I have a dozen or so M26 trees. Both M9 and M26 are more susceptible to death from FB, but I have had far more problem on M9, that is the only stock I noticed a definite difference on. I have one 10-year old M26 that is weak now and I will probably take it out this winter and cut it open to see if it has fireblight signs.

Planting below the soil line may eventually give you a standard sized tree which comes with its own set of problems. Personally I would just get it on M26, if its only one tree its no biggie. Just don't plant your whole orchard on M9 or M26.

Scott

Thanks for the reply, Scott. I went ahead and ordered the tree. And, yes, it will be my only tree on M26. Everything else is on M7 and M111.

What issues do you see with a standard size tree? I don't mind a larger tree, and actually prefer a tree with some size. And, I can control with pruning. Thanks.

The main issue is vigor and the number of years to fruiting. I never grew standard trees so I don't know how severe these issues are.

Scott