I'm in Southern Oregon.
I try to give away everything that will go bad, but it's a tough job
when all my friends and neighbors also have extra.
There is no secret about the apples, sure some years I don't get any
of certain verities but some other tree or branch of different tree
will do great. I like multi verities on one tree. I just prune, thin
um out when they're thick. I avoid using dwarf rootstock as it has
been determined that the longevity and hardiness are limited due the
virus they contain.

Richard Reames
http://www.arborsmith.com


I offer another possibility. Plant fruit trees on M27
rootstock, which will produce a small tree about 6 to 8 feet high with a small
production capacity. You can even throw a net over such a small tree and reduce

On Sat, 29 Jul 2006 12:06:32 -0400, "fudge"
wrote:

I know what you mean about the chickens. I let mine out most Saturday
afternoons when the farmer (Me) likes to suck on a few pints of ale. When I
head for the house to get another cold one.... the sneaky little *******s
head for the cabbage patch. They sometimes catch me nodding off and........
I think they are charming creatures.

I enjoy their company and the composted
chicken exhaust grows fabulous vegetables.

Farmer John
45N,77W

You got that right! Years after the chickens were no more, that area
is still so fertile, thanks to chickie doo-doo, just drop in seeds and
stand back!

Persephone
34° 00' 57" N , 118° 27' 04" W

Arborsmith wrote:

I avoid using dwarf rootstock as it has
been determined that the longevity and hardiness are limited due the
virus they contain.

I agree that dwarf rootstocks do not live as long as standard ones, but I'm
experiencing dwarf and semi-dwarf life times of over 15 years. At my age,
planting a dwarf tree will probably be going strong when I check into the
home for retired gardeners.

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.

Sherwin D.



Richard Reames
http://www.arborsmith.com


I offer another possibility. Plant fruit trees on M27
rootstock, which will produce a small tree about 6 to 8 feet high with a small
production capacity. You can even throw a net over such a small tree and reduce

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

"sherwindu" wrote in message
...


Arborsmith wrote:

I avoid using dwarf rootstock as it has
been determined that the longevity and hardiness are limited due the
virus they contain.

I agree that dwarf rootstocks do not live as long as standard ones, but
I'm
experiencing dwarf and semi-dwarf life times of over 15 years. At my
age,
planting a dwarf tree will probably be going strong when I check into
the
home for retired gardeners.

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.


I don't know the real reason why they're dwarved, but I *do* know that
viruses cause some very interesting plant variations. A perfect example is
the streaks in some tulip petals.

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.

Jim McCausland NW bureau chief of Sunset Magazine obviously isnt a geneticist .. so
it is more like a flippant remark.
Human dwarfing isnt due to a VIRUS. It is due to a mutation.
And there are two stages in cell growth, amplification (AKA growth) and production
(AKA reproduction). Because dwarf trees arent growing they can start their
reproduction. Ingrid


rborsmith" 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



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan