Arborsmith wrote:


Where did you get that cockamamy idea that dwarf trees contain viruses
that result in their short life times? There are dwarfing rootstocks that are
sold as virus free selections. The reduced lifetime is probably due to the
smaller root system of these dwarf trees.

It makes sense that there is a virus - it's why they don't grow tall
and why they fruit early. Glad you asked about the source of the
info... Jim McCausland NW bureau chief of Sunset Magazine, he told me
about the virus while standing next to my semi-dwarf apple trees.

Richard Reames
http://www.arborsmith.com

Here is a case where a little knowledge can be misleading. Perhaps Mr. McCausland
is confused by the fact that the first dwarfing rootstock to emerge was the 'MM'
series which
refers to hybrid trees of the Malling series crossed with "Northern Spy" in Merton,
England
in the 1920's. These early rootstocks had problems with viral infections, so a new
strain
evolved called the EMLA series which eliminated viral pathogens, in the 1960's, and
these are classified as virus-free. In either case, both the MM and EMLA series
produce
dwarf trees. In fact, that they are virus free may explain why they are slightly more
vigerous than
the standard rootstocks. I refer you to a web article by a horticultural specialist
(perhaps a little
more knowlegable than the editor of a gardening magazine):

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-300-a.html

Sherwin D.