Using crab apple trees (malus sylvestre) as rootstock? )

[AnthElliott]

I have just bought 25 two year old crab apple trees (£20) which are sold for hedging which initially I intended to use to improve pollination in my recently planted orchard. However I wondered whether I could in fact use these as rootstock to increase my stock of cider apple trees (dabinett, major. Yarlington, Hereford redstreak) when I prune these in mid-winter. (I may even buy some cheap scions of new varieties such as Foxwhelp, and open to suggestions here). I recognise these may grow into full size trees (10m) and will need appropriate spacing but my real question is whether I should plant these bare root trees this winter and wait a year for them to establish before grafting new scions or will it be OK to graft scions straight away next Spring?

 

[forestbeekeeper]

I have an apple orchard. In this region all apple trees you buy will be grafted onto crabapple rootstock. The only other option is to be grafted on dwarf rootstock.

 

[madscientist451]

Are the crabapple trees a named variety? If yes, then they are already grafted. Go back to the grower and find out what rootstock they already are. Was the price listed for all 25 trees? Maybe they are grown from seed.
Either way, if you want to do some grafting, rootstock isn't all that expensive, and if you are going to go through the trouble of doing it, you might as well choose a rootstock that meets your needs instead of guessing about it.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

At that price, and intended for hedging -no they're not going to be grafted, these will be wild species crabs. So yes, they could be used for grafting, but potentiallly will be rather more variable than standard Malling clones. Personally I can't help feeling that they will have enough on their plate next year, I'd wait a season before grafting.

But I wouldn't graft all of them - aside from the pollination thing and as cider fruit in their own right, they're useful wildlife plants, and eg a great host for mistletoe.

 

[AnthElliott]

Yes, it was £20 for all of them. They are grown from seed, 2-3ft high and two years old. Thank you for all your replies, all of which I take onboard as good advice. I will plant some in the hedgerow as originally intended, others individually in the orchard, some of which I will graft (though high up giving the opportunity to try again lower down next year should they fail), others I will leave until next year, and I will check the cost of standard Malling clones if only to compare the results in the long term.

 

[forestbeekeeper]

...
Maybe they are grown from seed

If that is the case, then obviously they are crabapples.