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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Rootstock Information Gap

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  • From: "Lon J. Rombough" <lonrom@hevanet.com>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Rootstock Information Gap
  • Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 10:28:16 -0800

FWIW, in Victorian England a method of dwarfing fruit trees was to dig down about three feet before planting, then put a very large flat paving stone in the hole. As the tree grew, it's roots were forced to grow to the sides rather than straight down. Then the grower would use a sharp spade to cut the roots to keep the vigor of the tree down, effectively dwarfing it. Of course if the roots weren't cut regularly, the tree would eventually become full size.
-Lon Rombough
Grapes, writing, consulting, my book, The Grape Grower, at http://www.bunchgrapes.com Winner of the Garden Writers Association "Best Talent in Writing" award for 2003.
On Mar 14, 2006, at 10:16 AM, Lucky Pittman wrote:

Sherwin,
I'm not in a position to comment on stonefruit rootstocks, but with
pomefruits, I've come to the conclusion that *I* will select
rootstock for its suitability to my soil and location, rather than
any illusion of 'size control'. After trying various dwarfing and
combo rootstocks, I've settled on good old M7 as the best choice for
apples in my orchard.
Ultimately YOU are in control of how big your tree becomes,
regardless of rootstock choice, but if the rootstock you choose for
dwarfing characteristics won't anchor, or cannot tolerate your soil
or moisture conditions, it's a moot point.
Judicious pruning - and particularly summer pruning - will go a long
way toward limiting the size and vigor of growth of a tree.

Have a look at the website below:
Dwarf Tree? But it's so BIG!
http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/all_ed/teds_head06_dwarf.html


Lucky Pittman

At 12:00 PM 3/14/2006, you wrote:
I spent a whole frustrating day looking for a peach tree on dwarfing
rootstock.
Granted, this is a new area and many of these rootstocks are still
experimental, but
shopping was made more difficult because of the lack of information on
what rootstocks
are being put on particular trees. The number of suppliers that specify

rootstock type in their catalogs and on the web has been diminishing. I
had one
supplier advertise a peach tree to be 7-10 feet high. Turns out it was
a full size
tree but in his area (Tennessee), they whack off the leaders to keep the
tree small.
I think fruit growers should somehow make this an issue with the
suppliers that
all fruit trees have a root stock specification, and better yet, a label
on all trees sold
to reflect that characteristic. Some of these suppliers don't even know
what
they are selling and frequently mislead the customers as to how big a
tree they can
expect to grow.
Sherwin Dubren


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