Dolgo seedlings/ rootstock

[PoorSand]

I checked my whips today that I bench grafted onto Blue Hill's Dolgo seedling rootstock this past March. I measured the shortest new growth on a scion and some that are competing to have the most new growth. The rest I eyeballed, unless they were close calls, in which case I measured them. The below graph shows the amount of new growth I have on the scions so far, and the percent of them in that new growth height category.

 

[PoorSand]

That's better new growth than I have experienced with bench grafts on M111 or B118 growing in my pots.

 

[Chainsaw]

That those are excellent growth rates PoorSand. Your twenty inches and under at around twenty percent of total seems very good. Your details in your planting adventures are helpful. I'll measure and count a bed of mine within the next couple of days to see where my growth rates are--all Dolgo this year. We started out with extra dry soils but once it started raining about July 01, water would not have been an issue.

 

[PoorSand]

Chainsaw: I think part of it is that I have sort of a makeshift sprinkler "system" and the potting mix is very porous. The trees never go thirsty, but also never drown.

 

[sandbur]

A friend of mine who is occasionally on here, said grafts on dolgo rootstock are doing better than B118 and I think he also said Antanovka ( Anty to me).


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[Mortenson]

I think I was asleep at the wheel in regard to dolgo roots. Ryan from Bluehill really promotes them. I was researching how long my M111 and B118 trees would live and was a little saddened to read that 35- 40 years may be it. I found this little video of his where he compares B118 vs dolgo. Convinced me to order dolgo roots to graft this year's batch onto. Will make for a good variety someday anyhow.

 

[Diesel5610]

I didn’t realize the lifespan of those rootstocks was that short. I won’t live to see the end of most of my trees on them but I would like my kids to have the trees I am planting for their lifetime. Beyond that I have been pretty unhappy with the B118 trees that I have, leaning has proven to be a major problem with them here. I have mostly MM111 and some Antonovka and they have done pretty well for me. I have grafted onto Dolgo from Ryan the last 2 years and been pretty happy with the results so far. I agree that variety is never a bad thing.

 

[Telemark]

I've been looking into P18 and A2 rootstock as alternatives to B118, M111, and Antononovka. Dolgo seems more and more promising though.

 

[Teeder]

A friend of mine who is occasionally on here, said grafts on dolgo rootstock are doing better than B118 and I think he also said Antanovka ( Anty to me).


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I missed out on getting trees from BH for a 3rd year in a row, but I did order 50 of the dolgo rootstock to try my hand at grafting. My plan is to plant these and let the grow in place for a year and then graft.

 

[R.E. Gould]

Here's an update on the Dolgo seedling rootstock I purchased from Blue Hill this year.

I bench grafted 70 of them in mid-March, by cleft grafting them. By around mid-April, some of the rootstock had new growth a couple inches long, and since they weren't getting any light and the leaves were very yellow, I moved them all outside. We had a couple of 27 degree nights after that, but it did not seem to phase the growth on the rootstock.

Out of the 70 I grafted, there is just one where the rootstock and scion never woke up. One other rootstock has something wrong with it. The leaves on that rootstock and scion are reminiscent of what a glyphosate damaged tree's leaves look like. I'm not saying it is glyphosate damage, that's just what it looks like. It could be genetics. The scions on two others died after initially displaying swelling buds, but the rootstock is doing well, so I can bud them in August. Overall, 94% of my grafts are looking good right now.

None of the rootstock have red leaves.

Great to hear about the success with cleft grafts on rootstock. I have some Dolgo rootstock coming from Blue Hill, and the diameter described is much bigger than most of my scions.

 

[Mortenson]

Ryan's dolgo roots were beastly. I trimmed them back but still didn't want to squeeze all 20 into 1 bucket. I'm thinking when it comes time to nursery plant them I'll trim them back harder, but not sure how far I can go. Grafts won't win any beauty contests, but I'll predict 16/20 take.

 

[R.E. Gould]

Ryan's dolgo roots were beastly. I trimmed them back but still didn't want to squeeze all 20 into 1 bucket. I'm thinking when it comes time to nursery plant them I'll trim them back harder, but not sure how far I can go. Grafts won't win any beauty contests, but I'll predict 16/20 take.

View attachment 41975

Yup! I ended up potting them directly into 15 by 9 inch pots. Won't be surprised if I have to pot them up from that size during the growing season. I'm doing simple cleft grafts for the most part, and using my grafting tool in the rare circumstance where I have a scion thick enough to match the rootstock. Are you doing cleft grafts as well?

 

[sandbur]

I used mostly cleft grafts the last few years of bench grafting.

This year I am only doing top works on some trees that are about 10 feet tall and were suckers that came up from my oldest chestnut crab. I suspect they are a dolgo seedling and they have a 1/2 inch crab that the deer do use.i will convert three of them to Buckman Crab and Big Dog.

I also have4 B118’s that are 12-15 feet tall and a small B118 from a Wickson that broke off.

A couple of those will be converted to eating apples and in what I call the home orchard.

Those varieties are Connell Red and Puget Spice. And one more.


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[sandbur]

I used mostly cleft grafts the last few years of bench grafting.

This year I am only doing top works on some trees that are about 10 feet tall and were suckers that came up from my oldest chestnut crab. I suspect they are a dolgo seedling and they have a 1/2 inch crab that the deer do use.i will convert three of them to Buckman Crab and Big Dog.

I also have4 B118’s that are 12-15 feet tall and a small B118 from a Wickson that broke off.

A couple of those will be converted to eating apples and in what I call the home orchard.

Those varieties are Connell Red and Puget Spice. And one more.


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Pink Pearl is the last variety of scion I have on hand.


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[Mortenson]

Yep just cleft grafts. I tried one whip and tongue once and cut my thumb.

 

[rogersb]

I used mostly cleft grafts the last few years of bench grafting.

This year I am only doing top works on some trees that are about 10 feet tall and were suckers that came up from my oldest chestnut crab. I suspect they are a dolgo seedling and they have a 1/2 inch crab that the deer do use.i will convert three of them to Buckman Crab and Big Dog.

I also have4 B118’s that are 12-15 feet tall and a small B118 from a Wickson that broke off.

A couple of those will be converted to eating apples and in what I call the home orchard.

Those varieties are Connell Red and Puget Spice. And one more.


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Last year I found some crab apples growing in my swamp in what has to be the wettest part. They're only about an inch to 1.5 inches diameter and 8 feet tall but I am considering topworking them. Would you mind taking pics of your process and posting them? I'm not doing my topworking this year but will probably do it next spring.

 

[b116757]

I like this video of top working.

 

[rogersb]

I like this video of top working.

Great video, thank you!

 

[H20fwler]

So on the possible age a tree may get;

If the M111 lifespan is only 35-40 years, would a young tree grafted to M111 buried five or six inches above the graft live longer?

All of my spring grafting this year will be to Antonovka how long will those last?

I was lucky enough to get a bunch of trees from Blue Hill this year and they are all on Dolgo.

 

[Mortenson]

Not sure on those questions, but Ryan from Bluehill did send an instructional sheet on planting his trees and he's in the camp that says to plant the graft union below ground. I know that's a debated topic here.