B-118 Rootstocks

[Bowsnbucks]

I was reading yesterday on ACN's (Adams County Nursery - Pa.) web catalog. They list the various rootstocks that they graft their trees to. In the description for B-118, they say that it doesn't anchor well, though it's considered a free-standing tree. It's the first I noticed such a description about B-118 from a well-regarded nursery such as ACN. B-118 is rated to grow a tree about 85% of standard size apple trees. Most of us on here have some B-118 trees. Leaning is a problem for some of us & our trees - other guys have no problem with leaning.

I thought I'd post that info from a qualified nursery source. FWIW.

 

[gunfun13]

When I was first getting into fruit tree plantings B118 was the go to recommendation for wildlife plantings...well M111 for heavier soils and clay, B118 for light or sandy soils. I have sand. A couple years later I started grafting, and went to purchase 100 rootstocks. I was later in the year and everyone was out of B118. I was disappointed but purchased M111 in its place. What a blessing that turned out to be. Over half my B118s have substantial leaning problems.

 

[Native Hunter]

MM111 trees stand like a brick wall for me, but I've had horrible luck with B118. All of them lean, and several have gone completely down.

Last year my biggest surviving B118 tree (an Arkansas Black) finally went down. I had it braced with 2 T-posts, and the T-posts went down with the tree. All other nearby apples on MM111 and Dolgo (without any bracing) stood just fine.

People can plant whatever they want to plant, but I don't need any more evidence for my personal choices.

 

[PoorSand]

I wish the B-118 trees I grafted eight years ago would actually get tall enough to lean. Only one has gotten over 3' tall in my sand so far.

 

[Diesel5610]

I have posted several times on my problems with B118 here. The poor anchoring and leaning has been my experience with somewhere between one and two dozen trees. I wish that information had been out there when I tried them. I have one Transcendant Crab on B118 that is growing like gangbusters and seems to be straight and strong after like 7 years, but that is literally the only one. The rest have been nothing but problems. MM111 and Dolgo rootstock are what produce the best trees here.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Just another reason why this place is awesome. I grafted 10 new trees onto M-111 a few weeks ago because of people's recommendations here that are in my area. We bought a bunch of big box store apple trees a few years ago and all of the ones we bought that year either tipped over and died or are going to eventually. I'm not sure I would have made the connection to the rootstock if it hadn't been for this forum.

 

[Telemark]

B-118 is notorious for leaning trees. I only ever considered it because it is supposed to tolerate wet soil. I was then steered toward P-18 instead. All my apples are on M-111 and Antonovka, but I will be planting some on P-18 and Dolgo in the future.

I'd steer clear of B-118 if I were you. I wouldn't be surprised if it fades away in the next several years.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I was reeled-in by the B-118 hype going back to 2012, the year before we ordered & planted our first apples & crabs at camp. Bigger-sized trees and early production were the lure. Some of our B-118 trees are doing fine, but others are leaning. Any of our B-118's that crap-out on us will be replaced with trees on MM-111, Antonovka (if available), Dolgo, or P-18. I planted a few newer trees on P-18, and they seem to be doing well. Our MM-111 and Antonovka trees are rock-solid.

 

[willy]

This is my experience and man does it differ from what I see above.

I have heavy clay soil. The trees on b18 rs that I have are not tethered/staked/tied down in any way. Of the 40 I have on b18 3 have a slight lean. They all started producing in year three and are heavy producers after 5 years. They are all 14 to 20' tall. I have 2 that are pruned in central leader form and they are 25". I'm sure most would be taller but I use the open center instead of single leader pruning strategy on the vast majority of my apple trees. The open center trees are about as wide as they are tall and produce heavily. They were planted in 2009 and 2015.

The roughly 10 I have on m111 have been in the ground since 2017, have barely produced any fruit and are not much taller than 10-12' tall. I keep hoping they will suddenly start producing and producing a lot. I'm not holding my breath. However, on a positive note, none of the m111 are leaning:)

All my apple trees are in 100% sun, same soil, same drainage, and same surrounded by clover. The mlll are actually close enough to get watered on a regular basis. The b118s are dependent on mother nature.

I am grafting another 15 b118 trees and 30 ohx87 pears this weekend. I bought the last b118 trees Turkey creek had this year and they are in the ground and starting to shoot leaves already. (this heat can't be good for fruit production this year. It's so early, the mature ones are going to have blooms on by mid April and our last frost date is mid May.

Good luck to all your new fruit tree plantings.

 

[bigboreblr]

B118 is designed for poor soils. It seems like they should work great for me at camp.

I think problems with b118 are based on variety. So far I have seen b118 like 30-06, crossbow, enterprise, and Franklin cider.

I bought 3 more Franklin ciders on b118 to prove it likes b118. Planted one at home. I added at thr last minute 5 b118 rootstock. I did several 30-06s and another Franklin cider. Wish I did a enterprise. I also left 1 b118 ungrated to see it's fruit.

Willy makes a great point. Historically, most trees have been open center than single leader.

Anybody have several examples of a variety on b118 that did well?

My studiest tree at home is crossbow.

Franklin isn't a standout tree variety, but it's well known, drops in the fall, and atleast for me it's not a red apple. Got bad yellow jacket issues at home. I do spray every 3-4 weeks.

Trying p18 at camp and g890 at home. Got a few m111s grafted too.

I have 2 leaning liberty on b118. Freedom leans.

Fertilizer, rich soil, and fast growing varieties i think aren't for b118.

At home I'm happy with m111. At camp I got low pH candy soil. Need something other than anty. Anty isn't low pH tolerant.

 

[bigboreblr]

Anybody get a b118 with some thicker roots mixed in. Had 4 or 5 pencil thickness roots on mine. Usually only get angel hairs.

All 3 Franklin's had them. Was wondering if they're really on b118.

 

[BuckSnort]

Most of my trees at the hunting land are in sand ground on B118 roots, not enough fruit yet to make a judgement either way. My biggest tree is a Wolf River that produced huge apples and it did blow over in a bad windstorm. It’s staked now and doing well since. I’ve got Sweet 16 at home that’s growing extremely well and straight as an arrow. Should really pump out some fruit this year. I’m not convinced it’s a problem yet but maybe will get there over time.