One of my habitat improvement goals for the year is to start planting a few soft mast trees. Currently in the "backyard corner orchard" I have one pear, one apple, and one peach that were present when I purchased the property last summer. The trees are young but bearing size, the pear produced phenomenally last fall, but the apple and peach did poorly, the apple showed a lot of CAR. My property is mostly North facing mountain side. The mountain is rocky/bouldery with areas that also posses clays. I have a few flats along old logging roads and a few ridges. I also have a few sandy flats creekside. The creek side flats do occasionally flood for a few days in the spring, and also have a few scattered homes across the creek from them.
Ok with the background information out of the way. I discovered that my local Ag Extension office orders root stocks every spring for ~1.50 a rootstock. I missed this years order but they mangaged to scrape up a few surplus. For South East Kentucky, in possibly sloped plantings would you choose a M7a rootstock or Bud 9. These are not going to be the only trees I plant, just my foray into grafting.
Ok with the background information out of the way. I discovered that my local Ag Extension office orders root stocks every spring for ~1.50 a rootstock. I missed this years order but they mangaged to scrape up a few surplus. For South East Kentucky, in possibly sloped plantings would you choose a M7a rootstock or Bud 9. These are not going to be the only trees I plant, just my foray into grafting.
