootstock and in the meantime, find or grow out some Ottawa 3 to graft the winners to. At that point you can cleft graft your M27s again with new varieties to try our. You never know you may find something you like better.
flowerchild59
Original Author
9 years ago
thanks for the information.

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