Rob, I have a rubinette tree. I have not found them to be hard to grow at all. I have not had a problem with scab, but that may be due to a shot of immunox after petal fall. My tree has gone biennial, which would be my only complaint. This was the "on" year and we enjoyed a couple of bushels of these wonderful apples. So far I have bagged most of them, so that is another factor to consider. I hope this helps. Happy growing, Ted