| If you plant the pips/seeds of an apple it will in time | | | | until it starts to grow. Most of the apple trees planted |
| produce a tree that bears small, sour apples like its wild | | | | before the 1950s are on standard rootstock, which |
| forebears, and therefore a waste of your time and | | | | means they grew to be very large. Now there are |
| garden space. It therefore makes perfect sense to | | | | essentially three broad categories of rootstocks that |
| buy a ready-made tree, one that can possibly bare | | | | will determine the height of your trees: dwarf, semi |
| fruit in the same year that you plant it. Choose a | | | | dwarf, and standard. There are numerous types of |
| variety of apple that you like and with the type of | | | | dwarf and semi dwarf rootstocks, before you |
| rootstock suitable for your needs. The rootstock is | | | | purchase your tree, you should review the |
| crucial to the trees ability to flourish in the environment | | | | characteristics before making a final decision. |
| where it is to grow, and will ensure that it will only attain | | | | Trees on semi dwarf rootstock will reach a height that |
| a height that your garden can afford. | | | | is only about 60 to 75 percent the height of a standard |
| When choosing fruit trees such as apples you must | | | | size tree. Apple trees on dwarf rootstock have the |
| take into consideration the pollination period crucial to | | | | advantages that they bear fruit earlier, can be planted |
| fruit production. Trees unless they are self-fertile must | | | | closer together and are easier to spray and harvest. |
| have a companion from the same pollination group. For | | | | For example, a 'Bramley' grafted on to an M27 |
| example - 'Cox's Orange Pippin', 'Elstar', 'James Grieve' | | | | rootstock would grown into a bush, never more than |
| and 'Bramley' will pollinate each other. Apple varieties | | | | about 8-ft (2.4m) tall, while a 'Bramley' grafted on to an |
| fall into three groups - early, mid-season and late | | | | MM111 rootstock would grow into a full tree, about |
| flowering. The following combinations also give ample | | | | 18-20 ft (5.4m-6m) tall. Both would bear the well-known |
| pollination - E (early) and M (mid), or M (mid) and L | | | | Bramley apples. The choice of M27, M9, M26, M25, |
| (late). However, a combination of E (early) and L (late) | | | | MM106 and MM111 rootstocks allow a variety of trees |
| are unlikely to produce fruit, as the flowering periods | | | | to suit all growing situations and preferences. Using |
| are too far apart for our friends the bees to transfer | | | | dwarfing rootstocks like M27, allows the planting of |
| pollen from one tree to another. | | | | several trees in a smaller area rather than one tree on |
| Fruit Rootstocks: | | | | a vigorous rootstock. |
| Apples: - As apples do not do well on their own roots, | | | | Therefore, the shape of tree ultimately required, such |
| it is necessary to bud or graft them onto the roots of | | | | as cordon, bush, standard or espalier is determined by |
| wild apples. Grafting involves splicing the branch of one | | | | the choice of the rootstock. |
| apple tree onto another, or onto "root stock." The | | | | Learn about grass types and grass care at the Plants |
| spliced branch is held on with tape or coated with wax | | | | And Flowers site. |