Hello Keith
Maidens are the way to go.
M27 would not be my choice. Why, because it is a dwarfing rootstock.
The cordon is a restricted form, its maximim growth is restricted by
the rootstock. Thats fine if you are planting it as a tree, but you
want something tht has the vigour to cope with its leaves being pruned
off within an inch of its life each year. Up here M27 and M9 do not
fair well, they tend to be shallow rooted and don't like the wet.
I have a personal preference for MM106 as a rootstock. Although semi
vigourous it is daptable in terms of being trained into what ever you
want. Makes for good cordons. Have 29 apples on MM106 and 2 pears on
St Julian C.
I think of it like a bonsi, you clip the tops off to retain the shape
and if it gets vigourous, root prune. Push your spade down one side
one year,cutting through the roots. Repeat on the adjacent side the
following year. It sounds savage, yet those great fruit gardeners of
the Victoria era were at it all the time.
In terms of varieties what do you have planned? (good local source,
well relatively, the agroforestry reasearch trust -
www.agroforestry.co.uk)
Clifford
Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire