Dolgo is recommended for both rootstock and fruit for growers in interior Alaska. If they grow and produce in Fairbanks, they are clearly winter hardy anywhere in the lower 48. https://www.apfga.org/fruit-trees-in-interior-alaska/
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Apple Tree winter Hardiness
- Thread starter sandbur
- Start date
chummer
5 year old buck +
Even trees planted the spring before the coldest winter on record (many -30’s and -40’s) had no sign of damage. I would say they are as bullet proof as they come.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Bur - post #19 - That's a good question about Dolgo as a rootstock here. It's sure tough enough. Russian origins.
Chummer - Where did you get your trees on Dolgo rootstocks ??
Chummer - Where did you get your trees on Dolgo rootstocks ??
sandbur
5 year old buck +
A few days ago I was checking a local nursery (Gilby’s) website and somehow found the listing of rootstock. Standard trees were either dolgo or Columbia rootstock. This seems to be normal for trees from Bailey’s , the supplier in our area.
I couldn’t locate that listing if rootstock when I looked at the website this time.
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chummer
5 year old buck +
I have planted dolgo seedlings from Chief River that have done well with no care.
My dolgo trees that are doing well are on B.118 from Cummins.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
^^^^^ Our Dolgo's are grafted on Antonovka from SLN. No problems. I wouldn't mind trying a couple actual Dolgo seedlings though.
I bought a bunch of dolgo seedlings from chief river. They were only 12-18" or so and spindly, but they were pretty tough and all survived despite less than ideal care.
I bought antonovka and b118 rootstock for this spring, but I think I'll try dolgo for grafting rootstock next year.
I bought antonovka and b118 rootstock for this spring, but I think I'll try dolgo for grafting rootstock next year.
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
This is a very interesting thread. I don't get near the winters you guys do up north and nowhere near the snow...we might get a couple days each winter with wind chills -20 to -30 and at the most a couple feet of snow.
Reading through this makes me think of the apple trees I see in the UP in November fully loaded with yellow apples that seem to be thriving. I know they get some deep snow and bad cold with the lake effect, they appear to be standard size and very common and must be really hardy every other old homestead has them. I would love to get a few scions sometime from one and graft it to M111 for down here, that rootstock seems to do best in my loamy clay.
Reading through this makes me think of the apple trees I see in the UP in November fully loaded with yellow apples that seem to be thriving. I know they get some deep snow and bad cold with the lake effect, they appear to be standard size and very common and must be really hardy every other old homestead has them. I would love to get a few scions sometime from one and graft it to M111 for down here, that rootstock seems to do best in my loamy clay.
Sound like Antonovka from your description. Or maybe Northwest Greening
H20fwler
5 year old buck +
They sure could be, it seems to be a very popular variety for the area. I need to just stop and talk to someone about them next time I'm up and see if they would send me a few cuttings, Ill just take a leap of faith give them my address and $10.
cavey
5 year old buck +
Lake effect has a beneficial effect up north for fruit growers it actually creates a more stable warmer micro climate... When it comes to just the far north - the further north you go in wi the better the tree growing environment, apart from a small strip along the shores they do get more snow but that is only for a limited distance. That is one reason you still see apple orchards around Bayfield to Herbster and down to Washburn WI. Same goes for the UP.
Its a cut and paste quote "The Great Lakes modify the local weather and climate. Because water temperatures change more slowly than land temperatures, lake waters gain heat in summer and release heat during cooler months. This results in cooler springs, warmer falls, delayed frosts and lake effect snow."
Just as a thought to find the hardier trees you may want to go into the interior more. Either way, granted, they will have more cold hardiness than your 6a needs which is beneficial and will make great scion no matter where you get them up there. They do have hard lives up there and those that are growing are survivors.
Until superior freezes over the late fall early winter temps are usually fairly mild up there.
Attachments
I checked some more trees today. The snow got pretty deep here this year. A lot of it melted away this past week, but it is still three feet deep in places. The deer could step right over some of the five foot high tree enclosures. I noticed limbs eight feet above ground level that were nipped off. The deer showed a decided browsing preference for Haralson.
As far as weather damage, my Red Delicious show a bunch of short cracks. Varieties that I could detect no weather damage on were Fuji, Golden Delicious, Northern Spy, Granny Smith, Braeburn, and Haralson. My Dolgo seedling trees varied by tree from short cracks to no cracks. I did not detect any damage to new growth on any trees. Maybe that will only become apparent later on.
As far as weather damage, my Red Delicious show a bunch of short cracks. Varieties that I could detect no weather damage on were Fuji, Golden Delicious, Northern Spy, Granny Smith, Braeburn, and Haralson. My Dolgo seedling trees varied by tree from short cracks to no cracks. I did not detect any damage to new growth on any trees. Maybe that will only become apparent later on.
