North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Dave Griffin" <griffingardens@earthlink.net>]

Heron,

> Will Prunus americana accept and fruit peach or apricot?

I have Madison, Bailey and Hardired Nectarine on P.a. and all are doing
well. Other hardy Asian peaches that I seem to have difficulty getting to
take on conventional stocks, including peach seedling,  almost seem to take
and do better on it, although this is conjecture projected from a very few
cases. Canker finally got my old Bailey planted in 2000 which was on P.a.
The bud union was buried but no scion rooting occurred in spite of
favorable conditions (mulch) for it, which would seem to indicate that
there was good compatibility. Lots of suckers on P.a. I've never tried
apricot.

>  One thing is certain after this winter: Peach rootstock suffers near
total die 
>  back here in the zone 4 region of Maine...

Siberian C derived seedlings do very well here in Zone 4a central MN. My
best survival again last year was with hardier cultivars budded 18" high on
SibC derived seedling rootstock. 

>  The same goes for Prunus cerasifera rootstock....

Try Prunus x Cistena, also sold as purple leaf sandcherry/plum, a zone 2
sandcherry x cerasifera cross from N.E. Hanson. I've had good compatibility
with peaches, cots, and Euro plums. There are reports that fruit size is
slightly smaller and I don't think there is any enhancement to hardiness as
PxC grows too long into the fall for early senescence - something it gets
from its cerasifera parent, I suppose. Its hardy itself though and has good
roots. Nothing I have on it has fruited yet.

> Overall, if you had a moment, please share the stone fruit
rootstock/scion combos 
> you've experimented with!

Euro plums on P. triloba did well through their first winter last year.
I've hear that this works for cots and I want to try it with peach this
year. 

Dave