How to Pick the Best Rootstock for Grafting Fruit Trees

Order Early for Best Selection

If you want to get your hands on some hard-to-find fruit tree varieties, or if you want to build your own tree, winter is the time to put in your nursery orders for scions and rootstock.

But what kind of rootstock should you get? There’s a dizzying array of them, and they don’t even have proper names. What the heck is M9, P-14, Bud 9, G30, BB 106, A2? Rootstock shopping is like reading a bowl of alphabet soup.

Fear not. This article will lead you gently but firmly through the wide, wild world of rootstocks – what they are, why you need them, how to tell them apart, and how to choose the right ones for your needs.

Jump to:

A Quick Introduction to Rootstocks
Categories of Fruit Tree Rootstocks
How Do I Pick a Compatible Rootstock?
Fruit Tree Rootstock Varieties
Conclusion

A Quick Introduction to Rootstocks

Varieties of root stock for fruit tree grafting — Rootstocks with apple cuttings (scions) grafted on. Rootstocks transfer height, disease resistance, and vigor to the cuttings. Photo courtesy of **39^th Parallel Nursery & Orchard**.

I’ve gone over the basics of rootstocks in my article “What is the Big Deal about Rootstocks?” In a nutshell, the scion is a cutting from a fruit tree, and the rootstock consists of the roots and trunk of the plant it’s going to be grafted onto.

Rootstocks allow growers to control different aspects of the grown tree. Rootstocks can make a tree more cold-hardy and keep its size manageable, make it bear fruit after only a few years, make it more disease-resistant, and so forth.

Not every rootstock is going to do ALL of those things. Naturally, different rootstocks yield different results. Sometimes, rootstocks can subtly affect the taste of the fruit, so if a fruit that used to taste like heaven seems to have lost its appeal, see if growing it on a different rootstock might make a difference.

Categories of Fruit Tree Rootstocks

Grafted Hawkeye apple tree — A Hawkeye apple tree grafted onto G.41 rootstock growing at **39^th Parallel Orchards**. G.41 is a cold-hardy dwarf rootstock that is resistant to fireblight and diseases spread by aphids.

When it comes to tree size, there are four main categories:

Dwarf – A tree grown on a dwarf rootstock produces full-sized fruit, but it grows only half as tall as a full-sized tree – about 6-10 feet tall. Great for backyards and smaller spaces where homeowners might prefer an easy harvest.
Semidwarf – Reaches about 40-60% of the height of a tree at full growth. Semidwarf trees are usually around 10-16 feet (it varies).
Semistandard – Grows about 75% of the height of a standard.
Standard – The full-sized tree that reaches its natural height. If left unpruned, standards can grow anywhere from 20 to 30 feet tall (possibly more, depending on variety)

When it comes to rootstock types, there are two:

Seedling – These are grown from seeds. These give you big, vigorous fruit trees with a strong root system. They’re hardy, very long-lived (over 100 years), and require less maintenance. Some growers grow their own seedstocks from seeds and choose the hardiest varieties to graft their scions onto.
Clonal – These are propagated via root cuttings from specific trees. Clonal rootstocks give you smaller trees (dwarf and semidwarf, usually), which also come with a weaker root system, so they’ll need to be staked and need more are. They will fruit sooner – some after only 2 years.

Read more:

How Do I Pick a Compatible Rootstock?

Cutting a graft into root stock — A cleft graft. Note how the grafter is wearing protective tape around their fingers. Safety first.

The scion and rootstock need to be compatible or else the rootstock will reject the scion, or it won’t form a strong bond with it. The easiest way is to have rootstocks and grafts of the same species – apples to apples, oranges to oranges – or of closely related species. Pears are often grafted to specific types of quinces, for example.

Often, nurseries will tell you what rootstocks are compatible with the scions you’ll be grafting. If you’re not sure, be sure to ask.

This extremely helpful thread on the Growing Fruit forum goes deep into the types of rootstocks that exist and what is compatible with which.

Fruit Tree Rootstock Varieties

Scion wood grafted to root stock — Here, a scion is grafted onto a rootstock. The graft is then bound up with grafting tape and sealed to keep out moisture.

Naturally, there are a lot of different rootstocks to choose from. Here is a (somewhat) organized list.

Apple Rootstocks

Apple on a grafted apple tree — Apples have the most rootstocks available since they’re such a popular fruit, and they’re easy to graft (compared to some other fruits).

Extreme Dwarf

27, aka EMLA 27, is a dwarf apple rootstock, producing a little tree that will fit nicely into a large container. It will need support, as well as the usual care – regular water and mulch. These trees will mature within 2 to 3 years and are a good choice for those who want to fill their backyard with little bitty apple trees!
22, also called Polish 22, is dwarf to the extreme. It provides good winter hardiness, is moderately susceptible to fireblight, and is very susceptible to woolly apple aphids but shows good resistance to crown and root rot. It is precocious – that is, it will bear apples within a couple of years of planting. It will need staking. Great for home gardeners who want a tree less than 6 feet tall.

Dwarf

9, aka Malling 9, is an old dwarf rootstock that will grow a small apple tree about 8 to 10 feet tall. Needs staking due to brittle roots and also because it bears more fruit than the tree can support.
11 is a dwarf rootstock that offers good resistance to collar rot and fireblight. It’s an improved rootstock, yielding 10% to 30% more fruit than the older M.9 rootstock.
41 is a cold-hardy dwarf rootstock that is resistant to fireblight and diseases spread by aphids.
9, also called Bud 9 or Budagovsky 9, was developed in Russia and is very cold-hardy. Resistant to collar rot and tolerant of fireblight. Pretty compatible with most apples, very productive and precocious. It will need staking or grown on a trellis system.

Semidwarf

118 rootstock from Russia, also known as Budagovsky 118, is extremely cold-hardy, producing vigorous trees that bear fruit sooner.
111, aka Malling-Merton 111 or EMLA 111. This grows large semi-standard trees (15 to 20 feet) with excellent drought resistance, strong root anchoring, and resistance to collar rot. It is a rugged little devil.
210, aka Geneva 210, is a semidwarf rootstock that’s more vigorous. It anchors the tree well, increases productivity, and is resistant to woolly aphids.
890, aka Geneva 890, is a popular semidwarf rootstock because it resists diseases like fire blight and crown rot, and its roots anchor the tree very well.
935, aka Geneva 935. This semidwarf rootstock is known for its productivity, resistance to cold, and high disease resistance, making it a good fit for a wide range of climates and scion varieties.
969, or Geneva 969, is resistant to fireblight, collar rot, and woolly apple aphid. It’s a productive, cold-hardy tree that’s good for Honeycrisp and other weak-growing apple cultivars.

Standard (aka full size)

Antonovka is suckerless and grows a full-sized apple tree that’s hardy to -50 degrees. It’s adaptable to many soil types and is vigorous.

Pear and Quince

Pear on a grafted pear tree — Different continents can sometimes require different pear rootstocks.

Quince has been used as a pear rootstock for centuries in Europe to control size and overcome their heavy, wet soils. However, quince traditionally hasn’t fared as well in the United States. Here, quince rootstock is susceptible to fireblight, killed by winter cold, and doesn’t prosper in alkaline soils.

Bartlett and Bosc can’t be grafted directly onto quince but require an interstem graft of Comice or Hardy pear – so you have a quince rootstock, a little stem of pear for the trunk, and then your Bartlett or Bosc all stuck together on one plant.

Researchers at East Malling in England gathered these rootstocks from old orchards and then selected or improved the best ones for different purposes.

OHxF 87, also called Old Home x Farmingdale 87, is a half-standard rootstock that’s resistant to fireblight. It’s precocious – that is, it bears fruit earlier – and productive. Roots do a good job of anchoring. Compatible with all pear varieties.
OHxF 97, also called Old Home x Farmingdale 97, grows a tree that’s almost standard-sized. Resistant to fireblight, good anchoring. Compatible with both European and Asian pears.
Bartlett seedling is widely used in the industry. It produces full-sized pear trees with great vigor, hardiness, and productivity.
Quince A is good for small orchard plantings in Europe.
Quince C is a dwarf and a good pick for pear trees grown as a cordon, fan, or espalier. It fruits sooner than other dwarf rootstocks. Best in Europe.

Plum – Peach – Apricot – Almond - Nectarine

Rootstock for stone fruits — *Prunus americana* rootstock is an American Plum used for American and Japanese-American plums. Photo courtesy of **Fedco Seeds**.

This section has a lot of overlap because there’s a lot of genetic overlap among these species – except when there isn’t. This list is really skimming the surface.

Marianna 2624 – Grows a semi-dwarf tree about 12 to 17 feet tall. Good disease resistance, moderate resistance to root rot, crown rot, oak root fungus, and root-knot nematodes. It can sucker and should be staked for the first five years or so. Compatible with plums, apricots, and some almonds. Incompatible with peaches and nectarines.
Krymsk 1 – A semi-dwarf rootstock developed in Russia, so it’s very hardy. Hardy, bears fruit early, excellent anchorage, no suckers, might be susceptible to bacterial canker of stone fruit. Krymsk 1 is compatible with peach, plum, and nectarine. Appears to be incompatible with apricots.
Lovell is a popular old standard for peaches, used for decades in commercial orchards. This rootstock increases longevity for peach trees, is resistant to bacterial canker, and makes a really big peach tree (25 feet tall without pruning). Good anchorage. Compatible with peaches, nectarines, and apricots.
Nemaguard has good resistance to root-knot nematode. Susceptible to bacterial canker. It can be used for peaches and most plum cultivars.

Cherry

Cherry scions can be something of a pain when it comes to grafting them to a rootstock. It’s hard to find small quantities of dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstock – or to even find them at all.

Cherry can also be persnickety when it comes to being grafted. Apples are like, “Oh fine, graft me to whatever,” while some cherry grafts fall apart if you look at them cross-eyed.

Gisela 5 is good for dwarf cherry trees and also if you want to train it into a fan shape (a type of espalier). It will sucker. The Gisela rootstocks are under patent, so, in general, they’re only available in large lot sizes (50 or 100).

Mazzard is possibly the oldest sweet cherry rootstock used by the Greeks and Romans. A good choice for wet, heavy soils and passes along lots of vigor even in poor soils. Great anchorage.

Mahaleb is a semi-dwarf rootstock that is at its best in well-drained soils. It’s cold hardy, precocious, and is great at anchoring the tree. Don’t use it if you have heavy or wet soils.

Krymsk 6 is semi-dwarf, precocious, and compatible with all cherry varieties. Mildly susceptible to Prunus dwarf virus and ringspot.

Conclusion

Planted grafted cherry tree — A newly planted grafted cherry tree.

If you prefer to build your own trees, rootstocks can really expand what your home orchard is capable of. They can help you fit more trees in your backyard or orchard, increase resistance to local pests and diseases, and increase yields.

If you’re growing a small home orchard, nurseries like Raintree Nursery, Cummins Nursery, Burnt Ridge Nursery, and Fedco Seeds offer a variety of rootstocks, and you don’t have to buy them in bulk. There are somewhere you’ll have to buy in bundles of 10. The 39^th Parallel also has a great selection of fruit rootstocks, along with all kinds of scions that you’ve likely never heard of.

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