[nafex] Recommended rootstock for sweet cherry (long-term)
Steven Covacci
filtertitle at aol.com
Thu Feb 16 21:46:47 EST 2012
I'm about to order a number of self-fertile, crack-resistant sweet cherries (White Gold, Benton, Black Gold). My soil is moist, so drought is not a concern; neither is flooding. I want them on dwarfing rootstocks, but I'm concerned for the long-term results.
Firstly, I think that Krymsk will succumb to virus. As for Gisela, I'm going that trees on Gisela-6 will last a life time, and not runt-out. Maybe for the first years, I'll take the garden hose and spray the spring blossoms to prevent over-bearing as the rootsystems establish. It is said that once growth stops (i.e. due to over-bearing, etc.), growth may not again resume; also, that over-cropping will leave the tree low on carbohydrates reserved for winter-survival.
If Gisela is too much of a risk, maybe I should go with the traditional colt, mazzard, or other rootstock and prepare to climb the tree and keep it pruned to 18'?
Or should I chance the Gisela-6 solution?
Thank you,
Steve; NJ
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