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  • From: list@ginda.us
  • To: NAFEX <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] What apple rootstock?
  • Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2004 18:37:42 -0400

Changes, changes. My next door neighbor sold his house to a developer, who has cleared the land and is in the midst of removing the hill to create a "level lot" at street level. The land slopes up away from the road, and it looks like I may have a 10-15 foot retaining wall at the back. That is, I will be at the top of a cliff. I will also suddenly have an additional bit of land with direct sun for at least part of the day. His land is roughly west of mine, so it is afternoon sun.

So I thought I might put in a apple tree or two. I will certainly try an Ashmeads Kernal (my family's favorite, and hard to obtain around here) and maybe something else. I'm tempted to try a Karmijn, although I've never tasted it.

Any advice on rootstock for this less-than-ideal spot? The land has excellent drainage (water and air) and there is perhaps 6 inches to a foot of fluffy humusy soil mixed with rocks over a light subsoil which is also heavily mixed with rocks. This is New England, after all. What was growing there before the developer cleared it (long story, but he cleared a patch of my land, too.) was oak saplings, sickly blackberry (an orange fungus), blueberry, and ivy. So I assume the soil is acidic, although I haven't actually tested it. There are also some wild crabs a little further back, in the backyard neighbor's plot, and some chokecherry. This is in eastern Mass., zone 6 in the winter, and rarely into the 90s in the summer. We usually get ample rain, although I need to water new stuff to help them get established (especially up on the well-drained hill.)

I am going for low maintenance, and fully expect to get wormy fruit, which is okay. I eat wormy untended fruit at my uncle's place every year, and it is better than no fruit. We have deer, so I don't want anything too small - I'd prefer if there was fruiting tree out of their reach, as I'm not going to be able to keep them away forever. I'm willing to amend the soil and tend it (them) for a couple of years, but after that I'll probably leave it to its own devices. I've never heard of fireblight locally, but we have tons of scab and some cedar-apple rust.

I know this is not the ideal spot, but it's what I have, and I'd like to use it. Any advice?
Thanks,
Ginda Fisher




  • [NAFEX] What apple rootstock?, list, 10/08/2004

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