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8 forms of capital active hope agroecology agroforestry alder buckthorn Amazon anxiety apples arthritis back yard beans Bec Hellouin beech tree bees beneficial berries biochar biodigester biodiversity blackberries blackthorn book review brain brassica cage budget build building campesino capital card deck Celtic festivals change changes chemical-free chickens christmas circular clay pot cleansers cleansing milks climate change climate emergency climate grief climate solutions climbers climbing cob comfrey community compost compost teas connection consciousness conservation container cooking coppice coppicing cordial cosmology courgettes crafts crisis crop protection Cross Quarter Festival cultural emergence culture cut flowers cycles degraded design diary diversity DIY do it yourself dryland earth care Earth's energy ecoculture economics ecopoetry ecosystem ecosystem restoration camps ecosystems edges edible edible flowers education efficiency elder elderflowers elements elixir energy equinox ethics face mask fair shares Fairtrade farming feedback feminine ferns figs film firewood floristry flower essence flower garden flowers food food forest food garden footbath forage foraging forest garden forest gardening forests fruit fruit leather fruit trees fungi future future care gardening garlic gift economy gin Give Nature a voice Glennie Kindred global poverty glut grapes greenhouse grief groundcover grow grow food grow your own growing guilds habitat habits handcream harvest harvests hawthorn hazel hazelnut healing shrubs healing trees health healthy soil heart health hedgerow hedging herbal herbal remedies herbal teas herbalist herbs holistic holistic planned grazing home homeless homemade wine homestead hope Hugelkultur humanure hummus hungry gap IBC tanks Imbolc incense increase yields Indigenous inexpensive influence inspiration International Womens Day jam keyline kitchen garden lacto-fermentation Lammas land landscape landscapes life lifestyle limeflowers livelihood livestock living labs logs Looby Macnamara lotion low cost low-impact Lush Spring Prize macerations Mangwende Orphan Care Trust market garden market gardening marmalade marshmallow mass heater meadowsweet medicinal microbes microfarm Midwest Permaculture mimic mindset mitigation money Morag Gamble moringa Mother Earth mulch multifunctional mushrooms native plants natural natural building natural fertiliser natural skincare natural swimming pool nature nature connection nitrogen no dig no waste no-dig November nutrition nuts observe oca October off-grid oil cleansing orchard orchards organic organic flowers organic gardening outdoor shower oven oxymel oyster pallets pasture-fed patterns people people care peoplecare perennials permaculture permaculture design permaculture magazine award permaculutre permayouth pesto pests philippines pine tree pips pizza oven plant profile plants pollinators pollution polyculture polycultures preserving principles propagating protection pruning prunings psycho-spiritual awareness psychospiritual transformation rainforest rainwater raspberries recipe recipes reduce reed beds regeneration regenerative regenerative agriculture relative location relative matter remedy renewable renewable energy resources restoration reuse revolution rhythms rootstock rootstocks roundhouse roundwood runner beans sage salad salve Samhain schools Scotland scotts pine seasonal seasons seeds selfcare Sepp Holzer september septic tanks sewage treatment shade sheet mulching shrubs skincare sloes slugs small solutions small-scale smallholding social justice soil health solar solutions sowing spiritual spring squash stacking functions stock-free straw straw bale summer sustainable Sweet Bay syntropic systems temperate terraces thistles thrutopia timber timber framing tincture tonic toolkit tools transformation trees upcycle urban veg garden vegan veganic vermicomposting vinegar walnuts waste water water cleansing watering weeds wellbeing wetland wild edges wild food wild garlic wildflower wildlife wine recipes wings winter winter greens winter salads wood stove woodburner woodland woodland management woodlands worms yarrow year-round food yield young people youth zai pits zone 00 zoning

Topics

8 forms of capital active hope agroecology agroforestry alder buckthorn Amazon anxiety apples arthritis back yard beans Bec Hellouin beech tree bees beneficial berries biochar biodigester biodiversity blackberries blackthorn book review brain brassica cage budget build building campesino capital card deck Celtic festivals change changes chemical-free chickens christmas circular clay pot cleansers cleansing milks climate change climate emergency climate grief climate solutions climbers climbing cob comfrey community compost compost teas connection consciousness conservation container cooking coppice coppicing cordial cosmology courgettes crafts crisis crop protection Cross Quarter Festival cultural emergence culture cut flowers cycles degraded design diary diversity DIY do it yourself dryland earth care Earth's energy ecoculture economics ecopoetry ecosystem ecosystem restoration camps ecosystems edges edible edible flowers education efficiency elder elderflowers elements elixir energy equinox ethics face mask fair shares Fairtrade farming feedback feminine ferns figs film firewood floristry flower essence flower garden flowers food food forest food garden footbath forage foraging forest garden forest gardening forests fruit fruit leather fruit trees fungi future future care gardening garlic gift economy gin Give Nature a voice Glennie Kindred global poverty glut grapes greenhouse grief groundcover grow grow food grow your own growing guilds habitat habits handcream harvest harvests hawthorn hazel hazelnut healing shrubs healing trees health healthy soil heart health hedgerow hedging herbal herbal remedies herbal teas herbalist herbs holistic holistic planned grazing home homeless homemade wine homestead hope Hugelkultur humanure hummus hungry gap IBC tanks Imbolc incense increase yields Indigenous inexpensive influence inspiration International Womens Day jam keyline kitchen garden lacto-fermentation Lammas land landscape landscapes life lifestyle limeflowers livelihood livestock living labs logs Looby Macnamara lotion low cost low-impact Lush Spring Prize macerations Mangwende Orphan Care Trust market garden market gardening marmalade marshmallow mass heater meadowsweet medicinal microbes microfarm Midwest Permaculture mimic mindset mitigation money Morag Gamble moringa Mother Earth mulch multifunctional mushrooms native plants natural natural building natural fertiliser natural skincare natural swimming pool nature nature connection nitrogen no dig no waste no-dig November nutrition nuts observe oca October off-grid oil cleansing orchard orchards organic organic flowers organic gardening outdoor shower oven oxymel oyster pallets pasture-fed patterns people people care peoplecare perennials permaculture permaculture design permaculture magazine award permaculutre permayouth pesto pests philippines pine tree pips pizza oven plant profile plants pollinators pollution polyculture polycultures preserving principles propagating protection pruning prunings psycho-spiritual awareness psychospiritual transformation rainforest rainwater raspberries recipe recipes reduce reed beds regeneration regenerative regenerative agriculture relative location relative matter remedy renewable renewable energy resources restoration reuse revolution rhythms rootstock rootstocks roundhouse roundwood runner beans sage salad salve Samhain schools Scotland scotts pine seasonal seasons seeds selfcare Sepp Holzer september septic tanks sewage treatment shade sheet mulching shrubs skincare sloes slugs small solutions small-scale smallholding social justice soil health solar solutions sowing spiritual spring squash stacking functions stock-free straw straw bale summer sustainable Sweet Bay syntropic systems temperate terraces thistles thrutopia timber timber framing tincture tonic toolkit tools transformation trees upcycle urban veg garden vegan veganic vermicomposting vinegar walnuts waste water water cleansing watering weeds wellbeing wetland wild edges wild food wild garlic wildflower wildlife wine recipes wings winter winter greens winter salads wood stove woodburner woodland woodland management woodlands worms yarrow year-round food yield young people youth zai pits zone 00 zoning

Planting Fruit Trees – Part 3 – Which Rootstock?

The last part in Patrick Whitefield's planting fruit tree series – which fruit tree rootstocks should you choose?

Almost all fruit trees are grafted onto a rootstock. This means that the tree is actually two genetically distinct individuals, united by the skilful hand of the grafter. One of these is the rootstock, comprising the roots and the lower portion of the trunk; while the other, known as the scion, is all the rest of the plant: most of the trunk, branches, leaves and fruit. The scion is the fruiting variety, e.g. Cox, Bramley etc. and determines what the fruit is like. Meanwhile the rootstock determines certain characteristics of the tree as a whole: 

  • Size. Rootstocks are classified as vigorous, i.e. full size, or dwarf, with various intermediates such as ‘semi dwarfing’ and so on. (The variety also affects the size of the tree, but to a lesser extent.)
  • Vigour. Dwarf trees are like infants throughout their lives. Vigorous trees only need to be staked and weeded or mulched for their first 3-4 years and then can look after themselves, but dwarfs need this level of care forever.
  • Life cycle. Dwarf trees start bearing fruit a year or two after planting and have a short overall life, as little as 25 years for extremely dwarfing rootstocks. Vigorous trees may not start bearing for 8-10 years but can have a productive life of a century or more. 

How to choose rootstocks

One aim of permaculture is to keep the need for maintenance low, so it might seem that vigorous trees would be the thing. But there are some disadvantages to these big trees: 

  • Yield. A single vigorous tree can produce over 100kg of fruit per year. Can your family eat that much, especially if it’s a non-keeping kind such as a stone fruit or an early-season apple? It may be better to have two or three smaller trees of different varieties.
  • Space. The most vigorous pear trees can have a diameter of 20m and apples easily 10m, and you may need two of each for pollination.
  • Reach. Vigorous trees are tall and all picking, pruning etc. needs to be done from a ladder. A dwarf is reachable from the ground or a little step up.
  • Life cycle. Most of us want to start harvesting some fruit within a couple of years of planting.

So the advantages of vigour and dwarfness need to be balanced and there are plenty of good stocks that fall in the middle of the size range that combine the advantages of both.

If you want to grow your tree or trees in a restricted form, i.e. the two-dimensional espalier or fan shapes that make such good use of the favourable microclimate up against a wall, you will need to use a relatively vigorous stock. The intensive pruning that goes with this style of growing reduces their vigour anyway. The same goes for fruit trees in pots or other containers: the pot will reduce the size of the root system, so a more vigorous stock is needed to balance this out.

If your soil is poor or your climate challenging, the standard advice is to use a more vigorous rootstock than you would if conditions were more favourable.

Some suggestions

Apples
M26 is a good stock for medium to large gardens. It makes a tree of 2.5-4m diameter, depending on variety and soil conditions. It’s the smallest apple stock that doesn’t need staking and mulching throughout its life. 

MM106 is ideal for orchards. Diameter is 4-6m and you should get your first fruit within two years of planting.

Pears
Quince A is the best all-round stock, giving a tree 3-7m in diameter. If you’re short of space you might try the smaller Quince C but only if you can provide the best soil conditions and good care.

Plums
St Julien A, at about 3m diameter is the usual choice, with Pixy a slightly smaller alternative.

Cherries

The problem with cherries is that if you only have one or two trees, the birds will eat all the fruit, so you have to net them. It’s much easier to net a short tree than a tall one and the dwarfing stock for cherries is Gisela.

For more comprehensive information on rootstocks, and much more information about growing fruit, see Patrick’s book How to Make a Forest Garden.