I live outside of Richmond VA, in zone 7b. My soil is anywhere from 2" to 2' of nice soft loam on top of who knows how deep clay.

This is my first year here, so I'm not real sure whether or not this is normal, but this winter was very wet, and the yard was very squishy for a good chunk of the winter. We had standing water in some places for quite a bit of time.

I've heard that fireblight is a big problem around here.

So, I'm looking for rootstocks that are fireblight resistant, ideally dwarf or semi-dwarf, that can handle the ground staying a bit wet over the winter.

Any suggestions?

Few nurseries sell the newest rootstocks and to get selection I would stick with the tried and true ones. For you that probably means M7 or MM111. Avoid MM106, it is water adverse, and avoid M26 and M9 due to firelight problems. The newer Geneva stocks are better if you can find them but as long as you avoid the above bad ones it should not matter so much.

Scott

Onegreenworld has M7 for $2.50 each in the volume I'm looking for (lets say $3.50 shipped), so that certainly works.

What do you guys prefer for scion sources? I'd like to graft my own trees if possible for the experience, etc.

Maple Valley has a lot of apple scions. I got nearly all mine from Nick Botner but last year was his last year in business. Richard Fahey is another good source, write him for list. I just heard that Hocking Hills Orchard is selling scions, they have 700+ varieties. Fedco also sells scionwood. Seed Savers now has a good apple selection; you need to pay to join first though. There is a list somewhere in this forum of other places.

Scott

Edit: I just noticed that Seed Savers redid their website, they now have a lot of apple pictures up. It looks like they have 850 varieties of apples now. Their prices are $40 to join and $5 per stick.

You can also find a few Geneva rootstocks at Grandpas Orchard and Raintree, though they are a bit more expensive and with fewer options. James Cummins, the founder of Cummins nursery is one of the Cornell researchers involved with their development, so it makes sense that he would specialize in them...

Here's my favorite rootstock chart. If you want semi-dwarf, G202 looks pretty good. For a smaller tree G11 or G41 seems good. For a tiny tree, G65.

I've got a pasture that the previous occupants fenced off. I think they misread the deed/survey, and put the fence up 16 feet from the property line. There's an easement that's 16 feet wide, but only half of it runs on my property, so basically there's 8 feet of utility/drainage easement, then 8 feet of just empty space, and then the 6 foot horse fence.

I'm planning on putting sheep in the pasture, but i've basically got a 8' by 325 feet area between the easement and the fence where I'd like to put some trees. The area runs east to west, and the pasture is on the south side, so it gets full sun.

I've seen no research to convince me of the general superiority for home growing, although this may be ignorance on my part. 111 is generally the best rootstock for home growers that I use. M7 will often blow over in wet soils- often when trees don't even have fruit in the fall- this is more than an occasional problem and most often comes into play when you think trees are well established and bearing full loads of fruit. It is not a problem with the more vigorous and later fruiting varieties, however.

Is there a Geneva rootstock as efficient at pulling water from dry soil and also surviving wet conditions as 111?

From my reading, where the Geneva's are mostly being touted is in commercial production on the more dwarfing rootstocks.

Cummins himself considers the main advantage of 30 over 111 being the lack of burr knots, but burr knots have never been an issue for me and you can always pile the soil up to the union if you live where it is a problem.

I don't claim to have enough experience with the Geneva rootsocks to be an authority but I'd like to hear from someone with direct comparative experience chime in. I have some, but not enough- maybe precocity is a big advantage with G 30, but that would only matter with later bearing types.

G30 may have compatibility problems with Kidd's Orange Red. Had one snap off cleanly at the union without tearing anything- it was a bearing tree. I wonder what other varieties this may pertain to.

I think M111 is going to be too big.

In that 8-12 foot wide size, what am I looking? G202 was recommended earlier, and says 35% size tree. Is that about what I'm looking for sizewise?