Hi all,
Burnt out vegetable-grower turned orchardist here!
I'm in the process of deciding upon rootstock for my 5 acre orchard in Portland, OR.
Quick background: I'd like freestanding trees, and I'd like to keep them at 10-12' in height (fruit within reach standing on a 6-foot ladder). My soil is deep silt loam with fair drainage and my site is flat, moderately windy, and very rainy during the winter.
EMLA 111 sounds like a great option, and I don't mind waiting an extra year or two for fruit, but I'm worried that keeping the trees at 10-12' would induce way too many watersprouts and extra growth than I care to prune. Thoughts? There's a couple old apple trees already on the property that the previous owners maintained at 9' (no idea the rootstock), and the amount of watersprouts they produced this year is giving me nightmares. I can't prune 5 acres of that!
EMLA 7 sounds like a good, less vigorous option but I'm worried about the trees toppling over. My fear is that all goes well for years 1-5 and then 6+ years into the orchard we get a storm with strong winds and my orchard turns into a disaster zone overnight.
Any thoughts/experiences with these rootstocks would be much appreciated!
Thank you,
Adam Tedeschi
Portland, OR